"New God Flow" is a song by American rappers

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 ...

and

Pusha T Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as one half of the Virginia-based hip hop duo Clipse, which he formed with his older brother No Malice, Malice. M ...

. It was released as the third single from the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

'' Cruel Summer'' (2012), a collaboration between members of their record label

GOOD Music GOOD Music (often stylized as G.O.O.D. Music; a backronym for Getting Out Our Dreams) is an American independent record label founded by rapper Kanye West in 2004. The label entered an exclusive long-term worldwide music distribution, distributi ...

. Produced by West, Anthony Kilhoffer and Boogz & Tapez, "New God Flow", which is a hip hop song, incorporates numerous samples into its arrangement. It features lines by Pusha T directed at American rapper and record producer Birdman. American rapper

Ghostface Killah Dennis David Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang ...

, whose song "Mighty Healthy" is prominently sampled in the song, is featured on an alternate version entitled "New God Flow.1" that appears on ''Cruel Summer''. West and Pusha T performed "New God Flow" on several occasions, including the 2012 BET Awards and

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

's Made in America Festival. The song was awarded Best Beat at the ''XXL'' Awards.

Composition

The song's hook is made from a vocal sample of "Mighty Healthy" as performed by

, which was also later sampled by

Madlib Otis Lee Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American record producer, DJ, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. Critically acclaimed for his eclectic, music sample, sample-heavy production style, he is rega ...

in Kanye's 2016

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...

-featured single "

No More Parties in LA "No More Parties in LA" (often stylized as "No More Parties in L.A.") is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his seventh studio album, ''The Life of Pablo'' (2016), featuring vocals from fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was produced by Wes ...

" from his album ''

The Life of Pablo ''The Life of Pablo'' is the seventh studio album by American rapper Kanye West. It was released on February 14, 2016, through GOOD Music and distributed by Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions took place from 2013 to 2016, in Italy, Mexico, ...

''. The main sample used in the song is a piano riff from

Marcos Valle Marcos Kostenbader Valle (born 14 September 1943) is a Brazilian singer, musician, and songwriter. He has produced works in many musical styles, including bossa nova, samba, and fusions of rock, soul, jazz, and dance music with Brazilian styles. ...

's "Bodas De Sangue", from his 1971 album ''Vento Sul''. The drum break in the track is sampled from "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss. In the outro, Kanye references the " I don't know, but I've been told" military cadence. On the album version, there is a verse by the

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...

member (who is sampled on the original version) replacing Kanye West's GOOD Music chant.

Artwork

On June 27, 2012, West's website was updated for the cover art for "New God Flow". The artwork is styled in black and red, revealing track info and key participants. The cover art is nearly identical to that of the GOOD Music single "

Mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French , from Medieval Latin , "price paid, wages", from Latin , "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social, and legal contexts. In the social and le ...

" that was released earlier in 2012.

Reception

In comparison to the live performance of it at the 2012 BET Awards, Nathan Reese of ''

Refinery29 Refinery29 (R29) is an American multinational digital media and entertainment website focused on young women. It is owned by Sundial Media Group. History Justin Stefano, Philippe von Borries, Piera Gelardi, and Christene Barberich co-founded Ref ...

'' viewed the song as what "manages a similarly intense effect, letting Pusha T and Kanye West maintain all the anger and vulnerability they showed at that show". ''Complex'' listed the song at #34 on their list of the 50 best songs of 2012. At the ''XXL'' Awards in 2013, "New God Flow" won the award for Best Beat.

Lyrical content

Pusha T confirmed in October 2012 that within the song, he was responding to a Birdman interview where the rapper dissed GOOD Music. West raps the pair of lines: "Hold up, I ain't tryna stunt, man/But the Yeezys jumped over the Jumpman", referencing the popularity of his

Nike Air Yeezy The Nike Air Yeezy is an official sneakers collaboration project between Nike and Kanye West, launched in 2009. Notable as the shoe brand's first non-athlete full collaboration, the project has released two editions: the "Air Yeezy" (2009) and t ...

shoes in comparison to that of the

Air Jordan Air Jordan is a line of basketball and sportswear shoes produced by Nike, Inc. Related apparel and accessories are marketed under Jordan Brand. The first Air Jordan shoe was produced for basketball player Michael Jordan during his time with t ...

brand. The second line was span in his 2015 promotional single "

Facts A fact is a true datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by experiments or other means. For exa ...

" to: "Yeezy, Yeezy, Yeezy just jumped over Jumpman".

Live performances

At the 2012 BET Awards, Kanye West,

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. He met Kanye West as a teenager, and signed with his record label GOOD Music, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2007. He gained popul ...

, Pusha T and

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (formerly Tity Boi), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Ci ...

performed their hit single "

", followed by West delivering a solo performance of his single "

Cold Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjectivity, subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute t ...

" and then an a cappella version of his verse on "New God Flow", marking the very first preview of the song. On July 7, 2012, Kanye West performed "New God Flow" alongside Pusha T as the first performance together of the song in Atlantic City, New Jersey. On September 1, 2012, Kanye West & Pusha T performed "New God Flow" during their surprise G.O.O.D. Music set at Jay-Z's Made In America Festival, accompanied by Big Sean. The set also included performances of " I Don't Like (Remix)", " Can't Tell Me Nothing" & " Dance (A$$)".

Commercial performance

"New God Flow" performed best on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

, charting at position number 66. The song peaked at number 89 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Charts

References

{{authority control 2012 singles Pusha T songs Kanye West songs GOOD Music singles Songs written by Kanye West Song recordings produced by Kanye West Songs written by Pusha T Songs with music by Marcos Valle Songs written by Ghostface Killah 2012 songs