| "Speechless" | |
|---|---|
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| Song byAlicia Keys featuringEve | |
| from the albumMonster Mondays Vol. 1 | |
| Released | December 27, 2010 |
| Recorded | 2010 |
| Genre | R&B,hip hop |
| Length | 4:07 |
| Label | J |
| Songwriters | Alicia Keys,Kassim Dean,Eve Jeffers |
| Producer | Swizz Beatz |
"Speechless" is a song by American singer-songwriterAlicia Keys, featuring additional vocals from AmericanrapperEve. It was written by Keys, Eve andSwizz Beatz, and produced by the latter. It samplesKanye West’s 2010 song “Devil in a New Dress”. A dedication to her son Egypt, whom she gave birth to in October 2010, the freestyle collaboration was released as a holiday gift for Keys's fans on Beatz'sMonster Mondays program on December 27, 2010. Swizz Beatz later included the song on his mixtapeMonster Mondays Vol. 1 (2011).[1] The song charted at number 71 on the USBillboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in early 2011.
On October 14, 2010, Keys gave birth to her first son Egypt Daoud Dean, in New York City.[2][3] That month, the singer revealed on her officialblog that motherhood and her son had inspired her to create a song in a post titled "I feel a song coming on."[4] On December 27, 2010, Beatz debuted "Speechless" on his website as part of hisMonster Mondays program. In a behind-the-scenes video which documented the recording process and was also posted on the site, Beatz said that the song would not be included on herupcoming album and it was just a fun little gift to Keys' fans. "This should be a treat for the fans [...] almost like a day in the life", he said.[3] Keys noted onTwitter that "Speechless" was just "a littlefreestyle treat" for the holidays, writing "It’s not a new album, not a single, it's something special for you!”[5]
"Speechless" samples elements fromKanye West’s “Devil in a New Dress” featuringRick Ross. The song appears on his 2010 albumMy Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.[3] Lyrically, "Speechless" finds Keys singing about her newborn son. "I'm at a brand-new time in my life and a brand new feeling, and it's like this little guy, man, he takes my breath away," she says on the track before starting the first verse. Midway through the track, the rapperEve makes an appearance.[3] According to Jocelyn Vena ofMTV News, "the piano-heavy tune gets funky once the chorus kicks in", on which Keys expresses her joy over the new love of her life, singing, "Makes you speechless, baby/ Don't know what to say/ I'm just speechless, baby/ The poet in me has gone away." Vena found that Eve "shows her soft side, spitting rhymes like, "In the morning when I rise up/ Go to the window and I smile, put my eyes up/ Stare in the clouds, like, 'Wow, look at my luck.'"[3] "Speechless" marked the pairs' first collaboration in over eight years, having previously appeared together on Eve's 2002 single "Gangsta Lovin'" from her albumEve-Olution.[6]
Idolator found that Keys "may have rushed it out — ”Speechless” comes off as a little generic, despite surely heartfelt lyrics and the rock-guitar fuzz under Alicia’s piano. And the verse from the typically tough-talking Eve doesn’t add much."[6] Jocelyn Vena ofMTV News said, "the piano-heavy tune gets funky once the chorus kicks in", on which Keys expresses her joy over the new love of her son, and in her verse Eve "shows her soft side".[3]
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[7] | 71 |
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