"On Sight" is a song by American rapper

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 ...

from his sixth studio album, ''

Yeezus ''Yeezus'' is the sixth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West. It was released on June 18, 2013, through Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. West gathered a number of artists and close collaborators for the production, includi ...

'' (2013). It was produced by West and

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...

, with additional production by

Benji B Benjamin Benstead, known professionally as Benji B, is a British DJ, radio presenter, and record producer. A longtime BBC Radio producer and presenter, he has presented a weekly show on BBC Radio 1 since 2010 that highlights an eclectic mix of ...

and Mike Dean. The song includes an electronic sound that was mainly contributed by Daft Punk, who were the first people West became involved with for the album. The song itself was first heard when performed live by West at the

Governors Ball Music Festival The Governors Ball Music Festival (commonly known as Governors Ball or Gov Ball) is a multi-day music festival held in New York City. Launched in 2011 by Jordan Wolowitz, Tom Russell, Yoni Reisman, the festival features an array of genres and ...

in 2013. The song contains a studio recreation of "Sermon (He'll Give Us What We Really Need)" by Holy Name of Mary Choral Family, sung by a choir. Lyrics by West about

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

were criticized by the American Parkinson Disease Association. The song received acclaim from music critics. The song charted on both the US ''Billboard''

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

and 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 ...

charts at number ten and 38 respectively in 2013.

Background

"On Sight" was first heard when West performed it live at the

on June 9, 2013, nine days before the album's release.

Thomas Bangalter Thomas Bangalter (; born 3 January 1975) is a French musician. He is best known as one half of the former French house music duo Daft Punk, alongside Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. He has recorded and released music as a member of the trio Music S ...

of French duo

revealed in an April 2013 interview about their album ''

Random Access Memories ''Random Access Memories'' is the fourth and final studio album by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk, released on 17 May 2013 through Columbia Records. It pays tribute to late Music history of the United States in the 1970s, 1970s and e ...

'' that during the recording of it, the duo worked with West on material for his next album. At the listening party for ''Yeezus'' on June 10, West said in a brief speech after playback that he worked with Daft Punk on three or four of the songs, but "

Black Skinhead "Black Skinhead" (also stylized as "BLKKK SKKKN HEAD") is a song by American rapper Kanye West, from his sixth studio album ''Yeezus'' (2013). It was produced by West and Daft Punk. The song's lyrics center on racial tensions and the crumbling ...

" was the only one the public knew at the time that they had been involved with and the duo are among the album's major producers. Bangalter revealed in a July 2013 interview that Daft Punk were the first people West came to during the creation of ''Yeezus''.

Composition and production

The song includes an electronic sound, which was mostly crafted by the producers Daft Punk. The production of its opening moments left people polarized upon first listen of the introductory track, which was confirmed by

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...

as intentional. In the outro, West recalls the "I need you right now" refrain of his 2007 single " Stronger". When describing the song's sound, Noah Goldstein was quoted as saying:

"On Sight" sets a new bar. Nobody's doing that. There's no chance in hell that anybody's gonna put that on and be like, 'Oh, that's J. Cole'-- not to diss J. Cole. But there's only one person who can do that kind of shit.

The song contains a studio recreation of "Sermon (He'll Give Us What We Really Need)", written by Keith Carter Sr. and performed by Holy Name of Mary Choral Family, sung by a choir.

Release and reception

"On Sight" was released on June 18, 2013, as the opening track on West's sixth studio album ''

''. It was changed to being the first track instead of " Blood on the Leaves" at the last minute. Scottish record producer

Hudson Mohawke Ross Matthew Birchard (born 11 February 1986), better known by the stage name Hudson Mohawke, is a Scottish producer, composer, and DJ from Glasgow. He is known for his work in 21st century hip-hop and electronic music. A founding member of th ...

described this decision as being "probably for the best", explaining by calling "On Sight" what "puts a message across that this is a very different record". The song was met with widespread acclaim from music critics, with the majority of them praising its position of the album's opener. Helen Brown of ''The Telegraph'' viewed the song as being where "West slams the breaks on an industrial-electro grind for a sudden, gloriously demented burst of the Holy Name of Mary Choral Family". Its position on ''Yeezus'' was branded by Jon Dolan from ''

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. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' as being a "system-shock body rock of an album opener". Steph Blasnik of ''Mic'' claimed for West to be "almost taunting the listener" with the bridge: "How much do I not give a fuck? / Let me show you right now before you give it up", and viewed the bridge as where "short and to the point nature sets the tone for the album and lets you know what it all about — non-compliance". Chris Martins of ''SPIN'' viewed the track as being a "glitch-blitzed Atari Grown Man Riot of an opener". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' critic

Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis (born 13 September 1971) is an English journalist. He is the head Rock music, rock and pop music critic for ''The Guardian'', and a regular contributor for ''GQ''. In addition to his music journalism for the paper, he has written ...

wrote that "a screaming, distorted acid line runs through the opening 'On Sight'" and in reference to Daft Punk, viewed it as "the kind of music some people doubtless wish they'd made instead of ''

''". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''s

Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.

Controversy

"On Sight" contains controversial lyrics referencing

: "Soon as I pull up and park the Benz / We get this bitch shaking like Parkinson's". The lyrics aroused controversy from the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA). The group called the verse "distasteful and the product of obvious ignorance". Maurice Bobb of

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

replied to the lyrics, stating: "The self-professed 'black new wave artist' is no stranger to controversial lyrics, drawing the ire of

PETA People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; ) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. Founded in March 1980 by Newkirk and animal right ...

for saying that his 'mink is draggin' on the floor' on last year's "

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 ...

", but APDA's outrage seems perfunctory considering that this isn't the first time a rapper has used the symptoms of Parkinson's disease for lyrical effect", and West had yet to respond to the APDA at the time.

Commercial performance

In the week that ''Yeezus'' was released, the track reached number ten on the US ''Billboard''

and dropped out of the chart permanently afterwards. It also debuted at number 38 on the US

chart.

Live performances

West first performed "On Sight" live at the Governors Ball Music Festival in June 2013. In response to the performance, Tom Breihan of ''

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'' described the song as what "sounded like Kanye's version of late-'80s industrial dance music". When performing the song live at

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

KeyArena Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of downtown Seattle in the entertainment complex known as the Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it wa ...

The Yeezus Tour The Yeezus Tour was the fifth concert tour by American rapper Kanye West, in support of his sixth studio album, '' Yeezus'' (2013). Announced with a promotional poster in September 2013, it served as West's first solo concert tour since the Gl ...

in October 2013, West played the choir sample repeatedly. Later that month, on the same tour, West staggered out to the bleeps of the song when he performed it live as the opener for a concert at

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and he also performed it as the opener to a concert on the tour at

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

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in December 2013.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Yeezus''. *Songwriters: Kanye West, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Thomas Bangalter, Malik Jones, Che Smith, Elon Rutberg, Cydel Young, Derek Watkins, Mike Dean *Producers: Kanye West and Daft Punk *Additional producers: Mike Dean #MWA and Benji B *Engineers: Noah Goldstein, Anthony Kilhoffer, Andrew Dawson and Mike Dean *Assistant engineers: March Portheau, Khoi Huynh, Raoul Le Pennec, Nabil Essemlani, Keith Parry, Kenta Yonesaka, David Rowland, Sean Oakley, Eric Lynn, Dave "Squirrel" Covell and Josh Smith *Mix engineer: Noah Goldstein *Assistant mix engineer: Sean Oakley, Eric Lynn, Dave "Squirrel" Covell and Josh Smith *Choir production: Ken Lewis *Drums: Dylan Wissing *Percussion: Matt Teitelman *Choir director: Alvin Fields *Choir: Carmen Roman, K. Nita, John Morgan, Jessenia Peña, Ronnie Artis, Crystal Brun, Sean Drew, Natalis Ruby Rubero, Lorraine Berry, Gloria Ryann, Timeka Lee *Choir engineer: Uri Djemal

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Kanye West songs 2013 songs Electroclash songs Industrial songs Kanye West songs Obscenity controversies in music Song recordings produced by Daft Punk Song recordings produced by Kanye West Song recordings produced by Mike Dean (record producer) Songs written by Cyhi the Prynce Songs written by Fonzworth Bentley Songs written by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo Songs written by Kanye West Songs written by Malik Yusef Songs written by Mike Dean (record producer) Songs written by Rhymefest Songs written by Thomas Bangalter