I’m gonna get this over with early; I didn’t realise the irony today’s song choice would cause. I’m sat in St. Lucia, about to leave our villa to go and watch England play cricket, and it is most certainly not cold. Kanye West teams up with DJ Khaled for the second single to promo GOOD Music’s collaborative album, Cruel Summer.
Originally called Theraflu, then changing to Way Too Cold before he settled on a name, Cold released in 2012 on Def Jam Recordings and, obviously, GOOD Music (though on the album, it is called Cold.1). Kanye’s own label that has a strong line-up of artists, GOOD Music are often referenced throughout hip-hop, mostly because of this album that dropped in the same year. The likes of Pusha T, Big Sean, Teyana Taylor, Kid Cudi, 2 Chainz, John Legend and Common all feature, and it gave the world the heavy singles, Mercy and Clique.
This song is a Kanye that is hard to recognise now. He touches on his new relationship with Kim Kardashian and breaking from supermodel girlfriend Amber Rose before that (and by association her new man Wiz Khalifa). It is heavy and Kanye sounds aggressive, but that may well be the bouncy beat, produced by Hit-Boy, dangling a carrot in front of Mr. West for him to snatch at. It is outlandish, audacious and boastful lyrically, a fine example of Kanye’s work following on from his sublime foundation albums of College Dropout and Late Registration.
It also references how solid his relationship with Jay-Z is, which sadly has not aged well as a lyric. They’ve had a very public falling out, however fans, myself included, are hoping for a follow up to Watch The Throne, widely regarded as the best collaborative album to ever release.
Obviously, he is a divisive figure with his politics, his social media presence and his personal journey dealing with mental health, but you can’t deny the man’s talents. It is a shame that conversations now revolve around everything other than his music when Kanye’s name is mentioned, but the man is, in his own words, a creative genius that has helped change the face of modern hip-hop.
Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex
A Song A Day 