| "Champions" | |
|---|---|
| Song byDamon Dash,Kanye West,Beanie Sigel,Cam'ron,Young Chris andTwista | |
| from the albumPaid In Full/Dream Team andThe College Dropout (intended) | |
| Released | November 26, 2002 |
| Recorded | 2002 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 6:12 |
| Label | |
| Songwriters | |
| Producers |
|
"Champions" is a collaborative song byhip hop artistsDamon Dash,Kanye West,Beanie Sigel,Cam'ron,Young Chris andTwista. It is listed as the first track on the second disc of thePaid in Full soundtrack. The song includes a sped-up sample of "We Are the Champions" byQueen. It was originally scheduled to be a bonus track on West's albumThe College Dropout (2004).
On the original track listing of West's debut studio albumThe College Dropout (2004), "Champions" was listed as a bonus track.[1] Dash introduces West's verse with the line: "I bet niggas didn't know you could rap huh?" because back in 2002, when the soundtrack album was released, West was only recognized for his talent as a producer and not viewed as a credible rapper.[2] Throughout the entirety of the track, a sped up sample of highly famous 1977Queen single "We Are the Champions" is used and the rappers state themselves as being of importance.[3][4] Dash revealed that he asked West to flip the track's beat afterJust Blaze wouldn't do so and West reacted quickly to this, which gathered the approval of Dash.[2]
Billboard viewed the track as being one of thePaid in Full soundtrack's highlights.[3] Its presence on the soundtrack album was looked at by Jason Birchmeier ofAllMusic as being one of "some promising ideas" and an example of where "some of the beats are on point".[5] Jesse ofHipHopDX voiced the opinion towards West being one of the lead artists on 2016GOOD Music single "Champions" that: "It makes little sense for Kanye to title another song 'Champions,' especially one that can't live up to the Queen sampled Roc-A-Fella posse cut or track two on Graduation."[6]
In March 2003, around four months after the soundtrack album had been released, the song peaked at number 6 on the USBillboardBubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart and spent a total of nine weeks on it.[7]
| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles (Billboard)[8] | 9 |
