"H•A•M" is the fourteenth track from Kanye West and Jay-Z's collaborative album, Watch The Throne (Deluxe) (2011). It is also the lead single for the album, as it was released on January 11, 2011.[1]
Background[]
Lex Luger explains that after releasing "See Me Now", he played Kanye a handful of beats that he made. Kanye asked him to send him two of the beats, one of which was the beat made for "H·A·M".[2] Meanwhile, opera singer Aude Cardona said that she received a call from Kanye's manager, who said that he needed an opera singer for his and Jay-Z's album. Aude recalled recording for seven hours in the Mercer Hotel.[3]
Reception[]
"H•A•M" has received mixed reviews from critics. The song received a three out of five star review from Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone. Kevin O'Donnell of Spin praised the song by saying, "Kanye's latest, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, was the most epic album of 2010 — and the rapper's ambitions haven't eased up one bit here. The track morphs into the weirdest sounding opera ever, with a female singing window-shattering trills over a gospel piano progression and the song's hard-hitting beat."[1]
Lyrics[]
It was all good just a week ago, n****s feel theyself
And that Watch the Throne drop, n****s kill theyself
What n****s gon' do, Hov?
This the new crack, on a new stove
I'm in the two-door, true that, n****s telling me, "You back!"
Like a n***a ever left up out this bitch, huh?
And if life's a bitch, bet she suck my dick, huh
And I bet she fucked the whole clique, huh
By the way, n***a, you should fucking quit, n***a
Just forget it, you talk it, I live it
Like Eli, I did it, joke's on you, motherfucker, and I get it, haha
No paper, ho, but you can have some more of me
Or-a-gy or are we speaking metaphorically?
Historically I'm kicking bitches out like Pam, n***a
Going HAM, n***a; me and Jigga
And a n***a still young, why I have no kids
But I've been practicing with some actresses as bad as shit
Had a few white girls, asses flat as shit
But the head's so good, damn, a n***a glad he hit
Got 'em jumping out the building, watch out below
A million out the door
I'm about to go HAM
Hard as a motherfucker, let these n****s know who I am
I'm about to go HAM
Hard as a motherfucker, let these n****s know who I am
Fuck y'all mad at me for?
Y'all don't even know what I've been through
I played chicken with a Mack truck
Y'all muthafuckas woulda been moved
I swam waters with Great Whites
Y'all muthafuckas woulda been chewed
I hustled with vultures late nights
Y'all muthafuckas woulda been food
Fuck wrong with these dudes? Try to walk around in these shoes
See the shit I saw growing up
Then maybe you could take a peek at these boos
N****s fantasize about the shit that I do daily
Like these rappers rap about all the shit that I do really
I'm like, "Really; half a billi,' n***a, really?" You got baby money
Keep it real with n****s, n****s ain't got my lady's money
Watch the throne, don't step on our robe
Bad enough we let you step on our globe
With my nephew die, daddy's dead
N***a took the price on my uncle's head
Nobody called the cops as my uncle bled
So I feel like I would like to know my uncle's bread
Bow down, brother, pay homage
Don't spill hate all on my garments
Comme des Garçons, fuck yo' fresh
Head shots, n***a, fuck your vest
Fuck the pigs, no pork on my fork
Peace, God, 'cause you know a n***a just went
HAM
Hard as a motherfucker, let these n****s know who I am
Yeah, I'm 'bout to go HAM
Hard as a motherfucker, let these n****s know who I am
Yeah, I'm 'bout to go HAM
Vivat rex in homine
Vivat rex in homine
Vivat rex in homine
Vivat rex in homine
Credits[]
Adapted from Spotify[4]:
- Performed by Kanye West, Jay-Z
- Written by Kanye West, Lexus Arnel Lewis, Mike Dean, Shawn Carter
- Produced by Lex Luger, Kanye West, Mike Dean
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.A.M.
- ↑ http://www.mtv.com/news/1656423/lex-luger-producer-jay-z-kanye-west-rick-ross/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160726020727/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/19/watch-the-throne_n_929530.html
- ↑ https://open.spotify.com/track/64rnghzDMy4cAEMZhSOp9h