| "Welcome to the Jungle" | |
|---|---|
| Song byJay-Z andKanye West | |
| from the albumWatch the Throne | |
| Released | August 8, 2011 |
| Recorded | 2011 |
| Studio |
|
| Genre | Hip-hop |
| Length | 2:54 |
| Label | |
| Songwriters |
|
| Producer | Swizz Beatz |
"Welcome to the Jungle" is a song by the American rappersJay-Z andKanye West from their collaborative studio album,Watch the Throne (2011). The song features additional vocals fromSwizz Beatz and Acapella Soul. It was produced by Swizz Beatz, who served as a co-writer with West, Jay-Z, andMike Dean. The rappers engaged in recording sessions with the producer for the song atThe Mercer Hotel in 2011. Ahip-hop song, it features a simplistic beat withrock elements.
Lyrically, Jay-Z touches on his personal losses and overcoming struggles on the song. Jay-Z makes a lyrical reference toGuns N' Roses' songof the same name and West contributes few vocals, discussing the problems of his environment in his performance. "Welcome to the Jungle" received generally positive reviews frommusic critics, who mostly highlighted Jay-Z's rapping and placed focus on his lyricism. Some complimented the production and it was named as one of the best songs of 2011 byRolling Stone, though a few critics were negative towards Swizz Beatz's vocals. In the United States, the song peaked at number four on theBillboardBubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart. Jay-Z and West performed it during theirWatch the Throne Tour (2011–2012).
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Jay-Z and West are both American rappers who have collaborated on several tracks together, such as the singles "Swagga Like Us" (2008), "Run This Town" (2009), and "Monster" (2010).[1][2] In 2010, the rappers began production and recording together for a collaborative record titledWatch the Throne.[2] Record producerSwizz Beatz compared working with Jay-Z and West to being in the studio withQuincy Jones andMichael Jackson at the same time. Swizz Beatz explained that despite the majority of people not feeling the same way, this comparison would be made inhip-hop history within 10 to 15 years. The producer recorded with Jay-Z and West during their sessions atThe Mercer Hotel inSoHo, Manhattan forWatch the Throne in 2011.[3][4] The rappers and Swizz Beatz co-wrote the song withMike Dean.[5]
Musically, "Welcome to the Jungle" is a hip-hop song.[6] The song features a simplistic, abrasive beat that incorporates elements ofrock music.[4][7][8] Mournfulsynths enter at the point of West's performance,[7][9] alongside Swizz Beatz'sgroove.[6] The song also contains the producer's signaturesnares,[10] Dean's keys, and additional instruments fromKen Lewis.[5] It includes a short outro, which is used on others tracks of the album.[8] Additional vocals are contributed from Swizz Beatz and Acapella Soul, with the former delivering thead-lib "Welcome to the jungle, well?"[5][11]
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In the lyrics of "Welcome to the Jungle", Jay-Z discusses personal losses and overcoming his struggles as he admits to experiencing depression.[7][12][13] Jay-Z details the impact of his uncle and father's deaths, recalling the pain left him paralyzed.[11][14] He begins a verse with a description of the death ofTupac Shakur,[7] as well as paying tribute to fellow rappersPimp C andthe Notorious B.I.G..[4][11] Jay-Z also references Jackson's death: "Rest in peace to the leader of theJackson 5".[4][15] Despite sharing the title ofhard rock bandGuns N' Roses' single "Welcome to the Jungle", the song does not sample it or have a similar sound, although Jay-Z describes himself as "blackAxl Rose" in reference to the lead vocalist.[16] Contributing few vocals to the song, West mostly addresses his problems faced from the environment around him, rather than focusing on himself.[4][8] He referencesAndré 3000's story from rap groupOutkast's "Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 1)" of asking a girl during their teenage years where she wanted to be when she grew up and her answering by saying alive in the introduction, rapping that he received this answer after asking a female where she wanted to be aged 25.[7]
On August 8, 2011, "Welcome to the Jungle" was included as the eighth track on Jay-Z and West's collaborative studio albumWatch The Throne, released by their record labelsDef Jam,Roc Nation, andRoc-A-Fella.[17] During the rappers'Watch the Throne Tour that ran from 2011 until 2012, they performed the song.[18] Jay-Z and West performed it forSamsung Galaxy'sSouth by Southwest concert at the Austin Music Hall in Austin, Texas on March 12, 2014, accompanied by a 12-foot video cube at the center of the stage.[19][20] The performance generated heavy cheers for the crowd and Jay-Z responded by telling them, "Oh, we're just getting started."[19]
"Welcome to the Jungle" was met with general acclaim frommusic critics, with Jay-Z's performance mostly garnering praise. Ranking it as the 20th best song of 2011,Rolling Stone staff asserted that Jay-Z compares himself to Rose over Swizz Beatz's "groove that slams like a hip-hop GnR".[6] InCokemachineglow, Calum Marsh called the song an unexpected album highlight for the rapper's "disarmingly introspective therapy session verse" that, combined with synths invoking "Assault on Precinct 13 (2003), surpasses its "chest-beating seriousness".[9] Jesal "Jay Soul" Padania fromRapReviews saw its "societal subject matter" as a highlight ofWatch the Throne, hailing how Swizz Beatz returns the excitement of his teenage years with an "unstoppable and insistent beat" for Jay-Z's impressive lyricism.[21] Writing forAmerican Songwriter, Matt Popkin praised his Rose reference and Swizz Beatz's "trademark stuttering snares".[10] Brian Josephs ofComplex named the song as the 13th best out of the 16 on the album and he felt that despite the producer's ad-libs being the "glue at the center of this b-boy bop", Jay-Z dominates with his biographical lyricism across two emotional verses.[11]Rolling Stone's Matthew Perpetua observed that as a consolation for it not sounding like Guns N' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle", he mentions Rose "over a jittery, treble-heavy Swizz Beatz production".[16] AtUrb, James Shahan commended the song's strength for its "quasi-rock Swizz Beats score" with some of Jay-Z and West's best lyrical performances from their separate sources of struggle; the former's comes from himself and the latter's from what has happened in his environment.[8] Tom Breihan fromPitchfork highlighted the rapper, "never a tortured pop star", admitting to being depressed as an example of "address[ing] matters beyond their bank accounts" on the album.[13]The New York Times journalistJon Caramanica found Jay-Z's pain to be "deeply ingrained", discussing the deaths of family that affected him.[14] Steve Jones ofUSA Today picked the song as one from the album to download, saying that the rapper addresses his own losses and struggles.[12] InPopMatters, David Amidon lauded how the song alludes to "raw New Yorkian street rap" such asNas' "Made You Look" (2002).[22]
Providing a mixed review forEntertainment Weekly, Kyle Anderson expressed that the song delivers "a lot of bluster but little heart".[23]HipHopDX's Edwin Ortiz commented that the song is lacking the majority of the album's execution and creativeness as Swizz Beatz's recognizable "sharp, bouncing production fall[s] to the wayside".[24]Beats Per Minute critic Sean Highkins commented that although the song's rapping is among the best onWatch the Throne, it is ruined by Swizz Beatz's "grating production and contractually-insured ad-libbing".[25] He considered these types of ad-libs to be so cancerous to mainstream hip-hop that a law should be passed by theUnited States Congress prohibiting Swizz Beatz or rapperwill.i.am from performing on any artist's tracks they produced.[25] ForTiny Mix Tapes, Ross Green offered that swapping the song and "Lift Off" for thebonus tracks "The Joy" and "Illest Motherfucker Alive" would have improvedWatch the Throne, singling out the producer's vocals as annoying.[26] In a similar review, the staff ofXXL looked at it as "forced in comparison to the rest of the material".[27]
In the US, the song peaked at number four on theBillboardBubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart. It lasted for three weeks on the chart.[28]
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[5]
Recording
Personnel
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles (Billboard)[29] | 4 |
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