Artist/Group: Kanye West
Album: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Released: 2010
Label: Def Jam/Roc-A-Fella
Watch the Official Video of this song • Kanye West - POWER
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"Power" (often stylized as "POWER") is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kanye West, released as the lead single from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). The song features additional vocals by soul singer Dwele and is co-produced by West and Symbolyc One. It is built around samples of "21st Century Schizoid Man" by King Crimson, "Afromerica" by Continent Number 6, and "It's Your Thing" by Cold Grits. After having recorded it in Hawaii, West reported that he spent 5,000 hours writing "Power". In its lyrics, West comments about the United States, his mental health and his critics. Its chorus features an abrasive vocal-riff.
"Power" was West's comeback single following his 2008 album 808s & Heartbreak and his controversial incident with Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. The song received acclaim from music critics and was listed among the best tracks of 2010 by several publications, including Time, Pitchfork Media, Spin, and Rolling Stone. Critics described it as a return to form for West, praising its intricate production, lyrical merit, and scope. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 53rd Grammy Awards.
The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at position 22 and thereafter declined. The track was promoted by a music video, which was directed by Marco Brambilla. The video features a long take of the camera pulling away from West. The video received positive reviews from critics and received two nominations for MTV Video Music Awards. West performed the song on Saturday Night Live, at the 2010 BET Awards, at the 2011 Coachella Music Festival, and his Watch the Throne Tour. A remix of the track featuring rapper Jay-Z was released on August 20, 2010, as a part of West's weekly GOOD Fridays series.
2009 was a troubled year for Kanye West, who had faced various controversies, including the divisive nature of his previous album, 808s & Heartbreak and his interruption of recording artist Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards during her acceptance speech. West explained that the motivation of some of his questionable decisions stemmed from over-work. The ensuing media controversy caused West to exile himself in Oahu, Hawaii and record his fifth studio album mostly in a reclusive nature, shying away from collaborating with artists he wasn't personally close to. While composing the album, West assembled a large staff of established producers including Pete Rock, the RZA and Q-Tip, with West handling portions of the production himself.
Contemporary visual artist George Condo designed the two cover artworks for "Power", along with the cover of the album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
Despite having several well-known producers on his recording team, the majority of the production featured on "Power" was done by the lesser-known Symbolyc One. The song was primarily produced by him and was initially intended to be given to rapper Rhymefest, until West listened to the song and expressed interest in using the beat himself. According to Symbolyc One, West was an admirer of the composition, and asked him to fly down to Hawaii, where he discovered that West had already recorded some of his version of the song. A month later, the producer was asked to return to Hawaii and discovered that the beat had been further modified by West, who added "polish" to the track. Symbolyc One expressed surprise that West was so interested in using the beat, since the song features drums reminiscent of a song from West's Late Registration entitled "Crack Music". S1 would later state that tons of verses didn't make the final cut, as well as there being 8 or 9 different versions of the song itself.
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18 сен 2024
