Say You Will (Kanye West song)

"Say You Will" is a song by American hip hop artist Kanye West, from his fourth studio album 808s & Heartbreak. It was produced solely by West. The Kadockadee Kwire featuring Glenn Jordan, Phillip Ingram, Jim Gilstrap, Romeo Johnson, Kevin Dorsey and Will Wheaton provide vocals in the song. Background vocals from Mr Hudson and Tony Williams are included in it. A remix was released in 2015 featuring Caroline Shaw. The song was covered by Mobius Band and Trey Songz.

"Say You Will"
Song by Kanye West
from the album 808s & Heartbreak
ReleasedNovember 24, 2008
Recorded2008
Genre
Length6:17
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Kanye West
"Say You Will (Remix)"
Promotional single by Kanye West featuring Caroline Shaw
B-side"When I See It"
ReleasedOctober 19, 2015
Recorded
  • 2008
  • 2015
Length4:45

Background

A remix of the track featuring American composer and Pulitzer Prize recipient Caroline Shaw was uploaded by West to his SoundCloud in October 2015, alongside a new song titled "When I See It".[1] The cover art for both is a photo of flowers, which is actually part of a body of large still-life images released by photographer Nick Knight.[2] Shaw said that initially, one of West's producers asked: 'if I'd be interested on working on songs for a live show with an orchestra' and said that after this: 'I didn't do anything for a week or two, then I did a deep dive into [the Kanye West album] 808s and Heartbreak. Say You Will is the song that hit me most'.[3]

Critical reception

The song was described by The Observer as being "a slow jam built around a simple radioactive pulse".[4] Scott Plagenhoef of Pitchfork pointed out the outro in praise, describing it as "a patient, defeated-sounding collection of choral vocals and drum machines".[5] Colin McGuire of PopMatters described the song as proving "to be the absolute, no-doubt-about-it perfect way to begin an album smothered in, well, echoes and loneliness".[6]

HotNewHipHop placed "Say You Will" at number 21 on their list of West's 50 best songs.[7]

Live performances

West performed the track for his 2010 live album VH1 Storytellers in February 2009, where it appeared in even more ratcheted form down than the album version.[8] On February 22, 2012, a video recorded in Australia of him freestyling to it live surfaced online.[9] When the song was performed by West at the 2015 Hollywood Bowl, he sang to a woman painted gold at center stage and fireworks accompanied the performance to underscore the heat linked to the music, created before marriage and fatherhood.[10]

Cover versions

Drake released a remix of it titled "Say What's Real" for his mixtape So Far Gone (2009).[11] Mobius Band released a cover version on their 2009 EP EMPIRE OF LOVE.[12] As well as this, "Say You Will" was covered by R&B singer Trey Songz, who also covered fellow Kanye songs "Runaway" and "Love Lockdown".[13]

Personnel

Information taken from 808s & Heartbreak liner notes.[14]

  • Songwriters: Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker, Jay Jenkins, Malik Jones, Benjamin McIldowie, Dexter Mills
  • Producers: Kanye West
  • Recorders: Andrew Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer
  • Keyboards: Jeff Bhasker
  • Vocals: The Kadockadee Kwire featuring Glenn Jordan, Phillip Ingram, Jim Gilstrap, Romeo Johnson, Kevin Dorsey and Will Wheaton
  • Background vocals: Mr Hudson, Tony Williams
  • Strings arrangements: Larry Gold.
  • Violins: Emma Kummrow, Igor Szwec, Luigi Mazzochi, Gregory Teperman, Olga Konopelsky, Charles Parker
  • Viola: Davis Barnett, Alexandra Leem.
  • Cello: James J. Cooper, III, Jennie Lorenzo.
  • Bass: Miles Davis
  • Engineer: Jeff Chestek
  • Assistant engineers: Montez Roberts, Rick Friedrich, John Stahl

References
  1. Hendicott, James (October 19, 2015). "Kanye West launches surprise tracks 'Say You Will' (feat Caroline Shaw) and 'When I see It'". NME. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  2. Sanchez, Karizza (October 20, 2015). "Kanye West's "When I See It" and "Say You Will" Cover Art Details". Complex. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  3. Anderson, Stacey (June 9, 2016). "Is Caroline Shaw really the future of music? | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  4. "CD: Urban review: Kanye West, 808s and Heartbreak". The Observer. The Guardian. November 9, 2008. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  5. Plagenhoef, Scott (December 2, 2008). "Kanye West: 808s and Heartbreak Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  6. McGuire, Colin (May 31, 2011). "Hip-Hop's Heartbreak: Kanye West - "Say You Will"". PopMatters. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  7. Schwartz, Danny (February 15, 2018). "Top 50 Best Kanye West Songs". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  8. Young, Alex (January 20, 2010). "Kanye West – VH1 Storytellers | Album Reviews". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  9. Lilah, Rose (February 22, 2012). "Kanye West "Say You Will Freestyle" Video". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  10. Appleford, Steve (September 26, 2015). "Kanye West Turns '808s & Heartbreak' Into High Art at Hollywood Bowl". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  11. "February 2009: Drake remixes Kanye West's 'Say What's Real' for his own..." Capital XTRA. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  12. Fitzmaurice, Larry (February 11, 2009). "Free Download: Mobius Band Cover Kanye West". SPIN. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  13. Bain, Becky (November 4, 2010). "Trey Songz Remixes Kanye West's "Runaway"". Idolator. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  14. 808s & Heartbreak. Roc-A-Fella Records (Media notes). Kanye West. 2008. 0-06025-1791919-8.CS1 maint: others (link)
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