"Heard 'Em Say" 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 ...
from his second studio album, ''
Late Registration
''Late Registration'' is the second studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on August 30, 2005, through Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. West recorded the album over the course of a year during sessions ...
'' (2005). The song features a guest appearance from
Adam Levine
Adam Noah Levine (; born March 18, 1979) is an American singer and songwriter. He serves as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the pop rock band Maroon 5. Levine began his musical career in 1994 with the band Kara's Flowers, of which ...
. It was produced by West with
Jon Brion
Jon Brion is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and The Grays (band), the Grays before becoming an established producer and film score comp ...
, the former of which served as a songwriter alongside Levine, while
Michael Masser
Michael William Masser (March 24, 1941 – July 9, 2015) was an American songwriter, composer and producer of popular music.
Early life
Born to a Jewish family in Chicago to Ester Huff and William Masser, he attended the University of Illinoi ...
and
Gerry Goffin
Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the US No.1 hits " Will You L ...
also received credit due to the
sample of "
Someone That I Used to Love
"Someone That I Used to Love" is the title of a torch song written by Michael Masser and lyricist Gerry Goffin: first recorded in 1977 by Bette Midler, the song became a 1980 hit single via a recording by Natalie Cole.
Bette Midler version (unre ...
". When West played Levine an early version of the song during a flight to Rome in 2004, the singer felt he had a
chorus written that would work perfectly. West lacked certainty about collaborating with Levine before hearing him in rehearsal at the
47th Annual Grammy Awards
The 47th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2005, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2003, through September 30, 2004. They were hosted by Queen Lat ...
, after which the two recorded the song quickly with assistance from Brion. It marked the first song recorded for the album and originally, West sang the chorus.
On October 24, 2005, "Heard 'Em Say" was released on a
12" vinyl as the third single from ''Late Registration'' by
Roc-A-Fella
Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994.
History
1994–2000: Formation ...
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 l ...
. A
hip hop ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
, it relies on excerpts of
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the ...
's "Someone That I Used to Love" and features a subdued instrumentation, which includes
keyboards and piano
chords
Chord may refer to:
* Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously
** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning
* Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve
* Chord ...
. The song contains a
lullaby
A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowledg ...
tone, as well as an
R&B chorus and elements of
art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...
. Lyrically, West laments the socioeconomical issues facing African-Americans while reminding listeners to appreciate the present, taking the perspective of a struggling citizen confused by the world.
"Heard 'Em Say" received widespread acclaim 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 ...
, who generally appreciated the musical style. Some praised Levine's vocal performance, while numerous critics appreciated West's lyrical talent. The song garnered a nomination for Best Hip-Hop Song Collaboration at the 2006 Groovevolt Music and Fashion Awards. In the United States, it debuted at the last position of the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 while West's single "
Gold Digger
Gold digger is a term for a person, typically a woman, who engages in a type of transactional relationship for money rather than love. If it turns into marriage, it is a type of marriage of convenience.
Etymology and usage
The term "gold ...
" was at number one, making him the seventh artist to
bookend the chart. The former marked a
crossover success for West and Levine, and peaked at number 26 on the Hot 100. The song also reached the top 40 in Australia, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. It has been certified
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Pla ...
in the US and the UK by the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...
(RIAA) and
British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company wi ...
(BPI), respectively.
The song's first
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...
was directed by Joe DeMaio and
Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one of the writers ...
, who took two years to be persuaded by West to collaborate; it was filmed in October 2005 and aired in December. The visual was shot
live-action
Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...
, depicting West keeping watch of his children inside the
Macy's Herald Square
Macy's Herald Square (originally named the R. H. Macy and Company Store) is the flagship of Macy's department store, as well as the Macy's, Inc. corporate headquarters, on Herald Square in Manhattan, New York City. The building's , which include ...
store as they play around. After West felt dissatisfied with the visual, he commissioned
Bill Plympton
Bill Plympton (born April 30, 1946) is an American animator, graphic designer, cartoonist, and filmmaker best known for his 1987 Academy Awards-nominated animated short '' Your Face'' and his series of shorts featuring a dog character starting w ...
to shoot an alternate video, which premiered in November 2005. The music video features extensive use of
pencil-sketch animation and casts West as a taxicab driver picking up passengers in a fictional city, until a lit cigarette match starts a fire that kills him. The first video won Best Hip-Hop Video at the 2006 Music Video Production Awards, while the second one was very well-received by critics. West performed "Heard 'Em Say" at the
Coachella Coachella may refer to:
* Coachella, California
* Coachella Canal, in California
* Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California
* "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind
"Coachella – Woodstock In My Mind" is a song by Ame ...
and
Global Gathering
Global Gathering was an annual dance music festival by Angel Festivals Limited. Festivals are held in countries such as the UK, Poland, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and feature leading electronic music artists from around the globe. The festival ran ...
festivals in 2006 and 2008, respectively. A cover version of the song was performed for
BBC Radio 1Xtra
BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been ...
in March 2016 by
G-Eazy
Gerald Earl Gillum (born May 24, 1989), better known by his stage name G-Eazy, is an American rapper. His first major-label album, '' These Things Happen'', was released on June 23, 2014, and peaked at number 3 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 ...
, who censored certain lyrics.
Background

West enlisted
pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...
band
Maroon 5's frontman Adam Levine to sing the
chorus of "Heard 'Em Say".
He and Levine had first collaborated when Maroon 5 commissioned West to remix their 2004 single "
This Love", spending time recording it in the studio together.
Later on, the two developed a friendship when sitting together on a flight to Rome for the
2004 MTV Europe Music Awards.
While playing songs from ''Late Registration'' on his
iPod
The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...
for Levine, West previewed an undeveloped version of "Heard 'Em Say", the very first track recorded for the album.
As Levine recalled, "He was rhyming over
he track
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'' in ...
and I had just written a hook that was so perfect for it. It was one of those natural collaborations where you're so excited because it's all very pure and very easy."
West himself initially went back and forth on collaborating with Levine, feeling that the singer may be too popular for him while being appreciative of his vocal talent. He explained that Levine's popularity "takes away from the illness of having him", yet ultimately decided to work with him because his voice sounds "so ill" that it resembles "a fucking instrument".
Levine would later appropriate "Heard 'Em Say" for the Maroon 5 song "
Nothing Lasts Forever" in 2007.
For ''Late Registration'', West collaborated with film score composer and multi-instrumentalist
Jon Brion
Jon Brion is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and The Grays (band), the Grays before becoming an established producer and film score comp ...
.
Through layered arrangements and a meticulous attention to songwriting, Brion's involvement is evident on "Heard 'Em Say" and throughout the album, for which him and West managed to craft sophisticated,
baroque hip hop.
West's sonic reference points ranged outside the realm of mainstream hip hop artists, drawing from British
trip hop
Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with " downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow temp ...
band
Portishead,
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
,
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, sou ...
, and
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...
.
He recruited Brion to dress the record with lush, orchestral arrangements that fit his widening musical vision.
Brion's orchestral arrangements and
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
flourishes filled the song with a high sense of drama, while channeling vulnerability across the record.
The tone of "Heard 'Em Say" and other songs from ''Late Registration'' would lay out the foundation for West's
maximalist
In the arts, maximalism, a reaction against minimalism, is an aesthetic of excess. The philosophy can be summarized as "more is more", contrasting with the minimalist motto "less is more".
Literature
The term ''maximalism'' is sometimes associat ...
approach to music. This style became a trademark of the rapper's subsequent works, most prominently his fifth studio album ''
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 22, 2010, following a period of public controversy for West. Re ...
'' (2010) and the
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 ...
compilation album ''
Cruel Summer'' (2012).
The song was written by West alongside Levine, with additional songwriting credits for
Michael Masser
Michael William Masser (March 24, 1941 – July 9, 2015) was an American songwriter, composer and producer of popular music.
Early life
Born to a Jewish family in Chicago to Ester Huff and William Masser, he attended the University of Illinoi ...
and
Gerry Goffin
Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the US No.1 hits " Will You L ...
due to them having written the sampled work "
Someone That I Used to Love
"Someone That I Used to Love" is the title of a torch song written by Michael Masser and lyricist Gerry Goffin: first recorded in 1977 by Bette Midler, the song became a 1980 hit single via a recording by Natalie Cole.
Bette Midler version (unre ...
" (1977) by American singer
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the ...
. West co-produced the track with Brion.
[ Although "Heard 'Em Say" is the first full song on ''Late Registration'', it is preceded by an intro entitled "Wake Up Mr. West" that features a reprisal of West's sociable inner voice.] The intro is a skit
Skit may refer to:
*
* A short segment in a performance, such as:
** Sketch comedy
** Hip hop skit
** Puppet skit
** Promo (professional wrestling)
* Skit note
Counterfeit money is currency produced without the legal sanction of a state or ...
that continues where West's debut studio album ''The College Dropout
''The College Dropout'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on February 10, 2004, by Def Jam Recordings and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records. In the years leading up to release, West had received p ...
'' finished, spoken by comedian DeRay Davis, who plays a school administrator still unsatisfied with West's classroom performance. The college teacher exclaims, "I knew I was gon' see you again!" in an impersonation of comedian Bernie Mac and questions, "Where your goddamn book bag at?" As the piano instrumental rises in the background, West falls asleep in class, until a yell of the "Wake up Mr. West!" refrain wakes him from his stupor. This setting ends with the refrain echoing, fading into the beginning of "Heard 'Em Say". The phrase and its accompanying piano melody purposefully bleeds into the album's full opening track.
Similarly to West exploring a new style with ''The College Dropout'', he opted to take rap lyricism in a different direction on ''Late Registration'' by experimenting with ideas beyond the dominant gangsta
Gangsta may refer to:
Urban culture
* Gangsta rap, a subgenre of hip hop music that evolved from hardcore hip hop and purports to reflect urban crime and the violent lifestyles of inner-city youths
* Gangster, a member of a gang
* Hip hop fashio ...
lifestyle and attitude of mainstream hip hop. While some of ''Late Registration'' is celebratory, "Heard 'Em Say" stands among the songs that follow a contemplative political path. "Heard 'Em Say" is one of many pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* ''Pop'' (G ...
-oriented songs from the album that represent a wide scope of human experience, which contain political disatisfcation and the personal trauma that caused it. Atop a spare, compulsive backing track, West delivers lyrics which take a dissective view of American life, taking on the perspective of a downtrodden citizen and depicting an anxious youth.
Recording
"Heard 'Em Say" was the very first track that West recorded for ''Late Registration''. The song went through several revisions to prior to release.[Tannenbaum, Rob. "''Playboy'' Interview: Kanye West." '']Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
'' (March 2006), 49. Its recording sessions took place at Sony Music Studios
Sony Music Studios was an American music recording and mastering facility in New York City. The five-story building was a music and broadcasting complex located at 460 W. 54th Street, at 10th Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan. ...
in New York City (NYC) and Grandmaster Recording Studios in Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywoo ...
, California, and were hosted by Andrew Dawson and Tom Biller, respectively.[ The track's mixing was then done at the ]Chalice Recording Studios
Chalice Recording Studio is located in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States. Chalice opened in 2002 and is known for its elaborate interior decor and its large collection of rare and vintage analog recording equipment.
When Chalice ...
in Hollywood by Mike Dean, who had assistance from Taylor Dow, Nate Connelly, and Mike Mo.[ For the track, West employs poignant excerpts taken from Cole's "Someone That I Used To Love".] He combines hip hop beats with a piano melody, alongside restrained electronics
The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
. West's understated record production is driven by the piano line, which uses tumbling delayed beats throughout that are laced with a synthesized bassline, in addition to subtle interjections of acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...
.[ The ]soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...
production style that characterized ''The College Dropout'' was furthered on ''Late Registration'' by the rapper, who incorporated a much broader array of instrumentation. West opted in favor of a more symphonic orchestration to serve as a backdrop for his evolving lyricism. While elements of his trademark looped
''Looped'' is a play by Matthew Lombardo about an event surrounding actress Tallulah Bankhead. It had a Broadway run in 2010, after two previous productions in 2008 and 2009, all three of them featuring Valerie Harper.
Plot
Based on a real even ...
samples remained present, the album marked a shift for West towards a heavier reliance on keyboards, string sections, and boisterous yet at times haunting horns. Additionally, elongated and vibrant outros were integrated into most tracks, providing them with more time to breathe and settle into listener's ears.
On ''Late Registration'', West progressively moves past his previous musical limitations in terms of contextualization and deployment. The song's elongated outro was arranged by Brion, who produced several of the album's tracks alongside West. Best known for his quirky, baroque pop
Baroque pop (sometimes called baroque rock) is a fusion genre that combines rock music with particular elements of classical music. It emerged in the mid 1960s as artists pursued a majestic, orchestral sound and is identifiable for its appropri ...
film soundtracks like the ones for '' I Heart Huckabees'' (2004) and ''Punch-Drunk Love
''Punch-Drunk Love'' is a 2002 American absurdist romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, and starring Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzmán, and Mary Lynn Rajskub. It follows an en ...
'' (2002), as well as his musical collaborations with singer-songwriter Fiona Apple
Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released five albums from 1996 to 2020, which have all reached the top 20 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Apple has received numerous awards a ...
and Aimee Mann
Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and with other musicians. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyr ...
, Brion added his melancholy
Melancholy may refer to:
* Melancholia, one of the four temperaments in pre-modern medicine and proto-psychology, representing a state of low mood
* Depression (mood), a state of low mood, also known as melancholy
* Major depressive disorder, a mo ...
touch to "Heard 'Em Say". West was exposed to Brion's work while watching the 2004 film ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (also simply known as ''Eternal Sunshine'') is a 2004 American romantic science fiction drama film written by Charlie Kaufman, directed by Michel Gondry, and starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. Pie ...
'', for which Brion had composed music. He had also been listening to songs Brion produced for '' When the Pawn...'' (1999), the second studio album by Fiona Apple, who was another one of the rapper's favorite artists and sources of musical inspiration for ''Late Registration''.[Brown, pp. 121–122] West was introduced to Brion via record producer Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records.
Rubin helped popu ...
, a mutual friend of theirs. At the time, Brion had no background in hip hop music nor any prior experience in creating those records. Nevertheless, he and West soon found that they could productively work together after their first afternoon in the studio, discovering that neither confined his musical knowledge and vision to a specific genre.[Brown, p. 124]
West commented that he appreciated the broader range of instrumentation that Brion brought to his music. The rapper went in pursuit of a more enriching sound for ''Late Registration''. With the assistance of Brion, West widens his musical vision and expands the sound of his hip hop production
Hip hop production is the creation of hip hop music in a recording studio. While the term encompasses all aspects of hip hop music creation, including recording the rapping of an MC, a turntablist or DJ providing a beat, playing samples and ...
beyond his trademark sped-up soul samples. Brion integrated an entirely new third element into West's hit-making combination of soulful hooks and rhythm tracks. He supplemented a thematic, orchestral feeling to the album, elevating West's signature sound to take on a more polished package. West and Brion's collaborative work involved building melodies with synths, guitars, and other live instruments around looped samples and drum programming
Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices and computer software, such as sequencers and workstations or hardware synthesizers, sampler and sequencers, to generate sounds of musical instruments. These m ...
. West developed the beats and melodies for the album, before requesting Brion to suggest instrumental colors. Brion would then arrange the music to move in correspondence with the rhymes, pushing the musicality of uncharted hip hop territory. Rather than simple and direct, West took a more complex, subtle musical approach when it came to composing "Heard 'Em Say". He equipped the track with session musicians, strengthening the hook while descending into a winding, progressive orchestral passage. This enabled grooves to breath and expand in ways differing from typical rap songs.
Production wise, West sought out new styles in regards to his choices of sounds and musical collaborations on ''Late Registration''. "Heard 'Em Say" features a duet between West and Levine, the latter of which's tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors i ...
singing voice punctuates the introspective tone. In a ''Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
'' interview, West revealed that he himself sang on the original version of "Heard 'Em Say". Although he considers the imperfection of his singing to be a relatable quality, West felt in this particular case that it was hampering the track. Levine's contribution stands as one of the many guest appearance
In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...
s that West worked into the album. West was able to contact the singer and utilize him for a record after Rubin gave him his number. Levine had already come up with a chorus when West played the track on their way to the 2004 MTV Europe Music Awards, but was hesitant to use it because he was uncertain how his fans would feel about the R&B style, though he maintained interest in contributing to "Heard 'Em Say". Levine recalled, "He started playing me stuff on his iPod — which was far fancier than my iPod — all this new material for his record, and I was really excited about it in general. Then he played me this song that was kind of what 'Heard 'Em Say' eventually became."[ West expressed a similar sentiment, remembering that after he played the song, the singer stated the song reminded him "of a song that I wrote but I don't know if my band will want to do it".] West finalized the situation by replying to Levine's insistence on recording the song: "Yo, we should work together." Levine also recounted, "He was just getting big too. And he played me this record. Like, 'Hey, I've got this record. Do you want to write a song together?' On a plane. You know? And I said, 'Yeah, sure.' And that was it. The next thing I knew we were in the studio making the record and it was that easy."
West was unsure about the collaboration at first, until he heard Levine rehearsing as part of Maroon 5 at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards
The 47th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2005, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2003, through September 30, 2004. They were hosted by Queen Lat ...
in 2005: "They were so big that I thought they'd be less ill, but I heard them rehearsing backstage at the Grammys and he was hitting all them mockingbird notes and I said, 'I have to get him in the studio.'" The singer came to the recording studio right after the ceremony and sang the song, with West discovering that his melody fit perfectly. "Heard 'Em Say" was recorded rather quickly, as Levine had only a couple of hours available. Since the singer had a vocal that the pair had already discovered meshed well with West's track, Brion was able to translate the two pieces in a few hours. The composer explained, "Adam had something, Kanye loved it and the three of us went at it like banshees, and there it was." West distinguished the results and circumstances surrounding the collaboration as something of a gift from God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
. In retrospect, Levine described recording "Heard 'Em Say" by saying, "It was really a cool, organic process. Kanye's lyrics were beautiful."[Hiatt, Brian (August 11, 2005)]
Kanye West works on sophomore album, 'Late Registration.'
. ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...
''. August 11, 2005. Retrieved September 11, 2017. The musical collaboration left a strong impression of West on Levine, who opined that the rapper "is a genius", even if "he causes different reactions in people. But the bottom line is that he's brilliant. Love him or hate him, he's brilliant. He's a really pure, creative person. I really respect that about him. Everything with him is very legitimate and very real. I love that dude."
Composition and lyrics
Musically, "Heard 'Em Say" is a mid-tempo
In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (oft ...
hip hop ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
that has a length of 3 minutes and 23 seconds (3:23). The elegant and simple musical composition is primarily built on piano excerpts of Cole's "Someone That I Used To Love", which are used for the cascading melody that features lush chords
Chord may refer to:
* Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously
** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning
* Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve
* Chord ...
over tumbling delayed hip hop beats. Alongside the beats, a parping bass synth and a few interjections of delicate acoustic guitar are present. The song harbors a soothing lullaby
A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowledg ...
tone, with a moody atmosphere and soulful undertones, as well as a melodic R&B chorus and elements of art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...
. It has a subdued instrumentation, which features piano chords, restrained, experimental
An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...
electronics
The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
reminiscent of late-1990s post-rock
Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation ...
, and a coda
Coda or CODA may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* Movie coda, a post-credits scene
* ''Coda'' (1987 film), an Australian horror film about a serial killer, made for television
*''Coda'', a 2017 American experimental film from Na ...
that includes various bells, whistles, and keyboards. According to the sheet music
Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed books or pamphlets in English, A ...
published at Musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group
Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is a North American music publishing company and is part of the Universal Music Group. It was formerly known as MCA Music Publishing until it merged with PolyGram.
Universal Music Publishing is the worl ...
, the song is written in the time signature
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western culture, Western musical notation to specify how many beat (music), beats (pulses) are contained in each measu ...
of common time
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
, with a moderate tempo
In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...
of 95 beats per minute. "Heard 'Em Say" is composed in the key of F major
F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor.
The F major scale is:
:
F major is ...
, while Levine's vocal range
Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of st ...
spans one octave
In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...
and three notes
Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to:
Music and entertainment
* Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music
* ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian
* ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) shortened version ...
, from a low of F4 to a high of B5. The song follows a basic sequence of F7–Bmaj7–F7–Bmaj7–Faug/G–F/A–F6/A–B/D–F6/A–B/D during the verses and coda
Coda or CODA may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* Movie coda, a post-credits scene
* ''Coda'' (1987 film), an Australian horror film about a serial killer, made for television
*''Coda'', a 2017 American experimental film from Na ...
, and F7–Bmaj7–F7–Bmaj7–Faug/A at the chorus during its chord progression
In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...
.
At the beginning of the song, the phrase "Wake up Mr. West!" and its piano melody are present. West then begins rapping
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
his lyrics that are intertwined with a twinkling piano melody, until the composition is elevated by three additional keyboards. West raps the song's two verses and a pre-chorus
Song structure is the arrangement of a song, and is a part of the songwriting process. It is typically sectional, which uses repeating forms in songs. Common forms include bar form, 32-bar form, verse–chorus form, ternary form, strophic form, and ...
, the latter of which shifts into a delicate refrain delivered by Levine, who gently croons in a falsetto
''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentou ...
. The singer's smooth tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors i ...
delivery and gentle cooing punctuate the introspective tone. Later on, additional keyboards appear as the musical composition enters an orchestral passage on the outro and Levine's vocals fade out. The outro also expresses jangling berimbau
The berimbau () is a single-string percussion instrument, a musical bow, originally from Africa, that is now commonly used in Brazil.
The berimbau would eventually be incorporated into the practice of the Afro-Brazilian martial art '' capo ...
percussion, various bells, whistles, warped bass, and wailing synthesizer
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis ...
s.
Despite sounding light-hearted, the subject matter of "Heard 'Em Say" is soulful and straight from the heart. In the introspective lyrics of the song, West laments the socioeconomical issues besetting the African-American community while reminding listeners to appreciate the present. It follows a brooding political path, with the stream-of-conscious verses being conceptually written from the perspective of an impoverished citizen questioning the ways of the world.[Brown, 2006. p. 573] West illustrates the concept of an anxious youth, who are faced with a lack of opportunities and social issues, such as poverty, racism, the minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. B ...
, AIDS, religion, and policing.[Beaumont, 2015. pp. 172-173] The song also highlights the condition of those in poverty watching images of rappers flaunt their material goods
In law, tangible property is literally anything that can be touched, and includes both real property and personal property (or moveable property), and stands in distinction to intangible property.
In English law and some Commonwealth legal s ...
on television, deluded into thinking that wealth and fame are closer than they actually are. West raps with appreciation rather than arrogance, seemingly acknowledging the success he achieved with ''The College Dropout''. As the opening track of ''Late Registration'', "Heard 'Em Say" reiterates themes established on its predessecor, including West's gratitude for still being alive, brutal honesty, and faith in God. Essentially, it is a "mournfully contemplative" number, which discusses maintaining honesty in a world that lacks this quality.
Release and promotion
On August 30, 2005, "Heard 'Em Say" was included as the first full track on West's second studio album ''Late Registration'', preceded by the intro "Wake Up Mr. West". The song was issued on a 12" vinyl in the United States by Roc-A-Fella
Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994.
History
1994–2000: Formation ...
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 l ...
as the third single from ''Late Registration'' on October 24, 2005, with fellow album track " Touch the Sky" as the B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
. On November 1, "Heard 'Em Say" was sent to US mainstream radio
Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...
stations by the aforementioned labels. It was later released for digital download on March 1, 2006.
"Heard 'Em Say" was one of the tracks that West played while hosting a listening session for the album at Sony Music Studios on June 15, 2005. The session was held in a small room for a large crowd, which included fellow rappers Common
Common may refer to:
Places
* Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
* Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts
* Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts
* Clapham Common, originally ...
and Lil' Kim
Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include:
*
*
*
*
* better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and reality television personality. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, she lived much of he ...
, and West played a guessing game in which he asked the attendees who was on the song's hook. One of them guessed it was Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chi ...
, though West confirmed Levine to be the performer of the hook. He clarified that he chose to work with the singer because it was "ill" and "keeping it real", yet recalled people being surprised by their collaboration. The rapper also revealed that after Levine added his vocals to "Heard 'Em Say" and "girls start liking the record", he selected it as the album's third single. At the time of the listening event, ''Late Registration'' had not been finished, nor were all of the completed songs previewed and some were not played in their entirety. Nevertheless, West declared that he wanted to take the opportunity "to play he albumand show off" his work.
Critical reception
"Heard 'Em Say" was met with widespread acclaim 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 ...
. ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' writer Marco Cibola saw the song as representative of West's musical growth on the album, opining that its keys "twinkle a bit brighter" than any of the material on ''The College Dropout''. Likewise, Murjani Rawls from ''Substream Magazine'' stated that the soulful undertones of "Heard 'Em Say" marked a different type of inspiration for West. While maintaining the belief that ''Late Registration'' has its misfires, Kyle Ryan of '' The A.V. Club'' declared that these are outweighed by stronger moments like the song, complimenting its "elegant simplicity". The staff of Virgin Media
Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 joint ven ...
rated the song four stars out of five, observing "an accomplished piece of production".[ They commented that the "poignant sample" of "Someone That I Used To Love" is used for "the cascading piano melody" throughout, accompanied by "tumbling delayed beats, a parping ]bass synth
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
", and hints of a "subtle acoustic guitar".[ At '']The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...
'', veteran critic Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
concurred with this sentiment, approving of the complex yet subtle musicality of the composition, highlighting the Chinese bells and berimbau. Bansky Gonzalez from Uproxx
''Uproxx'' (stylized in all caps) is an entertainment and popular culture news website. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater, and acquired by Woven Digital (later renamed Uproxx Media Group) in 2014. The site's target audienc ...
remarked that the record's sonic versatility provides "an exhilarating ride", distinguishing the song as "somber and painstakingly thoughtful". In the ''Music Times'', Joey DeGroot named "Heard 'Em Say" as being one of a few hip-hop songs that he considers to be "straight up beautiful". He compared it to the 1994 tracks "C.R.E.A.M.
"C.R.E.A.M." (an acronym of "Cash Rules Everything Around Me") is a song by the American hardcore hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, released on January 31, 1994 by Loud Records, as the second single from their debut studio album '' Enter the Wu-Tan ...
" by Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close a ...
, " One Love" by Nas, and " Juicy" by the Notorious B.I.G. Writing for ''The Fader
''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes.
It is o ...
'', Amos Barshad cited the track as being among a "suite of nested aural pleasures" on the album, asserting that the "delicate plinking" and Levine's feature were "undercut with the bitter sting of a politicized shoulder shrug". ''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...
'' music critic Josh Tyrangiel
Josh Tyrangiel is an American journalist. He was previously the deputy managing editor of ''TIME'' magazine and an editor at ''Bloomberg Businessweek''.Stephanie Clifford (November 17, 2009"Josh Tyrangiel Named Editor of BusinessWeek"/ref> In Ju ...
listed "Heard 'Em Say" as one of the three best tracks on ''Late Registration''. He characterized it as an "atmospheric ballad" that demonstrates "the stealthy power of West's storytelling".
Steve Jones from ''USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...
'' highlighted how Levine's "smooth tenor" punctuates the introspective song. Sean Fennessey, for ''Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
'', remarked that the track "might be the most bandied about joint" on the album due to Levine's presence, though mentioned he "sounds great". Fennessey affirmed that while he is off-key and "blue-eyed selling his soul", Levine's "syrupy pop works" like the majority of the album's risks. Jozen Cummings of ''PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, f ...
'' summarized the song by saying the "sweet piano chords and Levine's gentle cooing" make it "probably the best hip-hop lullaby
A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowledg ...
" since Slick Rick
Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer.
He rose to prominence with Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. Their songs " The Show" and " ...
's " Children's Story" (1989). Ross Bonaime from ''Paste
Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to:
Science and technology
* Adhesive or paste
** Wallpaper paste
** Wheatpaste, A liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water
* Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves a ...
'' asserted that Levine's contribution to "Heard 'Em Say" might be one of the best things the singer has ever done, while calling the song "a soothing lullaby with some bite". ''Stereogum''s Michael Nelson was impressed by the "beautiful and understated opener" managing "to wring actual human emotion" out of the "hit-making robot" Levine. For ''Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
'', Ben Mathis-Lilley affirmed that the singer "has an indisputably fantastic voice for the wistful soul of 'Heard 'Em Say'". ''Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yo ...
'' reviewer Vadim Rizov saw "Heard 'Em Say" as a "vulnerable song" that redeemed Maroon 5. Eric Henderson from the same publication likened Levine's delicate delivery of the chorus to a "butterfly singing". ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...
'' senior writer Brian Hiatt positively compared his performance to the work of Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, sou ...
. Cat Warner from Capital Xtra
Capital XTRA (formerly Choice FM) is a Global-owned radio station that broadcasts on 96.9 FM and 107.1 FM in Greater London. Nationally, it is heard on DAB Digital Radio, Freesat, Sky, Virgin Media and Global Player. It specialises in hi ...
complimented the usage of his polished vocals and implored listeners: "Turn this up loud."
On behalf of ''MSN Music
''MSN Music'' was a part of MSN's web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. The website also served as a digital music store from 2004 to 2008.
History
I ...
'', writer Sam Greszes quipped that the "bitingly political and scathing collaboration between Adam Levine and Kanye West" leaves nothing "not to like". Chris Deville of ''Stereogum
''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine.
''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awa ...
'' described "Heard 'Em Say" as a "gorgeously graceful opening song", in which West's rheotric comes across as controversial. ''HipHopDX
''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...
''s Ural Garret encapsulated the song's verses as "an in-depth introspective look into everyday hood aspirations" and credited West's songwriting for feeling grounded. Alex Heigl, for ''People
A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of proper ...
'', commended West's lyrical skill, noting that he offers a "clear-eyed, sober look at poverty and income inequality". Greg Cochrane from '' NME'' declared that "boast nga trilogy of brilliance like 'Heard Em Say,' 'Touch The Sky' and 'Gold Digger
Gold digger is a term for a person, typically a woman, who engages in a type of transactional relationship for money rather than love. If it turns into marriage, it is a type of marriage of convenience.
Etymology and usage
The term "gold ...
'" makes ''Late Registration'' "a winner".
Accolades
''Pitchfork'' named "Heard 'Em Say" the 10th best song of 2005, with Fennessey opining that West pulls off the tough task of making Levine sound like Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, sou ...
, alongside praising the composition and the rapper's lyricism. It was nominated for Best Hip-Hop Song Collaboration at the 2006 Groovevolt Music and Fashion Awards. In 2015, a columnist from ''Paste'' bestowed "Heard 'Em Say" with much acclaim and ranked it as West's 53rd best album track, declaring: "''Late Registration'' starts with Kanye waking up, but 'Heard 'Em Say' plays like a soothing lullaby with some bite to it." The following year, ''Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' named the track as West's 82nd best song, writing that the "luscious piano chords" are accompanied by Levine "gently crooning" and even though the song sounds like "a hip-hop lullaby, Kanye was kicking that real shit" with its content. It was pointed to by Capital Xtra as one of the 18 songs "for fans who miss the old Kanye".
Commercial performance
In the US, the song entered the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at the last position for the issue date of October 29, 2005. West's previous single "Gold Digger" was atop the Hot 100 at the time of the entry, giving him the rare coincidental feat of bookending the chart. The rapper stands as the seventh artist to score this achievement as of September 17, 2010; a mere .003% of the 2,721 weekly Hot 100 charts up to this point had been bookened by an artist. The song also marked Levine's first appearance on the chart outside of Maroon 5 material, while becoming a significant crossover success for both West and the singer. It peaked at number 26 on the Hot 100 for the issue date of December 17, 2005, remaining at this position for two weeks. The song lasted for 16 weeks on the chart. "Heard 'Em Say" debuted at number 49 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
simultaneously with its Hot 100 entry and later peaked at number 17 on the issue dated December 31, 2005. The song further reached numbers 12 and 36 on the US Hot Rap Songs
Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...
and Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009. It ranked songs based on airplay on Mainstream Top 40 radio stations, singles s ...
charts, respectively. On September 23, 2020, "Heard 'Em Say" was certified platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Pla ...
by the Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...
(RIAA) for pushing 1,000,000 certified units in the US.
The song was most successful in Finland, charting at number 10 on the Official Finnish Singes Chart. "Heard 'Em Say" peaked at number 23 on the Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are b ...
. In the United Kingdom, "Heard 'Em Say" performed similarly by debuting and peaking at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. Overall, the song spent 14 weeks on the chart. On August 12, 2022, the song was awarded a silver certification by the British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company wi ...
(BPI) for shelving 200,000 units in the UK. Elsewhere, it entered the New Zealand Singles Chart
The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Mus ...
at number 15. The song experienced lesser success in Australia, reaching number 27 on the ARIA Singles Chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...
.
Music videos
Background
As was the case with West's 2004 single " Jesus Walks", more than one music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...
was produced to accompany the song. Filmed overnight in Macy's
Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
flagship department store on 34th Street in NYC, West enlisted Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one of the writers ...
and Joe DeMaio to direct the original music video for "Heard 'Em Say", a live-action
Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...
visual. Because the single was originally planned to be released for Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
, Gondry directed the clip inside a Macy's store during the winter season in NYC.[Brown, 2006. p.] Despite shooting the visual being highly expensive, West was unsatisfied with the results and commissioned Bill Plympton
Bill Plympton (born April 30, 1946) is an American animator, graphic designer, cartoonist, and filmmaker best known for his 1987 Academy Awards-nominated animated short '' Your Face'' and his series of shorts featuring a dog character starting w ...
to create a new music video in one week. The animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
music video expresses the use of raw, hand-drawn animation that West said he used for something new and "refreshing", as well as to express "how natural the song feels, how organic the song is" through a video.
The first version of the music video for "Heard 'Em Say" was filmed live-action by Gondry. In the video, West plays a homeless man watching over three fictional children, who sneak into Macy's and stay overnight. Gondry had become well known for his innovative music videos, including ones for the White Stripes
The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums wi ...
and Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...
, and his film ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind''.[ The director started out directing small music videos in Paris, after which he spent decades constantly renewing ideas to become famous.] West was the one who took the initiative to track Gondry down, insisting that they work together. According to Gondry, West begged him to work a music video for two years before he eventually accepted. Even though "Heard 'Em Say" marked the first music video directed by Gondry for West, it was not the first time that the two had collaborated with each other. West had provided a live performance during his appearance in Gondry's 2005 documentary film ''Dave Chappelle's Block Party
''Dave Chappelle's Block Party'', also known as ''Block Party'', is a 2005 American documentary film hosted and written by comedian Dave Chappelle, and directed by Michel Gondry.
The film and its soundtrack are dedicated to the memory of music pr ...
''. In addition, the director played live drums on "Diamonds From Sierra Leone
"Diamonds from Sierra Leone" (originally "Diamonds") is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his second studio album, ''Late Registration'' (2005). The song was produced by West, Jon Brion, and Devo Springsteen. The producers, with the ex ...
", the lead single for ''Late Registration''. However, it was the first collaboration between Levine and Gondry. Levine imparted, "I've been dying to work with him forever. I was just blown away that I got the opportunity. Then I read the treatment and I found out that I would being a little bit of, you know, video acting, which is funny."[
]
The filming of the music video took place in October 2005 at Macy's Herald Square
Macy's Herald Square (originally named the R. H. Macy and Company Store) is the flagship of Macy's department store, as well as the Macy's, Inc. corporate headquarters, on Herald Square in Manhattan, New York City. The building's , which include ...
, the flagship of the department stores chain. The visual was filmed inside the store while it was closed down for the night, with work being done over this period. Regarding his role, Levine recalled, "This sounds weird, but it's kind of a surrealistic Christmas world that Macy's becomes. I let Kanye and his family in, after hours, to spend the night. And he's got three kids with him and they're running around and I'm chasing them. It's so weird! There's dancing suits in the men's section, all kinds of craziness, but I'm excited about it."[ On his part, West had little rehearsal time due to being scheduled for various public appearances. He was set to perform the very next day at the University of Miami Convocation Center in Miami, Florida, for the kickoff of his Touch the Sky Tour (2005–06).
West reportedly provided Gondry with $500,000 for the music video's production budget.] Gondry, who has said that he prefers "to be more in the physical world", created the video with basic technology by stylistically molding objects. He filmed it frame-by-frame, shooting by recranking the camera and re-exposing the film various times. Utilizing his signature special effects, Gondry created a fantasy world situated inspired by the 2004 film '' Mary Poppins'' inside a department store, where inanimate objects and appliances come to life. Gondry declared that doing fanciful high-budget conceptual music videos is not his main occupation, saying he does ones with "zero budget" a lot more than those with an average budget. Working with a large budget, he gave the visual a slick, colorful treatment. Gondry originally wanted to fill a department store with homeless people, a "hardcore" idea that led to West desiring something "more family-oriented, something sweet". The result was a high-concept video depicting West having fun with fictional children inside a deserted Macy's store, for which Levine transformed into a security guard. West personally found the original concept too hardcore, having concerns it may "alienate his audience" during the Christmas season. The video aired in the US on the week of December 19, 2005.
Regarding the shoot, Levine described it as "an experience, culturally — and being there doing what we were doing was just so fun. It's inspirational to push yourself past what you're used to. It's nice to be a little bit uncomfortable if it can yield more interesting, unique results."[ However, West changed his mind about the video less than two weeks to prior to its due date at MTV.][ When the release date for the single was pushed back to a later date, he actually decided to drop the music video.] West dismissed Gondry, choosing to contact a different type of filmmaker in Plympton.[ Gondry claims that West shot a second video due to being overwhelmed by his indecision regarding the first.] The director said that despite West's unhappiness with the results, the two remained fans of each other, remarking, "His music is amazing." West would eventually send a message to Gondry expressing his adoration of his music video.
The second music video for "Heard 'Em Say" features extensive use of hand-drawn animation. According to West, the visuals express "how natural the song feels, how organic the song is". West commissioned Plympton for the alternate video.[ The ]Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology), ...
-nominated cartoonist had become well known for the body-morphing animated short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
s ''25 Ways to Quit Smoking'' and ''How to Kiss'' that were shown on MTV in the late 1980s, as well as his debut animated film '' Your Face'' (1987). Simultaneously, Plympton was also working on the half-hour documentary on the 1786 Shays' Rebellion
Shays Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades. T ...
in Massachusetts for The History Channel
History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Dis ...
and a clip for singer "Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...
's " Don't Download This Song".[ The music video for "Heard 'Em Say" was the third Plympton had done, while arguably the most high-profile one.] The artwork of Plympton's cartoons has often harbored a warped, morbid aspect, which he defended by calling himself a "normal guy" that does "crazy artwork" while asserting those who create "normal artwork are crazy". West felt that his generally naive, whimsical style of illustrations complemented his idiosyncratic artistry. The rapper had loved Plympton's work since his youth, saying that his images were important to him as a child and expressing curiosity about his creative process.[ West remembered seeing Plympton's films in Chicago when he was young, having watched them at the Spike & Mike and Tournée of Animation shows.] He very much appreciated the films and selected Plympton's name out of them. West and Plympton later collaborated to create ''Through the Wire: Lyrics and Illuminations'' (2009), a book filled with illustrations based on the rapper's song lyrics.
During a 2015 interview with ''The Daily Beast
''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008.
It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
'', Plympton spoke for the first time about working with West on the music video. Plympton had known West was a very popular hip hop artist, but lacked awareness of his true level of fame. The night after attending an October 2005 exhibition for the art of German illustrator Heinz Edelmann at the School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design.
History
This school was started by ...
, he received a phone call from the rapper. Plympton recalled, "Three or four years ago, estcalled me out of the blue and said, 'I need a music video. Will you do one for me?'" West also asked, "Is this Bill Plympton? This is Kanye West. Are you the animator guy? I want to hire you to do my next music video." Plympton ultimately agreed to shoot a video, saying: "Yeah, sure." According to Plympton, Gondry's music video "wasn't exactly what Kanye wanted" and he sought out a creative take, recruiting the director for one more to his liking. West needed to premiere the second music video on MTV in a week, a period that Plympton managed to create it in. The rapper instructed Plympton to spend a low amount of money on the video, after Gondry had used his budget of $500,000 on his version. Plympton agreed to this and delivered a storyboard
A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, in th ...
of how he visualized the narrative, which West adored. The director recalled that West travelled to his studio for two days, looking over "my shoulder as I was drawing" and criticizing the work. Plympton however understood West's viewpoint because he had the right to criticize after paying him a lot of money; he complied with the rapper's statement, "I look more handsome than that – make me more handsome!" He further spoke of West: "He has really a lot of talent in terms of design and visual flourishes and I respect him so I did what he asked me to do." After Plympton discovered that West had been watching his animated comedy film ''I Married a Strange Person!
''I Married a Strange Person!'' is a 1997 American independent adult animated comedy film by Bill Plympton.
Plot
As the film begins, a brown bird in flight becomes infatuated with a blue bird, and they begin to mate in midair. After passing th ...
'' (1997) in his spare time and expressed fond memories of attending one of his concerts, the two began the shoot. To visually capture the tone of "Heard 'Em Say", Plympton portrayed West as a taxi
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...
cab driver in a fictitious city, where he picks up troubled passengers, such as a young child and his mother. Plympton explained that the youngster "is meant to represent Kanye as a young boy and the film is about his experiences" and on the other hand, he desired "the mother to be very sexy, so we did that, too".[
Plympton described working with West as being quite different from working with Weird Al Yankovic. He imparted from an honest standpoint that "Weird Al doesn't have a big budget for his music videos. He kind of just said, 'Here's a song. Send me the film when you're done.' Whereas Kanye was very hands-on."] Plympton assured that West is "a real showman", even compared to the singer.[ He continued, "And he was always curious. He would call me from all over the place: 'Oh Bill, I'm watching ''I Married a Strange Person'' right now. How did you do this and that?'"][ As the premiere date neared, Plympton worked over the weekend with Biljana, Lisa, and Kerry. Afterwards, West came by and fine-tuned all of the art.] Plympton revealed that West wanted to close the music video with a scene showing his character visiting the pearly gates to Heaven
Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the bel ...
, which he turned down. The director informed West that due to having only one day of filming left, shooting the gates correctly "would be almost impossible", an explanation he understood.[ In the end, they narrowly made the deadline for the video, with West paying Plympton out of his pocket.] As a show of generosity, West insisted on Plympton adding an animated credit for himself at the end of the music video. During the video's release party, West dubbed the director as the "Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...
of Animation".
The music video was debuted for Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
in the UK on November 12, 2005, while it aired on MTV's ''Total Request Live
''Total Request Live'' (known commonly as ''TRL'') was an American television program broadcast on MTV that premiered on September 14, 1998. TRL featured popular music videos played during its countdown, and was also used as a promotion tool by ...
'' nine days later. West's creative involvement left a good impression for Plympton, who said that he heavily respects him and trusted his opinion. The director declared that West is "a smart guy" and "very visual", mentioning his potential to be a theatre director
A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...
. Plympton later presented the video for the sold-out second annual New York Comic Con
The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006.
History
The New York Comic Con is a ...
at the Javits Convention Center on February 23, 2007. After offering a brief summary of his career, including his childhood drawings and his time working as an editorial cartoonist
An editorial cartoonist, also known as a political cartoonist, is an artist who draws editorial cartoons that contain some level of political or social commentary. Their cartoons are used to convey and question an aspect of daily news or curre ...
, Plympton initiated the program by screening the video. He explained how West believed "Gondry's piece was too wimpy", telling Plympton that he "had one week to do it and Gondry had spent all the money".
Synopsis
The visually elaborate live-action music video for "Heard 'Em Say" harbors a distinct Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
theme. Gondry created a surrealistic story set inside the Herald Square Macy's store, which is fantasy styled. West plays a homeless single father monitoring his three fictional children, who sneak into the store and stay overnight sometime around the Christmas season. Levine plays the role of a guard, granting entry to West and his children after store opening hours. They spend time overnight in the store, which turns into a magical playground. West and the children make the most of their time, running around the area as Levine sings his lines on "Heard 'Em Say" and chases them. West does some shopping while the youngsters play around the store, which comes to life. Within the store, suits dance in the Men's section, Christmas dinners are cooked, sofa bed
A sofa bed or sofa-bed (in the US often called a sofabed, hide-a-bed, bed-couch, sleeper-sofa, or pullout sofa) is a multifunctional furniture typically consisting of a sofa or couch that, underneath its seating cushions, hides a metal frame a ...
s fold and unfold to the rhythm of the music, a continuous race track comes together piece-by-piece in seconds, and the children drive around on a police bed only to be confronted by the security guard. A cameo appearance is made by Brion, who plays the song's piano melody on a miniature piano in the toy section.
With the alternate video, Plympton managed to fully reproduce the visuals that West had in mind, echoing the tone of the song. Messy, hand-drawn animation is utilized in the video, appearing at numerous points. The black-and-white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
visuals harbor a mixture of fantasy and reality, conveying a setting that is both whimsical and dreary. West's verses are translated into a faithful rendition of cartoon vignettes, with unique flourishes characteristic of Plympton's style. The rapper is depicted as a mythical underpaid urban driver of an oversized taxicab, picking up passengers that include a mother and her young boy, the latter of whom represents him as a child. The child traverses a depressing urban landscape, becoming aware of the harsh realities of the US on his journey. His eyes are drawn with exaggerated largeness as he looks at advertisements of diamonds and jewelry. Sequences of the child are interspersed with footage of West and Levine providing vocal performances, appearing behind an all-white background. The video also features completely literal and animated interpretations of selected lyrics from the song, while West morphes into both Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
and the devil as they are mentioned in his lines.
The video begins with a wealthy woman and her pet poodle exiting West's taxicab. Upon requesting his tip, she offers him a nickel. The next scene focuses on a small family of chain smokers, showing a young boy packing his suitcase with the aid of his mother and grandmother, both of whom have cigarettes in their mouths. The visual narrative follows West transporting the child and his mother. A long stream of heavy smoke follows the child and his mother, who enter West's cab and travel through the fictional city as he continues picking up passengers.[ Throughout the video, the child's wide, impressionable eyes express his developing social sense as he observes the world that he sees around him, trying to comprehend and copy it. The cab eventually arrives at a ]fuel station
A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel.
Gaso ...
and as the mother runs in there to purchase lottery tickets, the child spots her cigarettes on the cab seat and grabs them. He tries one and then throws the lit match out of the window into a nearby puddle of gasoline. The car erupts in flames, resulting in the boy and West dying. It shoots up into the sky, where West and the child grow pairs of angel wings each. Following the boy's death, his mother is left to dwell in anguish on Earth as he moves on and remains in Heaven. Meanwhile, West's angel returns to Earth to continue his job as a cab driver, a living purgatory
Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgat ...
of sorts.
Reception
Amid Amidi of ''Cartoon Brew
Cartoon Brew is an animation news website created by Amid Amidi and animation historian Jerry Beck that was launched in 2004.
Cartoon Dump
It also created '' Cartoon Dump'', a weekly podcast showing poorly made TV cartoons featuring '' Mystery ...
'' was not impressed by "Gondry's slick, candy-colored treatment" for the first music video, commenting that it heavily misses the point of "Heard 'Em Say" and merely screams, "Look, how big my budget was!" The second music video was very well received by critics. A writer for ''New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
'' called the video "excellent". John Hugar from Uproxx declared that the visual features a juxtaposition he found intriguing, remarking, "It's a fascinating mixture of fantasy and reality that manages to be whimsical and dreary at the same time". Amidi asserted that it adds an "entirely new layer of meaning and effect to the song", noting that the hand-drawn animation expresses the earthy tone more honestly than the first music video. He also wrote that hand-drawn animation is suddenly "hip and exciting" instead of computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes ( still images) and dynamic images ( moving images), while computer animation re ...
, welcoming "the raw messy esthetic of Plympton's drawing style" as a "change of pace" from the "endless parade of mathematically perfect CG models and animation", finalizing the video as a proper example of the technique from someone like West who is intelligent enough to know its strengths and the appropriate places for usage.
At the 2006 Music Video Production Awards, the first music video won the award for Best Hip-Hop Video. On their 2018 list of West's best music videos, ''Complex'' placed it at number 13, with the staff writing, "The fantasy world of the department store perfectly embodies the nostalgic yet uplifting sounds of the track." The second video was popular in the press, garnering much airplay on MTV and BET. On ''Complex''s list of West's best videos, the visual was ranked at number 31.
Personnel
;Live-Action Video
* Michael Gondry director
*Peter Sluszka animation director
*Partizan Entertainment production company
*Julie Fong executive producer
*Ivan Abel stop motion DP
*Julianna Cox additional animator
*Tim MacDonald props & rigging
*Blanca Li choreographer
*Heidi Bivens wardrobe stylist
*Roc-A-Fella
Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994.
History
1994–2000: Formation ...
record label
*Island Def Jam
The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American recording music unit, formed on New Year's Eve 1998 by the Universal Music Group. It consists of labels devised and consisted under the basic operations of Island Records and Def Jam Recordin ...
record label
;Animated Video
*Bill Plympton
Bill Plympton (born April 30, 1946) is an American animator, graphic designer, cartoonist, and filmmaker best known for his 1987 Academy Awards-nominated animated short '' Your Face'' and his series of shorts featuring a dog character starting w ...
director, animator
*Joe DeMaio director
*Roc-A-Fella record label
Live performances
A remote performance of "Heard 'Em Say" taped in Los Angeles was broadcast on a video screen in Foxborough, Massachusetts for an audience of over 40,000 fans during a pre-game concert held on September 3, 2005, at Gillette Stadium
Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is southwest of downtown Boston. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for both the New England Patriots of the National Footb ...
. After Maroon 5 played their 2002 single " Harder to Breathe", West performed on a red-white-and-blue stage, which received a poor audience response. On September 29, 2005, West performed the song at Abbey Road Studios in London for his first live album '' Late Orchestration'' (2006), accompanied by singer John Legend
John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...
. Two days later, West appeared with Levine as a musical guest on the season premiere of ''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 serve ...
(SNL)'', for which they performed the song together backed by a live orchestra. For the performance, West wore a brown leather jacket and white-framed sunglasses, reminiscent of an outfit he had recently worn at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2005 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 28, 2005, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. The show was hosted by Diddy at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. The big winner of the night was Green Day, who ...
. West performed the song at Santa Monica High School
Santa Monica High School, officially abbreviated to SaMoHi, is located in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1891, it changed location several times in its early years before settling into its present campus at 601 Pico Boulevard. It is a part o ...
on December 5 for a concert promoting higher education, sponsored by his eponymous charity foundation. He included "Heard 'Em Say" on the setlist of his Touch the Sky Tour (2005–06). On December 3, 2005, Levine joined West onstage to sing his portion of the song for the tour's stop at Universal City, California
Universal City is an unincorporated area within the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Approximately 415 acres (1.7 km) within and around the surrounding area is the property of Universal Picture ...
.
West performed the song for a pre-game concert held during VH1
VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...
's Pepsi Smash Super Bowl Bash on February 2, 2006. Wearing a Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...
jacket and accompanied by a seven-piece string orchestra, two backup singers, and a DJ, he introduced "Heard 'Em Say" by telling the audience it was "my favorite song I ever worked on". West provided a performance of "Heard 'Em Say" at St. James Theatre
The St. James Theatre, originally Erlanger's Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 246 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, it was designed by Warren and Wetmore in a neo-Georgian style a ...
in Auckland, New Zealand on March 17, 2006, which was well received by the audience. He wore a glittery Adidas jacket and large sci-fi shades, before pausing to change into a bolero jacket and switching to a preppy white shirt later on. West presented an embellished live arrangement, utilizing a string section, back-up singers, and a DJ, with accompaniment from Common. West performed the song at the 2006 Coachella Festival, for which he wore a T-shirt in tribute to Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...
, jeans, and a red bandana. With backing from a DJ and two additional singers, West performed "Heard 'Em Say" for KIIS-FM
KIIS-FM (102.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States, and broadcasts to the Greater Los Angeles area. The station airs a top 40 format. Owned by iHeartMedia, KIIS-FM is the origin of the conglome ...
's Wango Tango concert on May 8. During his headlining concert on the second day of Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Mus ...
2006 in his hometown of Chicago, West delivered a performance of the song to an audience of 60,000 people, which included scratches by DJ A-Trak
Alain Macklovitch (born March 30, 1982), known by his stage name A-Trak, is a Canadian DJ, record producer, and record executive. He came to prominence in the late 2000s as an international club DJ and remix artist, known for incorporating highly ...
. West jumped across the stage at Live Earth 2007 as he performed a medley of eight hits, beginning with "Heard 'Em Say". On October 10, while Maroon 5 was playing " Nothing Lasts Forever" at a sold-out concert inside Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...
in NYC, Levine announced that he was to introduce "a good friend" to the stage, followed by a surprise guest appearance from West. To the delight of the audience, the two segued into a live rendition of "Heard 'Em Say".
West included "Heard 'Em Say" as the third number of the set list for his Glow in the Dark Tour, which began on April 16, 2008, at the KeyArena in Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
, Washington.[Beaumont, 2015. p. 257] For the start of a stop at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on the tour, he was pulled to a standing position as the opening strains of "Wake Up Mr. West" from ''Late Registration'' played. This was followed a computer named Jane informing West that the Earth had lost all its creativity and he needed to save the human race from a banal existence. The various compositions performed by West served to form a space opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and soc ...
storyline that details the story of how a stranded space traveler struggles for over a year making attempts to escape from a distant planet while on a creative mission. He performed on a small, elaborate stage that was spread into a desert sand dune shrouded in billowing smoke before an enormous LED screen depicting a skyline where shooting star
Shooting star refers to a meteor.
Shooting star may also refer to:
Film, television, and theater
* ''Shooting Star'' (2015 film), a 2015 Bulgarian short film
* ''Shooting Star'' (2020 film), a 2020 Canadian short film
* ''Shooting Stars'' ( ...
s reappear as pumping blue cells, the latter of which appeared for the song. West spent the entire performance onstage alone, rapping and singing the lyrics as his band played in a pit at the foot of the sloping stage. Like most songs from West's early albums, "Heard 'Em Say" was provided an electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
rendition that integrated with both the synthesizer quality of tracks from his third studio album ''Graduation
Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...
'' (2007) and the sci-fi theme of his conceptual concert. He wore jeans, a sweater with one missing sleeve, shoulder pads, and a red windbreaker tied around his waist for the performance.
Near the end of the Glow in the Dark Tour's North American leg, West performed the song for a crowd of around 100,000 during the final night of Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Mus ...
in Chicago that he headlined on August 3, 2008. The live venue was a slightly more stripped-down version of his standard Glow in the Dark Tour concert. Even though the high-budget stage did not feature hologram
Holography is a technique that enables a wavefront to be recorded and later re-constructed. Holography is best known as a method of generating real three-dimensional images, but it also has a wide range of other Holography#Applications, applic ...
s or lunar landscapes, it was still equipped with blinding strobes, moody lighting, and rolling fog. He performed with a space-age backing band, consisting of a percussionist/DJ setup, robo-suited guitarists, and futuristic female singers wearing foot-high shoulder pads. "Heard 'Em Say" was among the songs performed by West during a 90-minute set when he headlined the 2008 Global Gathering
Global Gathering was an annual dance music festival by Angel Festivals Limited. Festivals are held in countries such as the UK, Poland, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and feature leading electronic music artists from around the globe. The festival ran ...
festival, becoming the very first hip-hop artist to do so. After teasing the audience with a snippet of his 2007 track " Stronger", West appeared in a cloud of smoke and delivered the performance. He performed to a crowd of 50,000, wearing a black jacket and a bright T-shirt.
A live rendition of "Heard 'Em Say" was performed during West's secret black-tie show at The Box nightclub on Chrystie Street in Manhattan, NYC on August 13, 2010. The rapper held the late-night function that he dubbed "Rosewood", accompanied by Legend and performing to slightly over 200 select attendees for 90 minutes. A simplistic stage set-up was used, which consisted of a baby grand piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
that Legend sat at, a Roland TR-808
The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, commonly known as the 808, is a drum machine manufactured by the Roland Corporation between 1980 and 1983. It was one of the first drum machines to allow users to program rhythms instead of using preset patte ...
drum machine, a keyboard, and two microphones that include one utilized solely for Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances.
Auto-T ...
. After they opened with a performance of West's 2008 single "Homecoming
Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia.
...
", he instructed Legend to take it back to old times, leading into them performing the song. As their duet progressed, the singer started slowly stroking the piano keys and singing Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown (music style), Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player ...
and Tammi Terrell's " If This World Were Mine" (1967). On October 19, 2013, West performed "Heard 'Em Say" as part of an encore
An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pr ...
for The Yeezus Tour
The Yeezus Tour was a concert tour by American rapper Kanye West in support of West's sixth solo studio album, ''Yeezus'' (2013). The venture served as West's first solo concert tour in five years. Kendrick Lamar, A Tribe Called Quest, Travis Sc ...
's kickoff show at the KeyArena. During the performance, West wore a black mask and stopped rapping at points. On January 6, 2019, the first Sunday of the year, West and his group Sunday Service Choir
The Sunday Service Choir, (commonly known as Sunday Service) is an American gospel group led by artist and producer Kanye West and conducted by choir director Jason White. Beginning in January 2019, the group has performed every Sunday, as well ...
performed a gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
rendition of "Heard 'Em Say" to open the first installment of the group's weekly concerts. For the performance, blue and red lighting shined down while the Sunday Service Choir bounced and clapped as they wore Yeezy jumpsuits.
Cover versions and other usage
Jesse Boone released a cover of "Heard 'Em Say" for his 18th birthday in 2013, marking the first number he recorded. This gave birth to his rap stage name of Huey Supreme, a combination of a high school nickname and an Xbox Live
The Xbox network, formerly and still sometimes branded as Xbox Live, is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft. It was first made available to the Xbox system on November 15, 2002. An u ...
username. Rapper G-Eazy
Gerald Earl Gillum (born May 24, 1989), better known by his stage name G-Eazy, is an American rapper. His first major-label album, '' These Things Happen'', was released on June 23, 2014, and peaked at number 3 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 ...
performed a cover of "Heard 'Em Say" for BBC Radio 1Xtra
BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been ...
's Live Lounge on March 15, 2016. For the chorus, G-Eazy enlisted English singer-songwriter Anne-Marie in place of Levine. The cover was faithful to the original, apart from the rapper adding in a few censors and a line, "From the Bay
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...
, like 40 and Dre." Alongside the performance, G-Eazy dubbed West "the greatest".
Having sung on the original "Heard 'Em Say", Levine later appropriated the refrain for Maroon 5's "Nothing Lasts Forever", which was released on their second studio album '' It Won't Be Soon Before Long'' in 2007. English hip hop artist Loyle Carner
Benjamin Gerard Coyle-Larner (born 6 October 1994), known professionally as Loyle Carner, is an English hip hop musician. After supporting various rappers during their tours, he released his debut album, '' Yesterday's Gone'', in 2017, which ga ...
performed a stripped-down rendition of "Heard 'Em Say" as the last number of his two-track live set for BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
's Piano Sessions on October 7, 2015, presented by Huw Stephens
Huw Meredydd Stephens (born 25 May 1981) is a Welsh radio and television presenter, currently broadcasting on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 6 Music.
Stephens founded the Sŵn music festival with John Rostron and the yearly s ...
. Carner added a British touch to the song and reworked the lyrics in a personal style, delivering an ode to his mother. Australian comedian and rapper Matt Okine performed a version of "Heard 'Em Say" with altered verses for the UnderCover event at Giant Dwarf Theatre in Sydney, Australia in February 2016. He began his performance with a comical impression of West and stage banter, before touching on contemporary divisions within Australian society, including prominent Islamophobia
Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism.
The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia ...
and the injustices of Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port J ...
. On April 12, 2016, London-based rapper Little Simz
Simbiatu "Simbi" Abisola Abiola Ajikawo (born 23 February 1994), better known by her stage name Little Simz, is a British rapper, singer and actress. She rose to prominence with the independent release of her first three albums; ''A Curious Tale ...
asked if she could share a track on Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
and subsequently released a freestyle over the instrumental of "Heard 'Em Say" to SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...
. Little Simz raps for around three minutes and starts the freestyle by promising to "speak from the heart", prior to delivering introspective lyricism about subjects including fascist
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...
politicians and the importance of speaking the truth. G-Eazy interpolates
In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points.
In engineering and science, one often has a n ...
lines from "Heard 'Em Say" on the interlude of his song "Charles Brown", which reuses the new line from his cover version. West received songwriting credit on the track, which was released on G-Eazy's fourth studio album '' The Beautiful & Damned'' in 2017. Fellow rapper Logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premis ...
included a song named after "Heard 'Em Say" on his sixth studio album '' No Pressure'', released in July 2020.
Track listings
US 12" vinyl
;A-side
# "Heard 'Em Say" feat Adam Levine
Adam Noah Levine (; born March 18, 1979) is an American singer and songwriter. He serves as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the pop rock band Maroon 5. Levine began his musical career in 1994 with the band Kara's Flowers, of which ...
(Radio)
# "Heard 'Em Say" feat Adam Levine (Main)
# "Heard 'Em Say" feat Adam Levine (Instrumental)
;B-side
# "Touch the Sky" feat Lupe Fiasco
Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, '' Lupe Fiasco's ...
(Radio)
# "Touch the Sky" feat Lupe Fiasco (LP)
# "Touch the Sky" feat Lupe Fiasco (Instrumental)
US CD single
# "Heard 'Em Say" (Album Version)
# "Heard 'Em Say" (Ft John Legend
John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...
) (Live from Abbey Road
''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It is the last album the group started recording, although '' Let It Be'' was the last album completed before the band's break-up in April 1970. It was mostly ...
)
# "Back to Basics" (International Bonus)
UK CD single
# "Heard 'Em Say" – Album Version
# "Heard 'Em Say" featuring John Legend – (Live from Abbey Road) – 4:13
# "Back to Basics" – International Bonus
# "Heard 'Em Say" – CD-Rom Video
Credits and personnel
Information taken from ''Late Registration'' liner notes.
Recording
* Recorded at Sony Music Studios
Sony Music Studios was an American music recording and mastering facility in New York City. The five-story building was a music and broadcasting complex located at 460 W. 54th Street, at 10th Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan. ...
(NYC) and Grandmaster Recording Studios (Hollywood, CA)
* Mixed at Chalice Recording Studios
Chalice Recording Studio is located in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States. Chalice opened in 2002 and is known for its elaborate interior decor and its large collection of rare and vintage analog recording equipment.
When Chalice ...
(Hollywood, CA)
Personnel
* 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 ...
songwriter, producer
* Adam Levine
Adam Noah Levine (; born March 18, 1979) is an American singer and songwriter. He serves as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the pop rock band Maroon 5. Levine began his musical career in 1994 with the band Kara's Flowers, of which ...
songwriter
* Michael Masser
Michael William Masser (March 24, 1941 – July 9, 2015) was an American songwriter, composer and producer of popular music.
Early life
Born to a Jewish family in Chicago to Ester Huff and William Masser, he attended the University of Illinoi ...
songwriter
* Gerry Goffin
Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the US No.1 hits " Will You L ...
songwriter
* Jon Brion
Jon Brion is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and The Grays (band), the Grays before becoming an established producer and film score comp ...
producer
* Andrew Dawson recorder
* Tom Biller recorder
* Mike Dean mix engineer
* Taylor Dow assistant engineer
* Nate Connelly assistant engineer
* Mike Mo assistant engineer
* Tony "Penafire" Williams additional vocals
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
Notes and references
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
{{authority control
2000s ballads
2005 songs
2005 singles
Adam Levine songs
Kanye West songs
Song recordings produced by Kanye West
Music videos directed by Michel Gondry
Songs written by Adam Levine
Songs with lyrics by Gerry Goffin
Songs written by Kanye West
Song recordings produced by Jon Brion
Music videos directed by Bill Plympton
Music videos directed by Kanye West
Animated music videos
Natalie Cole songs
Roc-A-Fella Records singles
Songs written by Michael Masser