XTCY

"XTCY" is a song by Kanye West. It was originally released by DJ Clark Kent on August 11, 2018 for free download before released as a single on August 30.[3][4][5][6] The song heavily samples "My Bleeding Wound" by The New Year.

"XTCY"
Single by Kanye West
ReleasedAugust 30, 2018 (2018-08-30)[lower-alpha 1]
Recorded2018
Genre
Length2:56
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Kanye West
  • Andrew Dawson
Kanye West singles chronology
"All Mine"
(2018)		 "XTCY"
(2018)		 "I Love It"
(2018)
Original cover
Original WeTransfer cover

Background

On May 15, 2018, West posted an image of an unfinished track listing for his then-upcoming album Ye. The second song was slated to be "Extacy" and the third track was "Wouldn't Leave".[7] After Ye was released without "Extacy", West posted a new track list on June 1, 2018, of his collaborative project with Kid Cudi titled Kids See Ghosts. "Extacy" was placed as the last, unnumbered track on the list.[8] Kids See Ghosts was also released without the track.

Composition

"XTCY" is built around vocals sampled from the 1974 electronic-soul song "My Bleeding Wound" by The New Year.[1] The type of absurdity that West shows in the track has also been shown by him in the songs "I'm In It" and "I Love It".[2] West reuses his "poop, scoop, whoop" ad-libs from "Lift Yourself".[1]

Promotion

On August 11, 2018, DJ Clark Kent tweeted a link to download the song from the file sharing website, WeTransfer.[9] West later retweeted Kent's tweet.[5]

Critical reception

Matt Miller of Esquire viewed the track as unpleasant and described the conclusion as being West explaining "that all this nasty shit he's describing are thoughts he's had while on Ecstasy."[10]

Artwork

The original artwork for "XTCY" is a photo from Kylie Jenner's 21st birthday party, taken at Craig's Restaurant in West Hollywood, California. The artwork features Kanye's wife, Kim Kardashian West, and sister-in-laws Khloé Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian. The artwork is in reference to the lyrics: "You got sick thoughts? I got more of 'em / You got a sister-in-law you'd smash? I got four of 'em".[5] Upset reactions were shown from fans of The Kardashians via Twitter to these lyrics.[11]

The official cover art for the song's release as a single, revealed on August 30, 2018, is a painting of the same photo by London-based artist Shadi Al-Atallah, who would also produce the cover art for Kanye's proceeding single I Love It.[12]

Commercial performance

Following on from its release as a single, "XTCY" managed to reach number 32 on the New Zealand Hot Singles chart.[13]

Track listing
  1. "XTCY" – 2:56

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[14]

  • Kanye West – performance, production
  • Andrew Dawson – co-production, engineering
  • Mike Dean – engineering, mixing
  • Mike Malchicoff – engineering
  • Zack Djurich – engineering
  • Sean Solymar – assistant recording engineering
  • Jess Jackson – mixing

Charts
Chart (2018) Peak
position
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[13] 32

Release history
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various August 30, 2018 Digital download
[6][15]

Notes
  1. "XTCY" was initially shared as a free song on August 11, 2018. It was released as an official single on August 30, 2018.

References
  1. "Kanye West – "XTCY"". Spin. August 11, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  2. "Kanye West is too horny for his own good". The Outline. September 10, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  3. "Hear Kanye West's latest song "XTCY"". The Fader. August 30, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  4. "Kanye West References Kim Kardashian's Siblings in New Song: 'Got a Sister-in-law You Would Smash? I Got 4 of Them'". People.com.
  5. "Kanye West Says He Would Smash Kim Kardashian's 4 Sisters in New Song XTCY". E! News. August 11, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  6. "XTCY - Single by Kanye West". iTunes Store.
  7. Alex Young (15 May 2018). "Kanye West reveals tracklist for Kids See Ghosts collaborative album with Kid Cudi". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  8. Salvatore Maicki (1 June 2018). "Kanye West shares tracklist for joint album with Kid Cudi, Kids See Ghosts". The Fader. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  9. "DJ CLARK KENT on Twitter". Twitter. August 11, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  10. "Kanye West's New Song 'XTCY' Is Objectively Unpleasant". Esquire. August 30, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  11. "Kanye West's song XTCY has upset Kardashian fans". Yahoo Lifestyle. August 11, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  12. "Hear Kanye West's latest song "XTCY"". The FADER. August 30, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  13. "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. September 10, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  14. "Kanye West – XTCY - Tidal". listen.tidal.com. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  15. "XTCY - Single by Kanye West". iTunes Store.
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