| "City of Gods" | ||||
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| Single byFivio Foreign,Kanye West, andAlicia Keys | ||||
| from the albumB.I.B.L.E.andDonda 2 | ||||
| Released | February 11, 2022 | |||
| Genre | Drill[1][2] | |||
| Length | 4:16 | |||
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| Songwriters |
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| Producers |
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| Fivio Foreign singles chronology | ||||
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| Kanye West singles chronology | ||||
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| Alicia Keys singles chronology | ||||
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"City of Gods"[a] is a song by American rappersFivio Foreign andKanye West and American singerAlicia Keys. It was released as the lead single from Fivio's debut studio albumB.I.B.L.E. and the second single from West's eleventh studio album,Donda 2. On the song,Playboi Carti provides ad-libs, while Keys interpolates the chorus from "New York City" (2015) byThe Chainsmokers. The track was certifiedGold by theRecording Industry Association of America, indicating 500,000 units recorded in the US and was nominated at the54th NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Hip Hop/Rap Song.[3]
Kanye West andFivio Foreign first worked together for the song "Off the Grid" (withPlayboi Carti, who provides ad-libs on this song), released on West's albumDonda in 2021.[4] The collaboration came together after West called Fivio Foreign to record inMercedes Benz Stadium the night before the listening event forDonda.[5] According to Fivio Foreign, West praised the verse the rapper recorded for "Off the Grid", lauding his similarity to his frequent collaborator,Jay-Z. West was also adamant about getting Jay-Z himself to perform on "City of Gods", but this never materialized.[6][7]
BeforeDonda released, Fivio Foreign told his fans on Twitter that West was executive producing and performing on his upcoming albumB.I.B.L.E.[8] On February 5, 2022, Fivio Foreign tweeted "I ain't gon lie, Ye gave me the feature of the Yr.. He was talking 2 crazy on that verse [sic]".[9]
When Fivio Foreign first got the beat for "City of Gods", it featured a sample of the 2015 track "New York City" byThe Chainsmokers. When playing it for West, he said "Yo, I see something with this song" and asked Fivio to send the beat so he could change it around.[10] One of the changes West made was taking out the sample and gettingAlicia Keys to sing the vocals instead.[10] Originally Fivio was rapping "Ain't no king of New York, nobody really in charge", and when he played it for West, he said "You gotta say you're the king of New York". Fivio Foreign then suggested that he should rap "Pop was the king of New York, now I'm the one that's in charge" (thereby paying tribute to late drill rapperPop Smoke), which West responded to by saying "Yo that's even better!".[10]
The song is dedicated to late rapper, friend of Fivio Foreign and longtime collaborator TDott Woo, who was shot and killed a week before the release of the song. In a statement put up with the release of the song, Fivio said "T Dot. That's my baby boy. I never thought I'd be doing this without you here with me. You supposed to be here with me but you gon' always be the prince in the City of Gods. Your name will forever live through with me. Long Live Prince T Dot."[11]
The song has been compared to the collaboration "Empire State of Mind" (2009) byJay-Z andAlicia Keys, in addition to the release of the second version that references in its title "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down", featured on Keys' albumThe Element of Freedom.[12][13][14]
Complex's writers have associated the song with both "Empire State of Mind" and "Run This Town", appreciating the combination of Foreign's drill music with Kanye's production, even though "the glitzy synth made it feel like American Eagle drill; [...] Just too glossy" and that "overall, it’s a bit of an oblong song". At the end Alicia Keys was prized for her "singing reverently about New York City; [...] with impressive vocals on the chorus".[15] Christine Ochefu byGQ was pleasantly impressed to find Keys on a drill track.[16]
Credits adapted from Tidal.[17]
Music
Technical
| "City of Gods (Part II)" | ||||
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| Single byAlicia Keys | ||||
| Released | April 7, 2022 | |||
| Length | 3:12 | |||
| Label | AKW | |||
| Songwriters |
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| Producer | Alicia Keys | |||
| Alicia Keys singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "City of Gods (Part II)" onYouTube | ||||
On April 7, 2022,Alicia Keys released a solo version of the song with stripped back production called "City of Gods (Part II)".[18] The video of the song was nominated at the2022 MTV Video Music Awards in theBest R&B category.
| Chart (2022) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[19] | 66 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[20] | 20 |
| Global 200 (Billboard)[21] | 43 |
| Iceland (Tónlistinn)[22] | 16 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[23] | 36 |
| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[24] | 4 |
| Portugal (AFP)[25] | 174 |
| South Africa (TOSAC)[26] | 48 |
| Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[27] | 5 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] | 91 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[29] | 58 |
| UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[30] | 31 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[31] | 46 |
| USHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[32] | 15 |
| USRhythmic Airplay (Billboard)[33] | 7 |
| Chart (2022) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[34] | 63 |
| US Rhythmic (Billboard)[35] | 41 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[36] | Gold | 40,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[37] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | February 11, 2022 |
| [11] | |
| United States | February 15, 2022 | Urban contemporary radio | Columbia | [38] |
| Various | April 29, 2025 | YZY | [39] |
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