| "Wolves" | |
|---|---|
| Song byKanye West | |
| from the albumThe Life of Pablo | |
| Released | July 29, 2016 |
| Recorded | 2014–16 |
| Length | 5:01 |
| Label | |
| Songwriters | |
| Producers |
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| Music video | |
| "Wolves" onYouTube | |
"Wolves" is a song by American rapperKanye West, featuring vocals fromSia andVic Mensa, from his seventh studio album,The Life of Pablo (2016). It was produced by West,Cashmere Cat, andSinjin Hawke and was originally planned to be the opening track toThe Life of Pablo. West debuted the song on February 12, 2015, at a fashion show where he also premiered his newAdidas shoe.[1] The presentation was broadcast live to more than 40 locations around the world.[2][3]
"Wolves" became the second confirmed track from the album[4][5] and originally featured Sia and Vic Mensa. The initial album version introduced a new verse from West and an additional outro fromFrank Ocean, omitting Sia and Vic Mensa's contributions. However, in March 2016, the album was updated with a new version of the song that reinstated Sia and Vic Mensa's verses. Frank Ocean's outro has been split into a separate track, titled "Frank's Track", which appears after "Wolves" on the track list.
Upon its release, "Wolves" received widespread acclaim frommusic critics. Commercially, the track would top theBubbling Under Hot 100 chart, alongside charting at number 39 on theHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and at number 88 on theUK singles chart. The song's music video, directed bySteven Klein, was released on the 29th of July, 2016.. The song was used in the trailer for theNetflix crime drama seriesOzark (2017).[6]
Caroline Shaw, who has a writing credit on "Wolves", created an alternate version of the song that went unused on the album:
"There’s also another version ofWolves I made in [Rick Rubin's bus-turned-recording-studio] during those couple of days. It’s not what’s on the album; it’s more of a pairing withFather Stretch My Hands, and it puts a line from Frank Ocean ('life is precious') right in the heart of the song, which is where I believe it should go."[7]
"Wolves" was produced by West, Cashmere Cat and Sinjin Hawke, and originally featured vocals by Australian singer and songwriter Sia and Chicago rapper Vic Mensa. The song has been described as "melancholic" and "somber" with a slower beat, a minimal arrangement, and a heavilyAuto-Tuned bridge.[2][8] The "lurching" chorus is performed by Vic Mensa and includes the lyrics, "I'm just bad. Bad for you."[2][8] Sia performs a "bluesy" rendition of West's words approximately two minutes and three seconds into the song.[8]
The original album version featured a rap from West and a moody outro from Frank Ocean, which replaced Vic Mensa and Sia's verses.[9] An alternate version, however, was leaked online including Frank Ocean, Vic Mensa, and Sia. Unlike the album version, Frank Ocean's outro is featured at the start of the song, and West's rap is omitted.[10]
In March 2016, over a month after the album's release, West updated the album's Tidal track list with a reworked version of "Wolves", which includes the previously removed vocals from Vic Mensa and Sia. The outro sung byFrank Ocean was split into a separate track called "Frank's Track".[11]
Themusic video for the song, directed bySteven Klein, was released on July 29, 2016 as part of aBalmain advert campaign.[12] It resonates with the emotional feel of the song as it features West and his wifeKim Kardashian in tears. The video also featuresAlessandra Ambrosio,Francisco Lachowski,Joan Smalls,Jourdan Dunn,Josephine Skriver,Kylie Jenner, Sia,Jordan Barrett and Vic Mensa.[13][14] The video is black-and-white and sees West and his wife wearing the same outfits designed for their appearance at 2016'sMet Gala.[15]
"Wolves" received widespread acclaim from music critics. Brittany Spanos ofRolling Stone said the song was reminiscent of West's work on his fourth studio album808s & Heartbreak (2008).[2] The song was branded by Nosheen Iqbal ofThe Guardian as having 'brutal Yeezus-ish minimalism'.[16] Spencer Kornhaber ofThe Atlantic viewed the song as being 'gorgeous and beguiling'.[17]The Independent's Christopher Hooton wrote of the song: 'This is such a beautiful song and the off-kilter drums in the background throw it off balance in a good way.'[18]
"Wolves" debuted at number 1 on the USBillboardBubbling Under Hot 100 upon the release ofThe Life of Pablo.[19] Within the same week, it debuted at number 39 on the USHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[20] The song also charted on theUK Singles Chart upon the album's release, reaching number 88.[21]
West was one of several musical guests for theSaturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special, which aired on NBC in February 2015. He performed "Jesus Walks" and "Only One", then Sia and Mensa joined him for the live debut of "Wolves".[22] Due to the "claustrophobic, starkly black-and-white" set, all three vocalists crawled and crouched throughout the song due to their limited mobility, and Sia wore a large white bob wig.[23]
Credits reflect the updated March 2016 version; adapted from Tidal.[24]
| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[25] | 13 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[26] | 88 |
| UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[27] | 25 |
| USBubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard)[28] | 1 |
| USHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[29] | 39 |
| USOn-Demand Songs (Billboard)[30] | 31 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[31] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[32] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[33] Frank Ocean version | Silver | 200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[34] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Studio albums | |
|---|---|
| Visual albums | |
| Mixtapes | |
| Singles | |
| Featured singles | |
| Other songs | |
| Related articles | |
