Welcome to the Jungle (Jay-Z and Kanye West song)

"Welcome to the Jungle"
Song by Jay-Z & Kanye West
from the album Watch the Throne
Released 8 August 2011
Recorded 2011
Genre Hip hop
Length 2:54
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Swizz Beatz

"Welcome to the Jungle" is a song by American hip hop recording artists Kanye West and Jay Z, from their collaborative album Watch the Throne.

Background

Producer Swizz Beatz, whom also provided additional vocals on the track, described working with Kanye and Jay on the album songs "Welcome to the Jungle", "Who Gon Stop Me" and "Murder to Excellence" as: 'like being in the studio with Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson at the same time'.[1][2]

Composition

The song's outro uses a sample of "Tristessa" by Orchestra Njervudarov.[3] This doesn't mark the only time that this track's sampled within the album - it is also sampled on fellow songs "No Church in the Wild", "New Day" and "Illest Motherfucker Alive".[4]

On top of this sample, "Welcome to the Jungle" includes one from Prince's 1997 single "When We're Dancing Close and Slow" [5]

Critical reception

Billboard described the track as being where the two rappers: 'shed light to the darkness of their lifestyle'.[6] Jay's rapping on it was viewed as the highlight by Pitchfork, writing that: 'On "Welcome to the Jungle", Jay, never a tortured pop star, actually says, "I'm fuckin' depressed."'.[7]

The song was listed at number 20, out of 50, on Rolling Stone's best of 2011 list.[8]

Commercial performance

Upon the release of Watch the Throne, "Welcome to the Jungle" debuted at number 25 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart and rose to its peak of number 4 the following week.[9]

Charts

Chart (2011) Peak
position
US Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles (Billboard)[10] 4

References

  1. ↑ "Swizz Beatz Speaks On Contributions To Jay-Z & Kanye West's "Watch The Throne"". HipHopDX. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  2. ↑ "'Watch The Throne' Production Credits Revealed". Rap-Up. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Jay-Z and Kanye West's 'Welcome to the Jungle' sample of Orchestra Njervudarov's 'Tristessa'". WhoSampled. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Jay-Z and Kanye West's 'New Day' sample of Orchestra Njervudarov's 'Tristessa'". WhoSampled. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Jay-Z and Kanye West's 'Welcome to the Jungle' sample of Prince's 'When We're Dancing Close and Slow'". WhoSampled. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Jay-Z and Kanye West's 'Watch the Throne': Track-by-Track Review". Billboard. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  7. ↑ "JAY-Z / Kanye West: Watch the Throne Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  8. ↑ "50 Best Singles of 2011". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Chart Search". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Kanye West Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
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