"Live Fast, Die Young" is the third single by American rapper

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

from his fourth studio album '' Teflon Don'' (2010). It features

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

, who also stood as the sole producer. The song samples three tracks in its composition. A

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was announced by Ross, but never saw an official release.

Background and recording

"Live Fast, Die Young" was originally conceived by Kanye West as a song for his fifth studio album ''

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' is the fifth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 22, 2010. Retreating to a self-imposed exile in Hawaii after a period of ...

'' (2010) (known at the time under the working title ''Good Ass Job''), with the name Hard Horn Nightmare. In early 2010, during a visit to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, West played early versions of "Live Fast, Die Young" and four other songs intended for the album to ''

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 ...

'' journalist Noah Callahan-Bever, which had been recorded during sessions in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

. However, "Live Fast, Die Young" would ultimately be given to Rick Ross. The song contains a prominent sample of "If This World Were Mine" by

The Bar-Kays The Bar-Kays is an American funk band formed in 1964. The band had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including " Soul Finger" (US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number 17, R&B number 3) in 1967, "Son of Shaft" (R&B number 10) in ...

. West told

MTV News MTV News was the news production division of MTV. The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes of BuzzFeed and ...

in October 2010 that he had spent three days listening to CDs before coming across "If This World Were Mine" and the section he wanted to sample; he claimed to have loved the sample so much that he spent the next two days playing it over and over again whilst deciding how to remake it into a song of his own. West further explained how he chose to develop the sample into what became "Live Fast, Die Young":

Composition

The track samples a total of three songs. The songs sampled are: "If This World Were Mine" by

, "Uphill Peace Of Mind" by Kid Dynamite and "Funky President (People It's Bad)" by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

. It was viewed by Phil Miter of '' Noisey Vice'' as being among West's 2010 productions that: 'depict unreal wealth and power in the process of decay, melting into unrecognizable, disturbing shapes'.

Release

The song leaked online on July 1, 2010, twelve days before being released as a single. On July 21, Ross announced that the

would be directed by

Hype Williams Harold "Hype" Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video and film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Early life Williams was born in Queens. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Adelphi Univ ...

, but the video was never officially released.

Roddy Ricch Rodrick Wayne Moore Jr. (born October 22, 1998), known professionally as Roddy Ricch, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Born and raised in Compton, California, Moore rose to fame in 2018 following the release of his song "Die Young ...

and

Ty Dolla Sign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Griffin gai ...

covered this song's chorus in Ricch's 2021 release "llf".

Commercial performance

"Live Fast, Die Young" debuted at number 89 on the US ''

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 ...

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 ...

on the week of its release as a single.

Charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2010 singles 2010 songs Kanye West songs Maybach Music Group singles Music videos directed by Hype Williams Rick Ross songs Song recordings produced by Kanye West Songs written by Frederick Knight (singer) Songs written by Kanye West Songs written by Marvin Gaye Songs written by Rick Ross