Ye vs. the People
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"Ye vs. the People" is a song by American rapper
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
. It stars a guest appearance from fellow rapper T.I., with him being credited as the People. The song was solely produced by West, who co-wrote it with T.I., and due to the work of the
Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Founded as the ...
being
sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...
,
Lamont Dozier Lamont Herbert Dozier (; June 16, 1941 – August 8, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. He co-wrote and produced 14 US ''Billboard'' number-one hits and four number ones in the UK. Career Doz ...
,
Brian Holland Brian Holland (born February 15, 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound, and numerous hit ...
, and
Eddie Holland Edward Holland Jr. (born October 30, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Holland was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Although he was an early Motown artist who recorded minor hit singles such as "Jamie", ...
were credited as songwriters. Following a conversation West had about his support of
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
with T.I. in the studio, the rappers recorded the song in April 2018. On April 27, 2018, it premiered via
Power 106 KPWR (105.9 FM) – branded as ''Power 106'' – is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area. KPWR is owned and operated by Meruelo Group and airs a Rhythmic Hot AC format. KPWR's studio ...
. The song was released for digital download and
streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
as a standalone
single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
by
GOOD Music GOOD Music (also known simply as GOOD, stylized as G.O.O.D. Music; a backronym for Getting Out Our Dreams) is an American record label founded by rapper Kanye West in 2004. The label signed an exclusive long-term worldwide label agreement with t ...
and
Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...
three days later. T.I. stated in July 2018 that he never believed West would release the song. A hip hop track, it contains a sample of the Four Tops' "
7 Rooms of Gloom "7 Rooms of Gloom" is a song recorded by the Motown Records vocal quartet the Four Tops. It was released as a single in 1967 on the Motown label and reached #14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and was a Top 10 R&B Hit, charting at #10. It was a ...
". The song sees West and T.I. engaging in a debate, with the rappers expressing their contrasting views on Trump. "Ye vs. the People" received mixed reviews from
music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
, who were somewhat divided in their opinions towards the
political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
nature of it. While they were often ambivalent about the performance of West that discusses politics, critical commentary around T.I.'s appearance was moderately positive and a few reviewers criticized the former's thought process for the song. It debuted at number 85 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 2018, standing as the first time a track with T.I. as a performer reached the Hot 100 since 2014.


Background and recording

West and T.I. had worked together on a number of tracks before "Ye vs. the People", including the collaborative
single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
"
Swagga Like Us "Swagga Like Us" is a song by American hip hop recording artists Jay-Z and T.I. The song features guest verses from fellow American rappers Lil Wayne and Kanye West, the latter of whom also produced the song, constructing primarily around a ...
" (2008). On April 27, 2018, T.I. shared a post to his
Instagram Story Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can be ...
about collaborating with West. T.I. recalled in the post that he had spent the previous day "wit Kanye... Long term work in progress, No Doubt." He continued, expressing optimism that something from their discussion "gon STICK...I refuse to just give up on him." Concluding the post, T.I. asserted: "The Old Ye' TOO IMPORTANT!!!" On May 1, 2018, West shared edited
behind-the-scenes In film, cinema, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a type of documentary film that features the Filmmaking#Production, production of a film or television program. This is often referred to as the E ...
footage of him and T.I. in the studio to the former's website. The footage shows the recording of the song in April 2018. T.I. says to West about the consequences of 2017-2021 US
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
's policies and rhetoric that when lives are lost, "as artists that gives us an obligation to stand up against all of that kind of shit." West explains to him that he put a
Make America Great Again "Make America Great Again" or MAGA is an American political slogan popularized by Donald Trump in his successful 2016 presidential campaign. The slogan became a pop culture phenomenon, seeing widespread use and spawning numerous variants in ...
(MAGA) hat on to force "an evolution" due to knowing "so much more in the past three days because I'm getting this energy, positive or negative," in agreement or disagreement with Trump. T.I. responds by telling West the intentions of the rapper are pure from his knowledge but the direction he took to get there is "a bit unorthodox and kind of, some people would say, thoughtless," to which West replies that wearing a MAGA hat is "like a fight for equality." West informs T.I. he does not agree with half of "the shit Trump does," which leads to T.I. pressuring him to explain what Trump does that he is in agreement with. According to West, he agrees with Trump's "ability to do what no one said you could do" because doing "the impossible is the most inspiring thing to me." After their discussion, the two begin to record "Ye vs. the People" in the footage, with the song being based on the debate they had earlier. The rappers are shown individually sitting down to record their respective parts, though West gives T.I. numerous tips such as instructing him where to come in on the song with his counter points. T.I. later reminisced on his discussion with West in July 2018, assuring that the two highly respect each other while saying he thought "the conversation was had with a high level of respect and admiration on both sides, and we just wanted to share our views." He explained by stating he "wanted to pick" West's brain and "get his thoughts" to grasp "a better understanding of where he was coming from and what he was attempting to say," but T.I. admitted he desired for West to do the same for him "and we did that successfully over a five-hour period." According to T.I., they decided to record "Ye vs. the People" at the end of the period for detailing the conversation's highlights even though the rapper revealed he "never thought" West would release the song due to "the blatant honesty," as T.I. wanted to say things he "felt people walking the streets would say" and "give
he song He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
a very organic feel." The song credits T.I. as starring under the moniker of the People, with him representing the many who questioned West's support of Trump. Hours after sharing "
Lift Yourself "Lift Yourself" is a song by American rapper Kanye West. West wrote the song alongside James Massie and Ben Winters, and produced it with additional production from Mike Dean. The song was debuted on April 27, 2018, through West's website and ...
", West premiered the song on April 27, 2018. A radio rip of it was made available at the time, before the song's single release three days later. The song's production was solely handled by West, who wrote it alongside T.I.,
Lamont Dozier Lamont Herbert Dozier (; June 16, 1941 – August 8, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. He co-wrote and produced 14 US ''Billboard'' number-one hits and four number ones in the UK. Career Doz ...
, and
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and
Eddie Holland Edward Holland Jr. (born October 30, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Holland was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Although he was an early Motown artist who recorded minor hit singles such as "Jamie", ...
; the latter of the three wrote the
Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Founded as the ...
' "
7 Rooms of Gloom "7 Rooms of Gloom" is a song recorded by the Motown Records vocal quartet the Four Tops. It was released as a single in 1967 on the Motown label and reached #14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and was a Top 10 R&B Hit, charting at #10. It was a ...
" (1967), which the song samples.


Composition and lyrics

Musically, "Ye vs. the People" is a hip hop track. The song features a sample of "7 Rooms of Gloom" by the Four Tops, which its instrumentation is built around. For the beginning of the song, the sample is used. Multiple outlets described "Ye vs. the People" as a debate between West and T.I.; the rappers take turns to perform throughout the song. In the lyrics of the song, West defends his support of Trump while T.I. criticizes him over the support. West also expresses frustration over the pressure on African-Americans to be Democrats. West begins by rapping that U.S. president
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
"was heaven-sent" but Trump's victory proves the rapper "could be president," which closely places together Democratic superstition and Independent possibility. T.I. suggests West's
right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
political views An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied prim ...
are bigger than his own "selfish agenda," also complaining to him about Trump's lack of a response to police brutality in the US. West boasts about wearing a MAGA hat, claiming that doing so added empathy to the
campaign slogan The following is a list of notable political slogans. Political slogan (listed alphabetically) A * Abki baar Modi Sarkar – Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign slogan for 2014 Indian Parliamentary Elections * ACT UP, Fight Back, Fight AIDS – ...
. In response, T.I. expresses disappointment in West for having worn "a dusty ass hat to represent the same views as white supremacy." At the end of the song, West offers an invitation to further debate.


Release and reception

West premiered the song by playing it on a loop for
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radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
Power 106 KPWR (105.9 FM) – branded as ''Power 106'' – is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area. KPWR is owned and operated by Meruelo Group and airs a Rhythmic Hot AC format. KPWR's studio ...
on April 27, 2018. While the song was played, the DJs often refrained "POWER 106." During West's appearance on the radio station, he announced the song's release as a single. On April 30, 2018, "Ye vs. the People" was released for digital download and
streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
as a single by West's
record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
s
GOOD Music GOOD Music (also known simply as GOOD, stylized as G.O.O.D. Music; a backronym for Getting Out Our Dreams) is an American record label founded by rapper Kanye West in 2004. The label signed an exclusive long-term worldwide label agreement with t ...
and
Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...
. At the time, it was not known if the song was set for release on West's then-upcoming eight studio album. "Ye vs. the People" was met with mixed reviews from
music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
, who were generally split in their feelings towards its political nature. The staff from ''
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'' labeled the song "a point-for-point debate" that features West putting across "some of his most coherent, if still highly debatable and naive, arguments about his pro-Trump stance to date" and gave credit to him for allowing "T.I. plenty of room to make his case as well." Writing for ''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...
'',
Armond White Armond White (born ) is an American film and music critic who writes for ''National Review'' and ''Out''. He was previously the editor of '' CityArts'' (2011–2014), the lead film critic for the alternative weekly ''New York Press'' (1997–201 ...
commented that the song "mops up"
Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...
's "litany of immiserated ghetto complaints by using hip-hop" for revival of African-American discourse alongside stating West "urges his widened audience to rethink the current controversy" with his "exploration of musical styles and public address." White explained that West presents "his case while advancing political discussion," which he viewed numerous hip hop albums by other artists as failing to do and praised him for actually presenting a conversation while viewing the song as lacking similarities to propaganda. Despite opining that "T.I. does not rap at West's level," White complemented how his voice "has that Southern drawl that legions of white pop critics and culture vultures swear by as the only genuine ''
Negro In the English language, ''negro'' is a term historically used to denote persons considered to be of Black African heritage. The word ''negro'' means the color black in both Spanish and in Portuguese, where English took it from. The term can be ...
'' voice." Sam Moore of ''
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'' described the song as "far superior" to "Lift Yourself" and highlighted the "excellently-crafted" sample-driven instrumental, as well as opining that the "plain-talking" from T.I. "clearly wins the day" on the song. In a review for ''
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'', Frank Guan panned the "terrible" song despite calling West's response to T.I.'s criticism of his Trump support "more substantive, or at least less blatantly
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" than his response to
Ebro Darden Ibrahim Jamil "Ebro" Darden (born March 17, 1975) is an American radio personality, broadcaster, and DJ. Until 2014, he was Vice President of Programming for Emmis Communications' New York contemporary urban station WQHT (Hot 97). He is current ...
's similar concerns on "Lift Yourself" and admitted that he "sees fresh angles" where "others see walls." ''
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'' critic Tom Breihan derided the song by pointing out it is "slapdash, thrown-together" and an attempt at commenting on West's Trump support that is "rushed and ill-thought-out" to the same extent as a bad ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
(SNL)''
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. He asserted that the beat is "pretty good, but it's not enough" while writing off the "terrible" mastering, though he praised T.I.'s rapping against West for using "straight-faced logic to roast the shit out of him" and panned how all West does "is splutter the same inane, meaningless bullshit he's been saying on Twitter," dismissing him as "rapping for circles." Breihan concluded that the song, as well as "Lift Yourself" and West's political nature being showcased in 2018, demonstrated West had not thought things through. Corbin Reiff from
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slammed the song as "a groan-inducing duet" between West and T.I. while noting it for being "downright cringe-worthy in almost every respect" and even worse than "Lift Yourself", as well as criticizing West's "ignorance" in his "thoughts and ideas" presented against T.I. Reiff continued, expressing a dislike for the rappers' flow but praising how T.I. at least "comes in with concrete and cogent ideas."


Commercial performance

"Ye vs. the People" entered the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 85 for the chart issue dated May 8, 2018. It stood as West's first entry on the Hot 100 since he was featured on
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...
's single " Glow" in April 2017 and marked T.I.'s first entry since his single "
About the Money "About the Money" is a song by American hip hop recording artist T.I., released on June 3, 2014, through Grand Hustle Records and Columbia Records, as the first single from his ninth studio album ''Paperwork''. The song, which features guest vo ...
" in November 2014. The song outperformed the simultaneous debut of West's "Lift Yourself", which opened at number five on the US
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...
. "Ye vs. the People" received 7.4 million streams and 12,000 downloads in its first week, debuting at number 32 on the US
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chart. It further reached number eight on the US
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chart. On the New Zealand Heatseekers chart, the song charted at number three.


Track listing

Digital download / streaming #"Ye vs. the People (starring T.I. as the People)" – 3:22


Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. *
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
producer, songwriter * T.I. songwriter, additional vocals, participant *
Brian Holland Brian Holland (born February 15, 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound, and numerous hit ...
songwriter * Edward Holland Jr. songwriter *
Lamont Dozier Lamont Herbert Dozier (; June 16, 1941 – August 8, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. He co-wrote and produced 14 US ''Billboard'' number-one hits and four number ones in the UK. Career Doz ...
songwriter * Mike Dean mastering engineer, mixer * Noah Goldstein recording engineer * Andrés Osorio assistant recording engineer * Mike Snell assistant recording engineer * Sean Solymar assistant recording engineer


Charts


Release history


See also

*
Donald Trump in popular culture Donald Trump, President of the United States from 2017 to 2021, has attracted considerable media attention during his career as a celebrity personality, businessman, and politician. He has been portrayed and appeared in popular culture since th ...


Notes


References


External links

* {{Trump media 2018 singles 2018 songs Kanye West songs Media about the Trump presidency Song recordings produced by Kanye West Songs about Donald Trump Songs written by Brian Holland Songs written by Kanye West Songs written by Lamont Dozier Songs written by T.I. T.I. songs GOOD Music singles Def Jam Recordings singles