Freestyle 4
2016 song by Kanye West
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Freestyle 4" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his seventh studio album, The Life of Pablo (2016). It features vocals from American rapper Desiigner.[2][3] It was remixed by Tyler, the Creator in March 2016.
| "Freestyle 4" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Kanye West | |
| from the album The Life of Pablo | |
| Released | February 14, 2016 |
| Recorded | 2015–16 |
| Genre | Experimental hip hop[1] |
| Length | 2:03 |
| Label | |
| Songwriters |
|
| Producers | |
Composition
The track prominently samples the beginning of the 2000 song "Human" by Goldfrapp, resulting in Will Gregory and Alison Goldfrapp being credited as songwriters.[4]
By the time that all of the changes had been made to The Life of Pablo in June 2016, a different instrumental popped up at the 45-second mark and more synths were added.[5]
Remixes
On March 3, 2016, Odd Future rapper Tyler, the Creator released a remix of "Freestyle 4" titled "What the Fuck Right Now", which featured ASAP Rocky.[6] Shortly before releasing his remix, Tyler had shown that he was a fan of the song.[7] West tweeted out his approval of the remix three days after it was released.[8]
LSDXOXO remixed the original on May 25, 2016, putting a Baltimore club spin on it.[9] A remix of the song by West featuring ASAP Ferg and Big Sean was subject to an online leak on August 5, 2017.[10][11]
Critical reception
Tom Thorogood of The Line of Best Fit viewed "Freestyle 4" as "[picking] up where Daft Punk left off on Yeezus with Kanye rapping over electro beats and Hitchcock strings".[1] Its "dense claustrophobia" was pointed out in praise by Nosheen Iqbal of The Guardian.[12]
Commercial performance
Upon the release of The Life of Pablo in February 2016, the track debuted at number 9 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100.[13] Within the same week, it reached number 43 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[14]
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from West's official website.[15]
- Vocals – Desiigner
- Production – Kanye West
- Co-production – Hudson Mohawke, Noah Goldstein and Mike Dean
- Additional production – DJDS, Caroline Shaw and Trevor Gureckis
- Engineering – Goldstein, Andrew Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer, Dean and Tom Kahre
- Mix engineer – Manny Marroquin at Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood, California
- Mix assistants – Chris Galland, Ike Schultz and Jeff Jackson
Charts
| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[16] | 132 |
| UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[17] | 38 |
| US Bubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard)[18] | 9 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[19] | 43 |
| US On-Demand Songs (Billboard)[20] | 40 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[21] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||