New God Flow

West and Pusha T's relationship dates back to 2005, when the former appeared on an unreleased Clipse track. Subsequently, he performed on and produced Clipse's single "Kinda Like a Big Deal" (2009). Following the rap duo's breakup, West and Pusha T's professional relationship became more prominent, with the latter signing to GOOD Music and appearing on "Runaway" and "So Appalled" from the former's studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). Pusha T released his debut project Fear Of God II: Let Us Pray (2011) through the record label the following year.^[1]

West first announced plans for a GOOD Music album in October 2011 via his Twitter account.^[2] On May 23, 2012, the title was revealed as Cruel Summer along with the announcement of the short film of the same name, written by Elon Rutberg and produced by Alex Rosenberg.^[3] It later debuted at the Cannes Film Festival that year.^[4] Prior to "New God Flow", the Cruel Summer debut single "Mercy" was first released on West's official website on April 6, 2012, following a preview from by Funkmaster Flex's Hot 97 radio show.^[5] It was subsequently released to the iTunes Store later that day.^[6] "Cold", the second single from the compilation album, was previewed on New York City radio station Hot 97 by Funkmaster Flex on April 4.^[7] It was subsequently released to iTunes on April 17.^[8]

The hook of "New God Flow" is made from a vocal sample of "Mighty Healthy" (2000) as performed by Ghostface Killah,^[9] which says "Shake that body, party that body / Come and have a good time with G.O.D.".^[10] It was later sampled by Madlib in West's 2016 single "No More Parties in LA" from his album The Life of Pablo.^[11] On the album version, there is a verse from Ghostface Killah, replacing Kanye West's GOOD Music chant.^[12] Other samples used throughout the song include Marcos Valle's "Bôdas De Sangue",^[9] a drum break from Melvin Bliss' "Synthetic Substitution" (1973),^[13] and Reverend G. I. Townsend's "Sermon Fragment".^[9] The single version of the song lasts for nearly five minutes,^[14] while the album version extends it by a minute.^[15]

Eric Arredondo of Beats Per Minute describes the song's instrumental as "methodical, but fierce at the same time", giving space to the rappers' lyrics.^[10] Over an "ominous piano loop"^[16] in the style of the composition Moonlight Sonata,^[10] Pusha T begins the song with a spiritual verse based on his 2012 single "Exodus 23:1",^[13][17] claiming that he believes that there's a God above him, and that he's just the "God above everything else". He then references his drug-dealing past, trips to Ibiza, and exotic car collection.^[13] Additionally, he describes both himself and West as "the new powerhouse team" with comparison to rappers Diddy and Shyne in 1999.^[10]

In Pusha T's second verse, he aggravates his rivals similar to the approach of "Exodus 23:1".^[13] On West's verse, he raps "Hold up, I ain't tryna stunt, man/But the Yeezys jumped over the Jumpman", referencing the popularity of his Nike Air Yeezy shoes in comparison to that of the Air Jordan brand.^[13] Lyrically, he lists three dreams as The Notorious B.I.G., Martin Luther King Jr., and Rodney King, and references the youth-violence epidemic in Chicago at the time.^[18] Around the near closure of the song, the beat shifts into characteristic reminiscent of a stadium chant as West references the Biblical figures Moses, Jacob, and Jesus.^[13]

Pusha T explained that the origins of "New God Flow" were based on taking things personally, including interviews in magazines, such as comments suggesting that GOOD Music "ain't nothing". He explained that his sensitivity to the remarks inspired the song. However, he added that he never takes things so personally that he sends direct "fuck yous" to anyone. He additionally confirmed that the song served as a response to a Birdman interview where the rapper dissed GOOD Music.^[19]

On June 27, 2012, West's website was updated for the cover art for "New God Flow".^[20] The artwork is styled in black and red, revealing track info and key participants. The cover art's style is identical to that of earlier Cruel Summer single "Mercy".^[21] On July 2, "New God Flow" was released on West's website, following an a capella performance at the 2012 BET Awards the previous night.^[22]

"New God Flow" was released to the iTunes Store on July 20 through GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings.^[23] Upon its release, the song peaked at number 89 on the Billboard Hot 100,^[24] and number 43 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.^[25] It additionally peaked at number 66 on the Canadian Hot 100.^[26] With the release of Cruel Summer on September 18, "New God Flow" was extended to feature a verse from Ghostface Killah under the title "New God Flow.1",^[14] being a minute longer than the single version.^[15] Pusha T revealed he "fainted" when he heard Ghostface Killah's verse on the song during a private album preview on August 28.^[27]

"New God Flow" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Eric Arredondo of Beats Per Minute described the song as being the best example of a Cruel Summer track, being compared favorably against "Mercy", "I Don't Like", "Burn", and "Exodus 23:1". He especially considered West's verse to come with "a ferocity and soulfulness" similar to "Jesus Walks" (2004).^[10] In comparison to the live performance of it at the 2012 BET Awards, Nathan Reese of Refinery29 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".^[28] Consequence considered "New God Flow" to be an essential track on Cruel Summer,^[18] while Complex listed the song at number 34 on their list of the 50 best songs of 2012.^[29] At the XXL Awards in 2013, "New God Flow" won the award for Best Beat.^[30]

On July 1, 2012, "New God Flow" was first performed at the 2012 BET Awards during an a cappella by West, following the performances of previous singles "Mercy" and "Cold".^[31] On July 7, West performed the song alongside Pusha T as the first performance together of the song in Atlantic City.^[32] On September 1, the duo performed "New God Flow" during their surprise G.O.O.D. Music set at Jay-Z's Made In America Festival, accompanied by rapper Big Sean. The set also included performances of "I Don't Like" (2012), "Can't Tell Me Nothing" (2007), and "Dance (A$$)" (2011).^[33] On October 24, West performed the song at a Samsung Galaxy Note II launch event, which took place at Moynihan Station in New York City.^[34]

Credits are adapted from the single version credits on Tidal^[35] and liner notes of Cruel Summer.^[9]