For Once In My Life

Best Of This article features content which is widely regarded to be the Best Of Kanye West's discography. Though chosen to be highlighted as one of his best, this is always subject to change.

"For Once In My Life"Unreleased song by Kanye West, James Blake, No I.D.
General information
Featured artist(s)	Monica Martin
Status	Leaked (V1, V4) Partially leaked (V2) Lost (V3, V5)
Recorded	2022
Length	3:35
Intended album	WAR
Producer(s)	James Blake, Dom Maker

"For Once In My Life" is an unreleased song by Kanye West, James Blake, and No I.D. that was created during the WAR sessions. It features vocals from American singer-songwriter Monica Martin. The song has high-pitched vocals from her at the beginning and end, as well as a heavy bass. West's verse consists of his storytelling of a relationship and a few repeated phrases.

Production

The song features alternative production, running at 64BPM/128 and in the key of B♭ major. Monica's vocals are also used in the beat, being pitched up and incorporated to add a more ethereal feeling.

Background

Monica Martin and James Blake initially recorded a full seven-minute cover of Stevie Wonder's "For Once in My Life" around the Donda 2 (2021) era. Blake presumably didn't know what to do with the song, essentially scrapping it. During the early WAR sessions, Blake would introduce West to the cover. He presumably liked it, which led to James sampling it in this song. Kanye would set down a freestyle here.

The song was previewed at a party in London on September 26, 2022. The song appeared in an IG live by Naomi Campbell; the attention around the song led to James Blake confirming that he was the producer of all three new Kanye songs that played that night, including the tracks "What I Would Have Said At Virgil’s Funeral" and "This One Here". The version previewed here features more mumbled lyrics and a stronger bass. According to Alek, several reference tracks have been recorded for the song, although it is unknown who recorded them. An anonymous leaker on Reddit posted two snippets of the song in mid-December 2025. After much fan praise, on December 19, 2025, the song leaked in full. The leaker's intentions were unclear, being oddly/coincidently leaked after an $8000 fundraiser hosted by fans of Ye. Further versions of the song likely exist.

Lyrics

https://genius.com/Kanye-west-and-james-blake-for-once-in-my-life-lyrics

Trivia

• This is the only song where Kanye, himself, references a cryptid, being the Loch Ness Monster, specifically in the line "I'ma be like the Loch Ness".