Bound 2
"Bound 2" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, featured as the final track from his sixth studio album, Yeezus (2013). It was produced by West and Che Pope, with additional production being handled by Eric Danchick, Noah Goldstein, No ID and Mike Dean. The song features vocals from American soul singer Charlie Wilson and serves as the album's second single. "Bound 2" incorporates samples from "Bound" by Ponderosa Twins Plus One and the lines "Uh-huh, honey" and "Alright" from Brenda Lee's "Sweet Nothin's".
"Bound 2" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Kanye West | ||||
from the album Yeezus | ||||
Released | August 28, 2013 | |||
Recorded | 2013 | |||
Genre | Hip hop | |||
Length | 3:49 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Kanye West singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Bound 2" on YouTube | ||||
Audio | ||||
"Bound 2" on YouTube |
"Bound 2" received general acclaim from music critics, who referred to the song as one of the highlights of the album, comparing its soul influenced, sample-based production to West's debut studio album, The College Dropout (2004). The song peaked at number 55 on the UK Singles Chart and 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song received two nominations at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Performance. West performed the song live on Later... with Jools Holland and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Background and composition
![](../I/Charlie_Wilson-photo-by-raymond-boyd.jpg.webp)
On June 1, 2013, West revealed the cover of his sixth studio album Yeezus and premiered a 13-second preview of "Bound 2".[1] It was only one of three songs that were previewed prior to the album's release, the others being "New Slaves" and "Black Skinhead".[2]
"Bound 2" features substantial soul music samples, which critics noted as reminiscent of West's production style in his earlier work.[3] The song is predominantly built around a sample taken from "Bound", a song by soul-group Ponderosa Twins Plus One from their 1971 album, 2 + 2 + 1 = Ponderosa Twins Plus One.[4] Interpolations from "Aeroplane (Reprise)", written by Norman Whiteside and performed by Wee and the line "Uh-huh, honey" from the song "Sweet Nothin's", written by Ronnie Self and performed by country singer Brenda Lee were also used in the song.[4][5] Lee reacted to the sampling of her song on the track, saying:
As I've said, it's always nice to be recognized. It says a wonderful thing about Ronnie Self, who wrote the song. That 50 years after it was written, somebody in Kanye's camp knew the song and said, 'Let's use it.' That's a compliment to Ronnie.[6]
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Rick Rubin explained how the song was constructed:
The whole song was written without that main sample; it was a last-minute thing. The song had kind of a lot of R&B music in it. And Kanye gave marching orders of "Take out anything you want, but don't add. Just take away." Like, "OK." And before that, we listened to the sample together and thought, "Hmm, maybe there's a way to integrate this into the song." So we started by getting the sample to work in the song, and then taking out as much stuff as we could, and then in the chorus reducing what was this whole musical thing, just this sort of one ugly, distorted bass note. I was thinking like Alan Vega and Suicide, that kind of noise-synth minimal vibe. So that was the idea behind the chorus: Take it from this sort of R&B thing and turn it into this kind of post-punk, edge thing. And the lyrics he wrote were so good and funny. It just turned into a really good record. The sample is so good.[7]
On February 15, 2014, Hudson Mohawke played an original version of "Bound 2" during a DJ set in Leeds.[8] The earlier version features piano-driven production and a much more stripped down ending compared to the album version.[9] Rapper/Producer Tyler, the Creator revealed over Twitter that he helped produce the original version along with Hudson Mohawke.[10]
Release and promotion
"Bound 2" was released on June 18, 2013, as the tenth and final track on West's sixth studio album Yeezus.[11] The song was revealed to be the second single released from Yeezus in August 2013, following "Black Skinhead".[12][13] On September 9, 2013, West appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon for the first time, to promote his upcoming Yeezus Tour. During his appearance, he performed "Bound 2" with Charlie Wilson, The Roots and a male children's choir. It was his first national television performance of the song.[14] The song was also performed on the season premiere of Later... with Jools Holland by West and Wilson on September 17, 2013. To take a more minimal approach, they were accompanied by just the song's signature Ponderosa Twins sample and a brief piano intro for the Later... with Jools Holland performance.[15]
Reception
Critical response
"Bound 2" received universal acclaim from music critics. Rolling Stone described "Bound 2" as "maybe the most audacious song he's ever written, not to mention the most beautiful."[16] Julian Kimble of Complex called the song "a brilliant way to end the album" and wrote that it "stands out as a love song—a dark, twisted fantasy of a love song, perhaps, but one that's beautiful in its own way."[17] David Jeffries of AllMusic described "Bound 2" as a "new wave beauty of a closer."[18] Writing for The A.V. Club, Evan Rytlewski referred to the song as "an overt homage to West's bright early production, reimagining The College Dropout's cheerful chipmunk soul."[3] Dan Buyanovsky of XXL called it the album's "emotional and musical highlight... a perfect sendoff that reminds you of Kanye's roots while pointing you in the direction of his future."[19] A writer for the Kitsap Sun cited "Bound 2" as a "classic Yeezy effort" and "arguably the album's best track."[20]
Accolades
XXL positioned it at number 17 on their list of the best songs of 2013. They said, "'Bound 2' showed the doubters that he could still give them the soul-soaked laments that everyone wanted, he just decided not to. But that doesn't mean this song is a throwaway—the video might be more of one than the song itself—this is Kanye's introspection colliding with his self-doubt in a way that is eminently relatable to anyone with a pulse."[21] NME ranked "Bound 2" at number 22 on their list of the 50 best songs of 2013; "in Kanye's mind this is what constituted a pop song: sped up '70s soul samples, a totally unconventional structure and lyrical gems."[22] Pitchfork Media positioned "Bound 2" at number 40 on their list of the top 100 tracks of 2013. They commented, "On an album that takes itself awful seriously throughout, "Bound 2" is something that recontextualizes the entire affair, leaving more questions than answers."[23] Belgium magazine Le Vif/L'Express named it the seventh best song of 2013.[24] PopMatters placed it 15th on its list of the best songs of 2013.[25] Swedish newspaper Expressen named it the 22nd best song of 2013.[26] "Bound 2" was ranked 9th place on the annual Pazz & Jop critics songs poll.[27]
In end of decade lists, i-D placed it 21st on its list of "The 30 Hip-Hop Tracks that Defined the 2010s", commenting; "Having reached his artistic and technical peak somewhere around the 7 minute mark of the monumental "Runaway", Kanye began taking his creations apart to show how they worked. This consciously self-de(con)structive streak produced diminishing returns as the decade progressed but on something like "Bound 2" it felt genuinely transgressive—the lush, dusty soul samples of 'the old Kanye' but artificial-seeming (like that ludicrous green screen music video) and jarring; clever-dumb lyrics that mashed together the crude ("don't get spunk on the mink") and the affecting ("I'm tired, you tired / Jesus wept") in the space of a few bars."[28]
Rolling Stone listed it at 65th on its list of the 100 best songs of the 2010s, stating; "Seventy-six seconds into “On Sight," the gleefully abrasive opener to Kanye West's gleefully abrasive Yeezus, he says (via choral sample) that he intends to give the audience what they need, not what they want. For the next 35 minutes, he does just that, coarsening his textures into something industrial and vital and new. Then, just to prove he can, West brings the beauty back. Over a roughly looped sample of the Ponderosa Twins Plus One – with occasional interjections from Brenda Lee and Charlie Wilson – West returns to his roguish side, penning a filthy ode to his new wife at the time, Kim Kardashian West. There's a reason we’re still paying attention to West after the decade he's had; he's always capable of something you never see coming.[29]
Music video
![](../I/Bound_2_Kim_Kanye.jpg.webp)
On November 16, 2013, it was revealed that West would be premiering the music video for "Bound 2" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show the following week.[30] The Nick Knight-directed music video was released on November 19, 2013. The video features his then-fiancée now wife Kim Kardashian, topless, riding atop West's motorbike (Honda CRF-X) through Monument Valley and other landscapes.[31] Eric Diep of XXL described it as, "a confident display of love and passion with little to no narrative."[32] Spin felt it was "a pretty bad idea seen through so completely that it stops being a bad idea".[33] Tom Breihan from Stereogum found the video confusing, saying "it'll take a little bit to figure out what all's going on there".[34] Lanre Bakare of The Guardian described it as "self-indulgent, idiosyncratic and a bit weird".[35] By the time that it had reached seven million views on YouTube, the music video's 13,000 likes were outbalanced by the 50,000 dislikes.[36]
In an interview with The Breakfast Club West explained the concept for the video.
"I wanted to take white trash T-shirts and make it into a video. I wanted it to look as phony as possible, I wanted the clouds to go one direction, the mountains to go one direction, the horses to go over there, cause I want to show you that this is The Hunger Games. I want to show you that this is the type of imagery that's been presented to all of us. And the only difference is a black dude in the middle of it."[37]
On November 25, 2013, "Bound 3", a parody of the music video was released, starring actors James Franco and Seth Rogen. The parody is a shot-for-shot remake, filmed while they were shooting their movie The Interview.[38] Afterwards, Kim Kardashian revealed through Twitter that she and West found the video to be very funny.[39] On December 11, 2013, the music video was parodied in the South Park episode "The Hobbit", where West is shown trying to convince the world that Kardashian is not a hobbit.[40] On December 21, 2013, the video was parodied on Saturday Night Live, with cast members portraying the couple having sex while riding a red-nosed reindeer.[41]
Slant Magazine listed it 15th on its list of the best music videos of 2013, commenting; "Wherein Kanye continues to dismantle white American iconography, subverting it by placing himself (and his topless reality star of a honey) in the middle of it all. This is Kanye deconstructing Marlon Brando, James Dean, and Elvis all at once while instilling fear of a black planet."[42]
Lawsuit
On December 23, 2013, Ricky Spicer of the Ponderosa Twins Plus One filed a lawsuit against West over the sample of the group's song, "Bound," alleging that he used Spicer's voice without permission.[43] Spicer asked that West pay him or cease and desist using his vocals. Roc-A-Fella Records, Universal Music Group, Island Def Jam, and Rhino Entertainment were all named in the lawsuit along with West.[44]
The suit was settled in May 2015.[45]
Commercial performance
Despite not being released as a single initially, "Bound 2" managed to debut at number five on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 and number 31 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart upon the release of Yeezus.[46][47] After its release as a single, the song debuted at number 73 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on December 7, 2013.[48] It re-entered at number 24 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in the same week.[49] On the Billboard Hot 100, the song reached its peak position of number twelve the following week.[50]
On the UK Singles Chart, the song debuted at number 94 on September 15, 2013, having been released as a single recently.[51] It peaked at number 55 the following week.[52][53]
Awards and nominations
Year | Organization | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | Antville Music Video Awards | Best Hip-Hop Video | Nominated | [54] |
2014 | MuchMusic Video Awards | International Video of the Year – Artist | Nominated | [55] |
2015 | Grammy Awards | Best Rap/Sung Collaboration | Nominated | [56] |
Best Rap Song | Nominated | |||
Remixes
British drum and bass duo Sigma created a remix of the song entitled "Nobody to Love" featuring vocals from Daniel Pearce which was officially released on April 6, 2014.[57] It topped the UK Singles Chart upon release, with sales of over 121,000 copies in the first week.[58] Rick Ross freestyled over the instrumental of "Bound 2" on January 1, 2014.[59]
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Yeezus.[60]
- Delbert Bowers – assistant mixing
- Eric Danchick – additional production
- Mike Dean – bass, guitar, songwriting, additional producer
- Robert Dukes – songwriting
- Nabil Essemlani – assistant engineer
- Chris Galland – assistant mixing
- Noah Goldstein – engineer, additional producer
- Khoï Huynh – assistant engineer
- Malik Jones – songwriting
- Anthony Kilhoffer – engineer
- Manny Marroquin – mixing
- Bob Massey – songwriting
- No I.D. – additional production
- Keith Parry – assistant engineer
- Raoul Le Pennec – assistant engineer
- Ché Pope – co-producer, songwriting
- Elon Rutberg – songwriting
- Sakiya Sandifer – songwriting
- Ronnie Self – songwriting
- John Stephens – songwriting
- Kanye West – lead vocals, producer, songwriting
- Norman Whiteside – songwriting
- Charlie Wilson – additional vocals, songwriting
- Cydel Young – songwriting
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI)[70] | Silver | 200,000![]() |
United States (RIAA)[71] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000![]() |
|
Release history
Region | Date | Format | Label |
---|---|---|---|
Australia | September 13, 2013[72] | Contemporary hit radio | Def Jam |
References
- Lapatine, Scott (May 31, 2013). "Yeezus Cover Revealed". Stereogum. Spin Media. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
- Rogulewski, Charley (June 1, 2013). "Listen: Kanye West Releases 'Bound' Snippet". Vibe. Spin Media. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
- Rytlewski, Evan (June 17, 2013). "Kanye West: Yeezus". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
- Montgomery, James (June 4, 2013). "Who's Kanye West Sampling In Retro Yeezus Preview?". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
- "Yeezus Credits". Yeezus (PDF) (album notes). Kanye West. Roc-A-Fella Records. 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2013.CS1 maint: others (link)
- Sherburne, Craig (July 2, 2013). "Brenda Lee Rebounds With Kanye West's 'Bound 2'". Country Music Television. Viacom. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
- Grow, Kory. "Rick Rubin: My Life in 21 Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- "Hear Hudson Mohawke Reveal The Original Version Of Kanye's "Bound" Feat. Tyler, The Creator". Stereogum.
- BOUND 1 KANYE WEST UNRELEASED THEHIDDENLAB.COM (hudson mohawke @ canal mills). YouTube. February 16, 2014.
- "Tyler, The Creator on Twitter". Twitter.
- Jeffries, David. "Yeezus – Kanye West". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
- Williott, Carl (August 22, 2013). "Kanye West Releases 'Bound 2' As A Single To Trick People Into Thinking 'Yeezus' Sounds Like Old Ye". Idolator. Spin Media. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
- "Kanye West – preslušajte 'Bound 2'..." (in Serbian). MTV. Viacom. August 23, 2013. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
- "Kanye West Performs "Bound 2" With The Roots on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon"". Complex. Complex Media. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
- "Kanye West Performs "Bound 2" on "Later... with Jools Holland"". Complex. Complex Media. September 17, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
- "50 Best Albums of 2013: Kanye West, 'Yeezus'". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
- Kimble, Julian (June 24, 2013). "16. Kanye West f/ Charlie Wilson "Bound 2" — The Best Songs of 2013 (So Far)". Complex. Complex Media. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
- Jeffries, David. "Yeezus – Kanye West". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
- Dan Buyanovsky (June 18, 2013). "Album Review: Kanye West, Yeezus". XXL. Harris Publications. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
- "CD reviews". Kitsap Sun. Bremerton. July 8, 2013. Archived from the original on August 23, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
- "The 25 Best Songs Of 2013 – Page 3 of 6". XXL. Harris Publications. December 25, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
- "Pictures of NME's 50 Best Tracks Of 2013 – Photos". NME. IPC Media. October 29, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
- "The Top 100 Tracks of 2013". Pitchfork Media. Ryan Schreiber. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
- "Top 50 singles 2013". Levif (in French). December 23, 2013. Archived from the original on January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
- "The 75 Best Songs of 2013". Pop Matters. January 2, 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
- "This year's 50 absolute best songs on Spotify". Expressen (in Swedish). December 21, 2013. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
- "Village Voice – Pazz & Jop Lists 2013". Rocklistmusic. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
- Matt Glazebrook (December 11, 2019). "30 hip-hop tracks that defined the 2010s". i–d. Archived from the original on January 20, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
- "The 100 Best Songs of the 2010s". Rolling Stone. December 4, 2019. Archived from the original on January 20, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
- "Kanye West Premiering "Bound 2" Video On 'The Ellen Show'". XXL. Harris Publications. November 16, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
- Darren Franich (November 19, 2013). "'Bound 2' deep dive: Kanye and Kim at the End of the World". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- "Watch Kanye West's "Bound 2" Video Starring Kim Kardashian". XXL. Harris Publications. November 19, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
- "Kanye West's 'Bound 2' Video Is Better (and More Progressive!) Than You Think". Spin. Spin Media. November 21, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
- Breihan, Tom (November 19, 2013). "Kanye West – "Bound 2" Video". Stereogum. Spin Media. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
- Bakare, Lanre (November 20, 2013). "Yes, Kanye West's Bound 2 video is weird. Better weird than boring". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
- Coombes, Samantha (November 21, 2013). "The internet responds to Kanye West's 'Bound 2' video". Gigwise. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- Takeda, Allison. "KANYE WEST: 'Bound 2' Music Video Was Supposed To Look 'As Phony As Possible'". US Weekly. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
- D'Zurilla, Christie (November 25, 2013). "James Franco, Seth Rogen parody Kim and Kanye's 'Bound 2' video". Los Angeles Times. Eddy Hartenstein. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
- Ghahremani, Tanya (November 26, 2013). "Kanye West Kim Kardashian Loved Seth Rogen James Franco Bound 2 Spoof". Complex. Complex Media. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
- Nicholson, Max (December 12, 2013). "South Park: 'The Hobbit' Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
- "'SNL' Spoofs Kanye West And Kim Kardashian's 'Bound 2' Video". Vibe. Spin Media. December 23, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- "The 25 Best Music Videos of 2013". Slant Magazine. December 23, 2013. Archived from the original on January 21, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- "Kanye West reportedly sued over sample in 'Bound 2'". Los Angeles Times. Eddy Hartenstein. December 24, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- C. Vernon Coleman (December 24, 2013). "Kanye West Sued Over "Bound 2" Sample". XXL. Harris Publications. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
- Pitchfork Entertainment, Kanye West Settles "Bound 2" Sample Lawsuit (05.27.2015)
- "Kanye West – Bound 2 – Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- "Top Hip-Hop Songs / R&B Songs Chart – July 6, 2013". Billboard. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- "Music: Top 100 Songs – December 7, 2013". Billboard. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- "Top Hip-Hop Songs / R&B Songs Chart – December 7, 2013". Billboard. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- "Kanye West – Bound 2 – Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100: 15 September 2013 – 21 September 2013". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- "Kanye West | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- "Antville Music Video Awards 2013". Antville. January 6, 2014. Archived from the original on March 30, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
- Joshua Ostroff (May 21, 2014). "MMVAs Nominees: Pharrell, Drake, 5 Seconds Of Summer, Hedley Up For MuchMusic Video Awards". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on January 29, 2018. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
- "Grammys – Artist – Kanye West". Grammy. Archived from the original on December 8, 2018. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
- "Sigma – 'Nobody To Love' (Official Video)". Capital Xtra. Global Group. March 26, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
- Lane, Daniel (April 13, 2014). "Sigma score debut Number 1 single with Nobody To Love". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
- Goddard, Kevin (January 1, 2014). "Rick Ross – Bound 2 (Freestyle)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- Yeezus (Media notes). Kanye West. Def Jam Recordings. 2013.CS1 maint: others (link)
- "Chartifacts – Tuesday 3rd December 2013". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
- "Ultratop.be – Kanye West – Bound 2" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- "Kanye West Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
- "Chart Track: Week 48, 2013". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
- "Chart Search – Kanye West (Mexico Ingles Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
- "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
- "Kanye West Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
- "Kanye West Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
- "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
- "British single certifications – Kanye West – Bound 2". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 9, 2018. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Bound 2 in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- "American single certifications – Kanye West – Bound 2". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 9, 2018. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH.
- "Singles To Radio". The Music Network. The Entertainment Media Group (950). September 13, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2013.