30 Hours

"30 Hours"
Promotional single by Kanye West
from the album The Life of Pablo
Released February 12, 2016
Format Streaming
Recorded 2015
Genre
Length 5:23
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)

"30 Hours" is a song by American rap musician Kanye West, featuring backing vocals from Andre 3000, that lies on West's seventh studio album The Life of Pablo (2016).[1] The track was released as a promotional single from the album as part of his GOOD Fridays program.

Composition and lyrics

"30 Hours" includes samples of multiple elements from 1986 track "Answers Me" by Arthur Russell.[2] The song also includes a sample of drums from 1973 single "Joy" by Isaac Hayes.[3] By the time that all the changes had been made to The Life of Pablo in June 2016, the track had been crafted by West to sound like the original version.[4]

Lyrics are quoted from Nelly singles "E.I." and "Hot in Herre" within it.[5]

Release

Pre-release of the song, "Real Friends" and "No More Parties in LA" had already been released for streaming as part of the GOOD Fridays program. The track was released as a promotional single just like they were, so West made it solely available for free streaming on Soundcloud instead of sites like iTunes or Amazon Music where it had to be paid for.[6] In 2018, "30 Hours" was removed from SoundCloud, despite the other two promotional singles still being available on there.[7]

The Life of Pablo was scheduled to be titled "Waves" at one point and the track was set to be a part of Act 2 on one of the track lists for the album.[8] On the very day that the song was released, West announced via Twitter that the featuring album was being mastered and set for release later on in the day, alongside promotion of the single - however, the release was delayed by two days due to Chance the Rapper fighting to keep "Waves" as a part of it.[9][10] Two days after The Life of Pablo's release, West tweeted out thanks to Drake for helping him write "30 Hours" along with "Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1" and also promised more music with both Drake and Future.[11]

Recording

Photography of Andre in the studio alongside other rappers with West working on the album was posted on 2 Chainz's Instagram in January 2016.[12] When Andre was on his way to the studio in Los Angeles, he decided to bring some random Uber passenger with him.[13] Andre revealed that he was expecting to drop a guest verse on "30 Hours" and that others expected one from him - the rapper did try to write a verse, but it just didn't work.[14]

Critical reception

The track was heavily praised by Rolling Stone, with it being named as The Life of Pablo's: 'most stunning track here'.[15] NME praised West's sampling skills used for "30 Hours", describing it as: 'the most masterful of these high-low art juxtapositions'.[16]

Controversy

West disses one of his exes with the lines: "My ex said she gave me the best years of her life/I saw a recent picture of her, I guess she was right", which don't clearly state who he's referencing - many believe it's Amber Rose, whilst others point towards West's ex Sumeke Rainey.[17] If it's indeed a diss towards Rose, this wouldn't mark the first time that West took a shot at her in 2016, since January saw him involved in a Twitter feud with her and husband Wiz Khalifa.[18] As well as this, he takes a shot at website Media Take Out, rapping the lines: "I wake up, assessin' the damages/Checkin' MediaTakeOut/Picture of me drunk walkin' out with a b**ch/But it's blurry enough to get the fake out".[19]

When rapping "Duppy Freestyle" in May 2018, co-writer Drake paid reference to "30 Hours" along with "Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1" to diss West.[20] There was speculation of whether or not West would respond to this diss and he chose to do so indirectly by tweeting out against the idea of beef.[21][22]

Commercial performance

Upon the release of The Life of Pablo, the song debuted at number 4 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[23]

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[24] 143
US Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles (Billboard)[25] 6

References

  1. ↑ "The Best Track On Kanye West's The Life Of Pablo Is Also, Somehow, The Worst". The Concourse. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Kanye West Samples Arthur Russell On "30 Hours"". IndieCurrent. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Kanye West feat. André 3000 '30 Hours' sample of Isaac Haye's 'Joy'". WhoSampled. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Every Change Kanye West Made to 'The Life of Pablo'". XXL. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Drake, Nelly and Kanye West's children credited on 'The Life Of Pablo' album". NME. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Kanye West streams new album track '30 Hours'". NME. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Kanye West". Free Listening on SoundCloud. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Kanye West Debuts Several 'Waves' Tracklists". Billboard. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Kanye West: 30 Hours debuts on Twitter — GOOD Fridays are back". EW.com. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  10. ↑ "'Blame Chance': Kanye West Explains 'Life of Pablo' Album Delay". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Kanye Promises More Music With Drake and Future". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Kanye West Works on Waves With André 3000, 2 Chainz, Kid Cudi, More". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  13. ↑ "PIC: Andre 3000 invited a random Uber passenger to Kanye West's studio session". JOE.ie. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Andre 3000 Discusses Failed Fashion Line, Appearing On Kanye West's 'Pablo' In New Interview". Okayplayer. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  15. ↑ "The Life of Pablo". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Kanye West - 'The Life of Pablo' Review". NME. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  17. ↑ "13 Kanye West Disses On 'The Life Of Pablo' That Prove No One Is Safe". Bustle. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Kanye West, Amber Rose and Wiz Khalifa was the Twitter feud where nobody came out on top". The Independent. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Here's Everyone Kanye West Disses on 'The Life of Pablo'". The Wrap. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Drake Fires Back at Pusha-T, Kanye West on Diss Track 'Duppy Freestyle'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Should Kanye West Respond To Drake's "Duppy?"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Drake's response to Pusha-T diss could have been "career-ending" for Kanye". NME. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Kanye West Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  24. ↑ "CHART: CLUK Update 9.04.2016 (wk14)". Zobbel.de. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  25. ↑ "Chart Search". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
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