Gorgeous (Kanye West song)

"Gorgeous"
"Gorgeous" cover
Song by Kanye West featuring Kid Cudi & Raekwon from the album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Recorded	2010
Genre	Hip hop, alternative rock, rap rock
Length	5:57
Label	Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam
Writer	Kanye Omari West, Ernest Wilson, Mike Dean, Che Smith, Corey Woods and Scott Mescudi[1]
Producer	Kanye West, No I.D., Mike Dean
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy track listing
Dark Fantasy (1) "Gorgeous" (2) "Power" (3)
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy track listing "Dark Fantasy "Gorgeous" "Power" "All of the Lights (Interlude)" "All of the Lights" "Monster" "So Appalled" "Devil in a New Dress" "Runaway" "Hell of a Life" "Blame Game" "Lost in the World" "Who Will Survive in America"

"Gorgeous" is a Hip-hop song by recording artist Kanye West and appears as the second song on the track-listing of his fifth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.^[2] The song features West's GOOD Music label mate Kid Cudi on the hook and a rap verse by Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon.^[3] The song was written by West, Cudi, Raekwon, No I.D., Mike Dean and Rhymefest, and was produced by West, No I.D., Mike Dean.^[4] Though the song contains no samples, it contains elements of The Turtles's cover version of the song You Showed Me.^[5] The song received positive reviews from music critics, with praise given to Kanye's lyricism and the production.

Gorgeous was also used during Runaway, a 35 minute music video directed by Kanye West set to music from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.^[6][7] Despite not being released as a single, the song charted at position 23 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles.^[8] Furthermore, Cudi and West performed the song live at SXSW.^[9]

Background

"Gorgeous" was written by Kanye West, Ernest Wilson, Mike Dean, Che Smith, Corey Woods and Scott Mescudi, the latter of which both are featured on the song. The song was recorded at the Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii.^[3] Rapper Kid Cudi smoked marijuana and worked-out on a treadmill in preparation of his recording his lines of the song.^[3] It was announced Raekwon, acclaimed member of the Wu-Tang Clan would also be featured on the song.^[10] On October 27 during an interview, Cudi revealed details concerning his desire to appear on the song:

“Gorgeous was one of those records that, as soon as I heard the beat, I was like, ‘Man, this is the one. This is that “This Can’t Be Life” Kanye beat. This is that classic ‘Ye beat. I want to be on this.’ I came up to him, and I was like, ‘Man, are you working on this record? Are you working on this beat?’ He goes, ‘Yeah … do you got an idea for it?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I might. I didn’t. I was lying like a motherfucker. I was like, ‘Yeah, man, I want to get on this joint.”^[11]

Composition and lyrics

Gorgeous is 5 minutes, 57 seconds long.^[12] Knightnews wrote extensively about the song's lyrics, stating:

“Act like I ain’t had a belt in two classes,” Kanye addresses to the haters in Dark Twisted Fantasy’s second track, “Gorgeous.” By “belt” he is comparing his ability to that of a karate master, and by “two classes,” of course, he is referring to his rapping and production skills—skills that come into fruition here. Over a crisp, entrancing guitar riff, Kanye channels some of the cleverest rhymes he ever laid to paper, from taking jabs at those who mocked him (“Choke a South Park writer with a fish stick”) to silencing the doubters (“Cause the same people that tried to black ball me forgot about two things, my black balls.”)^[13]

The line "choke a South Park writer with a fishstick" is a reference to the South Park episode "Fishsticks" which parodied West and reportedly hurt his feelings.^[14] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times wrote "On 'Gorgeous' he sneers at the competition, 'You blowing up?/That’s good/Fantastic', maybe the iciest blow-off since 'Jay-Z’s You got a little dough? That’s cool with me.'"^[15] Sputnikmusic felt that the song was "broodingly slow" and that it was "driven by piano chords and a questing electric guitar."^[16] MTV highlighted the verse, "But this pimp is at the top of Mount Olympus/ Ready for the world's games/ This is my Olympics/ We make 'em say 'ho' cause the game is so pimpish/ Choke a 'South Park' writer with a fish stick."^[17] While the song features no sample, it contains elements of The Turtles's cover version of the song You Showed Me which is where the guitar riff is derived.^[18] The line "What's a black beetle anyway, a roach?" is a reference to the The Beatles.^[19] Dan Vidal of URB reported:

"On “Gorgeous,” he treats his distorted vocals as if they were another instrument to be blended seamlessly into the mix alongside the muted electric guitar-riff. He spits: Penitentiary chances, the devil dances / and eventually answers to the call of autumn / all them fallin’, for the love of ballin’ / get caught with 30 rocks, the cop look like Alec Baldwin.”^[20]

Reception

Gorgeous has received positive reviews from music critics, and was considered as a highlight of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy with extra praise given to the lyrics.^[21][22] Dan Vidal of URB stated "This track is an excellent microcosm of the album because it exemplifies the pinnacle of Ye’s visionary talent. In my personal opinion, I don’t really think Kid Cudi can sing; and I’m not sure why his generally off-key caterwauling is appealing to people, but here it’s hypnotically on point – matching perfectly with the track’s imposing tone."^[20] MTV wrote "Yeezy is as boastful as he's ever been on "Gorgeous," but while his lyrics are razor sharp, the production here is softer, resulting in a melodic finger wag to his naysayers rather than searing jabs."^[17] David Amidon of PopMatters felt that "those verses from Raekwon, and KiD CuDi", "add nothing to the record".^[23] Rolling Stone writer Rob Sheffield wrote "nobody else is making music this daring and weird, from the spooky space funk of Gorgeous".^[24] The Washington Post's Chris Richards stated "West's moment of post-Beatles anxiety comes during "Gorgeous," a song that moans and groans with a dark urgency that permeates this album."^[25] Entertainment Weekly's Simon Vozick-Levinson described the song as "narcissistic".^[26]

Chart performance

The song charted at 23 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart as reported by Billboard, however it only spent one week on the chart.^[8] The song also appeared on the South Korean Gaon Chart at 86.^[27]

Chart (2010)	Peak Position
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)	23[8]
South Korean Gaon Chart	86[27]

References

1. ^ Credits: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-11-21.
2. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (2010-10-05). "Kanye West Announces 'Dark Twisted Fantasy' Title and Details". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc). http://www.billboard.com/news/kanye-west-announces-dark-twisted-fantasy-1004118984.story. Retrieved 2010-10-05. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Paine, Jake (September 30, 2010). Kanye West Calls Off This Week's G.O.O.D Friday. HipHopDX. Retrieved on 2010-11-28.
4. ^ Callahan-Bever, Noah (November 2010). Kanye West: Project Runaway. Complex. Retrieved on 2010-11-30.
5. ^ (2010) Album notes for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West, p. 11 [CD booklet]. Roc-A-Fella Records.
6. ^ Concepcion, Mariel (2010-10-07). "Kanye West Premieres 35-Minute-Long 'Runaway' Video In London". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.com/column/the-juice/kanye-west-premieres-35-minute-long-runaway-1004119757.story. Retrieved 2010-10-23. 
7. ^ Kaufman, Gil (October 7, 2010). "Kanye West Screens 'Runaway' In London". MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1649493/20101007/west_kanye.jhtml. Retrieved October 8, 2010. 
8. ^ ^{a b c} "Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles - Issue Date: 2010-12-11". Billboard.biz. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/602f8hNLW. Retrieved 9 July 2011. 
9. ^ Homie, Big. "Kanye & Kid Cudi “Gorgeous” At SXSW". Rap Radar. http://rapradar.com/2011/03/20/kanye-kid-cudi-gorgeous-at-sxsw/. Retrieved 9 July 2011. 
10. ^ Burgess, Omar. "Production Credits Added To Kanye West's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" Tracklisting". HipHopDX. http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.12718/title.production-credits-added-to-kanye-wests-my-beautiful-dark-twisted-fantasy-tracklisting. Retrieved 9 July 2011. 
11. ^ Staff. "(Video) Kid Cudi Talks Kanye West’s “Gorgeous”". DatNewCudi. http://datnewcudi.com/2010/10/27/video-kid-cudi-talks-kanye-wests-gorgeous/. Retrieved 9 July 2011. 
12. ^ Kellman, Andy. "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy". All music. http://www.allmusic.com/album/my-beautiful-dark-twisted-fantasy-r2055009. Retrieved 2011-04-22. 
13. ^ Koenig, Alex (2010-10-13). "‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ Track-By-Track Review". Knightnews. http://knightnews.com/2010/12/my-beautiful-dark-twisted-fantasy-track-by-track-review/. Retrieved 2011-02-26. 
14. ^ Vozcik-Levinson, Simon (November 12, 2010). "Kanye West's 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'". Entertainment Weekly. http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/11/12/kanye-west-my-beautiful-dark-twisted-fantasy-review/. Retrieved November 14, 2010. 
15. ^ Caramanica, Jon (November 17, 2010). Kanye West, Still Unfiltered, on Eve of Fifth Album. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2010-11-17.
16. ^ Freeman, Channing (November 11, 2010). Review: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Sputnikmusic. Retrieved on 2010-11-12.
17. ^ ^{a b} Rodriguez, Jayson (2010-10-22). "Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: A Track-By-Track Guide". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1652796/kanye-wests-my-beautiful-dark-twisted-fantasy-trackbytrack-guide.jhtml. Retrieved 2011-02-26. 
18. ^ "Sample Details". Whosampled. http://www.whosampled.com/sample/view/68514/Kanye%20West%20feat.%20Kid%20Cudi%20and%20Raekwon-Gorgeous_The%20Turtles-You%20Showed%20Me/. Retrieved 2011-04-22. 
19. ^ "Kanye West – Gorgeous Lyrics". Rap Genius. http://rapgenius.com/Kanye-west-gorgeous-lyrics. Retrieved 2011-04-22. 
20. ^ ^{a b} Vidal, Dan (November 23, 2010). Review: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. URB. Retrieved on 2010-12-08.
21. ^ My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2010-11-20.
22. ^ Powers, Ann (November 23, 2010). Review: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2010-11-23.
23. ^ Amidon, David (November 22, 2010). Review: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. PopMatters
24. ^ Sheffield, Rob (November 8, 2010). Review: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2010-11-11.
25. ^ Richards, Chris (November 19, 2010). Review: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2010-11-19.
26. ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (November 12, 2010). Review: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2010-11-12.
27. ^ ^{a b} "Digital Comprehensive charts" (in Korean). Gaon Chart. http://www.gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/search/list.gaon?Search_str=Gorgeous&x=0&y=0. Retrieved 2011-06-10.