Wolves (Kanye West Song)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"Wolves" 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 ...
, featuring vocals from Sia and Vic Mensa, from his seventh studio album '' The Life of Pablo'' (2016). It was produced by West, Cashmere Cat, and Sinjin Hawke and was originally planned to be the opening track to ''The Life of Pablo''. West debuted the song on February 12, 2015, at a fashion show where he also premiered his new
Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...
shoe. The presentation was broadcast live to more than 40 locations around the world. "Wolves" became the second confirmed track from the album and originally featured Sia and Vic Mensa. The initial album version introduced a new verse from West and an additional outro from
Frank Ocean Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. He has been credited by several music journalism, music critics as a pioneer of the alternative R&B genre. Ocean has won two Grammy Awards and a B ...
, omitting Sia and Vic Mensa's contributions. However, in March 2016, the album was updated with a new version of the song that reinstated Sia and Vic Mensa's verses. Frank Ocean's outro has been split into a separate track, titled " Frank's Track", which appears after "Wolves" on the track list. When the song first released, it would receive widespread acclaim from music critics. It would also top the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, alongside charting at number 39 on the
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 ...
chart and at number 88 on UK singles chart, and would also have a music video, despite not being released as a single for the album. The song was even used in the trailer for the
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
crime drama series '' Ozark''.


Composition

"Wolves" was produced by West, Cashmere Cat and Sinjin Hawke, and originally featured vocals by Australian singer and songwriter Sia and Chicago rapper Vic Mensa. The song has been described as "melancholic" and "somber" with a slower beat, a minimal arrangement, and a heavily Auto-Tuned bridge. The "lurching" chorus is performed by Vic Mensa and includes the lyrics, "I'm just bad. Bad for you." Sia performs a "bluesy" rendition of West's words approximately two minutes and three seconds into the song. The original album version featured a rap from West and a moody outro from Frank Ocean, which replaced Vic Mensa and Sia's verses. An alternate version, however, was leaked online including Frank Ocean, Vic Mensa, and Sia. Unlike the album version, Frank Ocean's outro is featured at the start of the song, and West's rap is omitted. In March 2016, over a month after the album's release, West updated the album's Tidal track list with a reworked version of "Wolves", which includes the previously removed vocals from Vic Mensa and Sia. The outro sung by
Frank Ocean Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. He has been credited by several music journalism, music critics as a pioneer of the alternative R&B genre. Ocean has won two Grammy Awards and a B ...
was split into a separate track called " Frank's Track".


Music video

The
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 ...
for the song, directed by Steven Klein, was released on July 29, 2016 as part of a Balmain advert campaign. It resonates with the emotional feel of the song as it features West and his wife
Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (born October 21, 1980) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the celebrity sex tape ...
in tears. The video also features Alessandra Ambrosio, Francisco Lachowski, Joan Smalls, Jourdan Dunn, Josephine Skriver, Kylie Jenner, Sia, Jordan Barrett and Vic Mensa. The video is black-and-white and sees West and his wife wearing the same outfits designed for their appearance at 2016's
Met Gala The Met Gala, formally called the Costume Institute Benefit, is the annual haute couture fundraising festival held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in Manhattan. The Met Gala was and still is popularly rega ...
.


Critical reception

"Wolves" received widespread acclaim from music critics. Brittany Spanos of ''
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 ...
'' said the song was reminiscent of West's work on his fourth studio album '' 808s & Heartbreak'' (2008). The song was branded by Nosheen Iqbal of ''
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 ...
'' as having 'brutal Yeezus-ish minimalism'. Spencer Kornhaber of ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...
'' viewed the song as being 'gorgeous and beguiling'. ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
s Christopher Hooton wrote of the song: 'This is such a beautiful song and the off-kilter drums in the background throw it off balance in a good way.'


Commercial performance

"Wolves" debuted at number 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under Hot 100 upon the release of ''The Life of Pablo''. Within the same week, it debuted at number 39 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 ...
chart. The song also charted on the UK Singles Chart upon the album's release, reaching number 88.


Live performances

West was one of several musical guests for the '' Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special'', which aired on NBC in February 2015. He performed " Jesus Walks" and " Only One", then Sia and Mensa joined him for the live debut of "Wolves". Due to the "claustrophobic, starkly black-and-white" set, all three vocalists crawled and crouched throughout the song due to their limited mobility, and Sia wore a large white bob wig.


Credits and personnel

Credits reflect the updated March 2016 version; adapted from Tidal. *Producers –
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 ...
, Sinjin Hawke, Cashmere Cat, Mike Dean, Noah Goldstein *Co-producers – Goldstein, Dean *Composers and lyricists – Magnus Høiberg, Vic Mensa, Ryan McDermott, Freddy Wexler, Malik Yusef, Lincoln Minott, Dean, Alan Brinsmead, Goldstein, Elon Rutberg, Lincoln "Sugar" Minott, West, Sia, Christopher Breaux *Additional procurers – Plain Pat,
Boi-1da Matthew Jehu Samuels (born October 12, 1986), known professionally as Boi-1da (a play on Boy Wonder) is a Canadian record producer and songwriter based in Toronto, Ontario. He is an in-house producer for Drake's OVO Sound label and has prod ...
*Recording engineer – Goldstein, Matt Larson, Dean *Assistant recording engineer – Jordan Heskett *Mixer –
Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is a Guatemalan-American record mixing engineer. He has been credited on albums for high-profile pop, R&B, hip hop and rock acts. He has worked with artists including Rihanna, Kanye West, Katy Perry ...


Charts


Certifications


References

{{Sia singles 2015 songs 2016 songs Black-and-white music videos Frank Ocean songs Kanye West songs Vic Mensa songs Music videos directed by Steven Klein (artist) Sia (musician) songs Song recordings produced by Cashmere Cat Song recordings produced by Kanye West Song recordings produced by Mike Dean (record producer) Songs written by Cashmere Cat Songs written by Cyhi the Prynce Songs written by Frank Ocean Songs written by Kanye West Songs written by Kirby Lauryen Songs written by Mike Dean (record producer) Songs written by Plain Pat Songs written by Sia (musician) Songs written by Noah Goldstein Songs written by Vic Mensa