| "Say You Will" | |
|---|---|
 Cover art for the remix of "Say You Will" | |
| Song byKanye West | |
| from the album808s & Heartbreak | |
| Released | November 24, 2008 |
| Recorded | 2008 |
| Studio |
|
| Genre | |
| Length | 6:17 |
| Label | |
| Songwriters | |
| Producer | Kanye West |
"Say You Will" is a song by American rapperKanye West, released as the opening track on his fourth studio album,808s & Heartbreak (2008). The song contains vocals from the Kadockadee Kwire featuring Glenn Jordan,Phillip Ingram,Jim Gilstrap,Romeo Johnson, Kevin Dorsey, andWill Wheaton. It also includes background vocals fromMr Hudson andTony Williams. The song was produced by West, who co-wrote it withJeff Bhasker,Young Jeezy,Malik Yusef, Mr Hudson, andConsequence. In 2008, the song was recorded over a time period of 15 minutes. It is amelancholyhip hop andR&B ballad, which featuressynth-pop production. Lyrically, the song sees West discuss struggling to detach himself from Alexis Phifer.
"Say You Will" received generally positive reviews frommusic critics, a number of whom named it as one of the album's highlights. Some praised the composition, while several reviewers highlighted the vocals on the song. West performed the song at the 2011Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and he later narrated a team of singers through a performance of it atNebuchadnezzar in 2019. The song was used in a trailer for West's filmJesus Is King (2019), before subsequently being featured in the film.Mobius Band shared a cover version of it in February 2009, whichsamples children's voices. A remix of the song was released in October 2015 that featuresCaroline Shaw. On theelectro–orchestral remix, the strength of the vocals is increased and violins from Shaw are added.
Outside of "Say You Will", English musicianMr Hudson co-wrote fellow808s & Heartbreak track "Street Lights" and contributed a feature to "Paranoid".[2] The musician was on vacation in Paris when he received a phone call from West, who was drawn in by his charm.[3] After Mr Hudson's contributions to the album, West went on to sign him to hisrecord labelGOOD Music.[3] The musician subsequently released his debut studio albumStraight No Chaser under the label in October 2009, with West contributing vocals on thesingle "Supernova".[3] "Say You Will" was solely produced by West, who served as a songwriter alongsideJeff Bhasker,Young Jeezy,Malik Yusef, Mr Hudson, andConsequence. An 11-piece orchestra contributed to the song, which was conducted by Larry Gold.[a][2]
Throughout the album, West usesAuto-Tune on his voice.[4] During the three week period that he worked on the entirety of808s & Heartbreak in 2008, "Say You Will" was recorded in 15 minutes.[5][6] Seeking out aminimalist direction sonically, West directed his team to bring uniquedrum machines to Avex Recording Studio inHonolulu, Hawaii.[2][7] They weresampled andreprogrammed into West'sRoland TR-808 drum machine at the studio, which recording engineerAnthony Kilhoffer explained was responsible for the song's "unique sounds".[7] West further ventured in a new musical direction, crafting buzzsaw and icysynths that are juxtaposed with sonic flourishes on "Say You Will".[6][7] On the album's 10th anniversary in 2018, Canadian singer-songwriterEsthero remembered witnessing the peak of West's singing and songwriting capabilities as it was recorded and sang the line "Hey, hey, hey, hey, don't say you will" from the song'schorus. She emphasized the notes West settled on when he sang the line and recalled having begged him: "I don't care how many of these lines you re-record. I know you have to write lyrics and you're going to re-record them. That one, do not get rid of that. Please keep that. It's magic."[1]
Musically, "Say You Will" is amelancholyhip hop andR&B ballad.[8][9][10][11] The song featuressynth-pop production,[12] withgothic and dank electronic influences ofthe Cure andNew Order.[8] Contrasting with most rap andpop songs, the chorus-verse-chorus-versestructure is not used.[citation needed] Two icy synth notes are repeated back and forth on the song, which it primarily relies on.[6][13][14] The notes are backed by drums, as well as vocals from monk choir the Kadockadee Kwire featuring Glenn Jordan,Phillip Ingram,Jim Gilstrap,Romeo Johnson, Kevin Dorsey, andWill Wheaton.[2][6][13] The song also prominently featureselectronic buzzsaw synths,[6][7] sparsepercussion, and piano.[12][14] Strings, violin,viola,cello, and heavybass are included on the song.[2] Goldarranged thestrings, while Jeff Chestek engineered them with assistance from Rick Friedrich, Montez Roberts, and John Stahl.[2] West starts to sing six seconds into the song, following a few of the notes.[4] He utilizes Auto-Tune on his voice, singing until the song's 3 minutes and 15 seconds mark.[4][15] West's performance is succeeded by an extended instrumental outro,[6][13][14] which utilizes the Roland TR-808 and echoes choral vocals for around three minutes.[4][7][16] Background vocals are contributed to the song by Mr Hudson andTony Williams.[2]
In the lyrics of the song, West speaks of being unable to pull himself away from his ex-fiancé Alexis Phifer.[17] According to him, the song is about that "ex-girlfriend you call on Friday nights just to have sex".[6] West begins the chorus by singing, "Hey, hey, hey, hey, don't say you will".[1] He expresses misery on the song with the lyrics "When I grab your neck / I touch your soul".[4]
On November 24, 2008, "Say You Will" was included as the first track on West's fourth studio album808s & Heartbreak.[18] The song was met with generally positive reviews frommusic critics, mostly being identified by them as an album highlight. While naming the song as one of the album's tracks to be downloaded,The Washington Post's Chris Richards noted it contains "equally rich sonic detail" to "Street Lights".[15] He analyzed, characterizing the song as sounding like slow riffing from "Kraftwerk and a choir of Gregorian monkbots" onthe Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" (1966) and observing how West "allows the beat to plink and plonk off into infinity" after his Auto-Tuned performance.[15] Richards wrote that the "three gorgeous, wordless minutes" provide clarity of West "no longer clamoring for our undivided attention", instead "giving us enough space to step back and watch him take a brilliant left turn".[15] Reviewing the album forThe Independent, Andy Gill recommended it as one of the songs to download.[19] Steve Jones fromUSA Today made the same recommendation in his review.[20] Writing forRapReviews, Jesal 'Jay Soul' Padania named "the opening strands of the haunting 'Hey-hey-hey-hey'" on the song among the moments of808s & Heartbreak that will remained in one's mind "for a good while".[21] At theChicago Sun-Times, Jim DeRogatis selected the song as one of the notable times on the album where West's formula of Auto-Tune usage "is touching and very effective".[22] Scott Plagenhoef fromPitchfork opined that the song has one of the "biggest vocal lines" on the album, before ultimately reaching "a three-minute, table-setting outro-- a patient, defeated-sounding collection of choral vocals and drum machines".[16]
PopMatters contributor Dave Heaton stated the song "sets the mood well" for808s & Heartbreak with its two "simple synth notes" that repeat back and forth similarly to aping-pong game, recognizing the "strangeness" lent by them.[14] He further noticed that "an emotional foundation" is provided by the song's 1980s "soft-pop piano" and the "extended outro" after West's performance places emphasis on "the feeling of the song while introducing the fact that West's presence as a composer/arranger" is equally or possibly more important to the album than his microphone presence.[14] InHotpress, Alison Curtis called the song "six minutes of remorseful chanting".[23] The staff ofThe Observer viewed the song as sounding likeR. Kelly taking on the style of Kraftwerk, labeling it "aslow jam built around a simple radioactivepulse".[24] Jozen Cummings ofVibe described the album as West "trying to get something off his chest" while he attempts "to push something through", noting how most artists do not begin their albums with a ballad like West "does with the melancholy 'Say You Will'".[9] Cara Nash fromNo Ripcord viewed the song as setting the album's mood "with two synth notes beeping back and forth, desolate and bleak".[13] Nash elaborated, saying the notes are backed by "a haunting synth choir and drums", and the song's "extended outro" serves as a reminder of West's heartbreak being "defeating and relentless".[13]Billboard reviewer Mariel Concepcion called the subject matter of West being "unable to wrench himself away from an ex-lover" interesting, though felt that the song lacks the funness of fellow album tracks "Amazing" and "See You in My Nightmares".[17] In a negative review formusicOMH, Adam Conner-Simons defined "Say You Will" as setting the tone for the "spaced-out synth-pop production" on808s & Heartbreak that is simple andminimal. He continued, commenting that the song "indifferently drip-drop[s] along for more than six minutes amid thin choral arrangements and bare-bones percussion".[12]
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West performed the song for the sixth number of his February 2009VH1 show, which was later released as his secondlive albumVH1 Storytellers in January 2010.[25] Spooky keyboards backed West for the performance, while he also told the story behind the song.[25][26] During his headlining set for the 2009Wireless Festival atHyde Park in London, West followed declaring the song his favorite on808s & Heartbreak by performing a highly emotional version of it.[27] While performing, he wore his customaryaviator shades and black suit jacket while.[27] Kanye delivered a performance of the song for his headlining set at the 2011Coachella Festival, which saw him declare the set his "most important" show since his mother Donda West's death.[28] Kanye West also said during the song's performance that as he wrote "Power" (2009), he had envisioned performing it on the stage of Coachella.[28] On February 22, 2012, West freestyled over the song for seven minutes during a concert inMelbourne, Australia.[29][30] The freestyle included West recounting having contacted an ex-lover late at night; he requested her to come over and was led into believing she would take up his offer, but he was ultimately denied.[30]
For a January 2013 concert in Abu Dhabi onThe Yeezus Tour, West began to perform "Say You Will", before transitioning into both freestyling and ranting.[31] During the concert, West wore astraitjacket.[31] At the 2013Governors Ball, West performed the song.[32] For West's two night concert of808s & Heartbreak in its entirety at the 2015Hollywood Bowl in September, he performed the song as the first track, beginning at 9:19 p.m.[33][34] West wore loose garments in white and off-white shades as he performed, whiledesert-trek boots served as his footwear.[35][36] He was supported by a small band, a medium-sized orchestra, and backing singers.[35][36] The lights went out as soon as the performance started, which was accompanied by fireworks.[33][34] West sang to American actressZoë Kravitz throughout, who was covered in gold paint and sulked in the center of the stage.[33][34][37] He faced the direction of the orchestra and singers, rarely looking towards the crowd.[36] Around one minute into the performance, West requested his band to restart the song. During the outro, he had a standoff of sorts with Kravitz.[34] On November 24, 2019, West served as the offstage narrator for his debut operaNebuchadnezzar while the song was performed by a team of singers, who sang the orchestralcoda as a recurringmotif.[38][39]
American trioMobius Band released a cover version of the song on their EPEmpire of Love on February 11, 2009, coinciding withValentine's Day.[10] The cover maintains the original's melancholic tone, though has the addition ofsamples of children's voices and features no Auto-Tune.[10] Canadian musicianDrake rapped over the song's beat on "Say What's Real", which was included on his third mixtapeSo Far Gone in February 2009.[40] In December 2018, West tweeted a screenshot of a text message that informed him Drake had sent a clearance request for the song.[40][41] Subsequently, West declined the request after ranting onTwitter and engaging in a phone call with Drake.[40] The mixtape was later released tostreaming services on its 10th anniversary in February 2019 with the song included; West ultimately granted his approval and received credit as a composer.[41] Drake clarified viaInstagram that he rapped over the beat because West "just made the best shit".[41] In August 2016, West's wifeKim Kardashian included "Say You Will" on a playlist of her 28 favorite songs from him.[42]
On October 17, 2019, West shared a trailer for hisconcert filmJesus Is King that is slightly over a minute in length.[43][44] The trailer is soundtracked by agospel reinterpretation of the song with new lyrics, which is delivered by a choir as a temple-like image is displayed.[43][45][46] They continue to sing the reinterpretation while the image gives way to a biblical quote from theNew Testament Book of Mark: "In the words ofJesus Christ, 'The time is fulfilled, and theKingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel.'"[45][46] The film was released simultaneously with West's ninth studio albumof the same name on October 25, 2019, and the former includes West and his gospel group theSunday Service Choir performing the song as a raphymn.[47][48]
A remix of "Say You Will", featuring violinist and composerCaroline Shaw, was uploaded by West to hisSoundCloud on October 19, 2015, alongside a remix ofthe Weeknd's "Tell Your Friends" under the title of "When I See It".[49] The cover art for both is a photo of flowers, which had been used for merchandise at West's808s & Heartbreak concert.[50]PhotographerNick Knight released a body of large still-life images alongside his "Flora" exhibition of flowers in 2012, with the artwork being one of the images from the body.[50] Manipulation by heat and water was used for the image's development process, creating the visual effect of melting flowers.[50] According to Shaw, West first approached her backstage at a 2014 performance and requested her phone number. Shaw remembered starting off not overly enthusiastic about a collaboration, saying that one of West's producers "asked me if I'd be interested on working on songs for a live show with an orchestra", leading to her getting "the sense that maybe he wanted to ask me to be a composer and orchestrate something, and that wasn't something that was really interesting" due to the role being fulfilled by many people.[11] She further recalled not doing anything "for a week or two", before taking "a deep dive into [the West album]808s and Heartbreak", and admitted: "Say You Will is the song that hit me most." Shaw explained that the song "does something with music that I love: the last two minutes [of it], nothing happens. Absolutely nothing".[11] The remix was recorded in the lead up to the album concert.[51]
Musically, the remix of "Say You Will" is anelectro–orchestral ballad.[11] The remix wasarranged by Shaw, who played additional violins.[11][52] The vocals are strengthened for it, with Shaw's voice beinglooped to sound somewhat like the vocal ensembleRoomful of Teeth that she is a member of.[52][53] The opening is wordless, featuring Shaw recalling her earlier work by singing unconnected vowel and consonant sounds. As the remix continues, West's vocal melody changes while his voice gets louder. At the same time, thetimbre of Shaw's voice opens andpizzicato strings come in.[53] The remix reached number two on theBillboard Twitter Trending 140 chart in October 2015, being held off the summit by "When I See It".[54]
Information taken from808s & Heartbreak liner notes.[2]
Recording
Personnel
Additional musicians
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