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"Hurricane" (originally titled "Hurricanes"[1]) is a song by Kanye West and The Weeknd that was released as the fifth track from Kanye's tenth studio album, Donda (2021) and the second track from the deluxe version of Donda.[2][3] It was released as a single on September 14, 2021, serving as the lead single from the album.[4] The track features vocals from Lil Baby, along with uncredited vocals from the Sunday Service Choir and KayCyy.[5]

The final version of the track features lyrics about Ye's then-ongoing divorce with Kim Kardashian, The Weeknd's embrace of spirituality, and Lil Baby's reflections on losing some of his friends and wanting to "restart."[6][4]

Over the years, the track gained notoriety as one of Ye's best known unreleased tracks. It appeared in a promotional clip for the cancelled Yandhi project. Subsequent leaks have revealed that all sorts of artists recorded contributions to the song, but only Lil Baby and The Weeknd's additions made it onto the final mix.[4]

In 2022, the song won the award for the Best Melodic Rap Performance at the Grammy Awards. It marked Ye's 24th Grammy win, tying him with Jay-Z for the most Grammy wins of all time.[7][8]

Background[]

When Kanye had been working with producer Nascent during the Good Ass Job sessions with Chance the Rapper in 2018, the song was created in a short freestyle idea on the first of September.[9] The song was seemingly untitled at the time and was ultimately scrapped as according to BoogzDaBeast Chance had not liked the beat and never recorded for the song.[10]

Despite this, Kanye had taken the song for himself and decided to work on it for his own solo album at the time Yandhi which had initially been titled "Don't Let Me Down". The song was first recorded in full on September 13th and a snippet of it featuring the chorus was used by Kanye to tease Yandhi on Twitter the following day, though the tweet has since been deleted.[11] A day later, Chicago rapper G. Herbo posted a video of him in the studio with Kanye to his Instagram where he had seemingly recorded a verse for the song.[12]

The first known verse of the song dates back to a short freestyle from a video.[13] Ant Clemons would go on to record a reference based around this birth, creating the infamous "wave runner" verse.[14] Both Young Thug and Ty Dolla $ign would later meet up with Kanye in the studio on September 22nd to record verses for the song.[15] The following day, Kanye would record the finished wave runner verse on a version of the song with an open verse that would later be filled by Big Sean and with Ant still on the hook.[16]

On September 27th, Mykki Blanco would record a reference for the song.[17] The following day 070 Shake would as well. After discovering Nino Blu who had been living in his car, Nino would record a reference for the song as well, marking one of the six references he recorded for Yandhi-era Kanye songs.[18]

Big Sean would record his feature verse for the song on September 30th alongside a new Kanye verse which had not been completed.[19] The following month on the 13th, the production would be heavily revamped by Cashmere Cat and Francis and the Lights, having a beatswitch into and out of Kanye's verse as well as Kanye doing a vocoded chorus to the song which would later be reused for later versions in the future years.[20] The song would also be sent to Rihanna to record the chorus for alongside "Last Name" though it's unclear if she ever had.[21]

The song's production had been paused in early-2019 and would not be worked on again until July where Sean Leon stated he recorded a feature verse for the song.[22] In September, the production was redone by RONNY J for JESUS IS KING though the song had not made the final cut.[23]

The song was again put on hold until the following year until it was brought back for DONDA: WITH CHILD in September of 2020. On the 29th, Lil Baby would meet up with Kanye to record his feature verse and the following day KayCyy would record the bridge to the song.[24] The song had also featured the vocoded Kanye chorus which had been present in earlier versions of the song.[25]

On August 21st, 2 Chainz recorded a reference for the song.[26] On the third of October The WRLDFMS Tony Williams would record vocals for the hook and a new reference artist recorded a singular punch-in for Kanye's verse.[27] Tony's chorus wouldn't be used for long however as when the final version of the DONDA: WITH CHILD copy of the song was created it had been once again replaced with Kanye with new STALONE backing vocals.[28] Bruza The General would record a reference for the song on the 5th of October and Dame Dash's band "The Black Guns" would cover the song for the DONDA Visual Album on September 18.[29] The song would briefly be turned into an interlude performed by the Sunday Service Choir on November 10 before the song was last worked on with intent for DONDA: WITH CHILD on December 6.[30]

Though the song was hardly worked on during the Green Tiles sessions in the Pio Pico Art Gallery mid-2021, both Baby Keem and Cailin Russo were said to have met up with Kanye to record a reference for the song.

The song's progress was picked back up on July 5th during Kanye's time in the Mercedes-Benz studio. 5 days later, Don Toliver would record a reference for the song. Although unused on this song, Don's vocals recorded for this song would be taken by producer E.VAX and worked on, eventually leading to the creation of the separate Donda song "Moon".[31] Kanye would also record a new verse for the song to replace the wave runner verse, completely taken his verse from a finished song created during the Green Tiles era titled "City of Lost Angels" and incorporating it into the song with new punch-ins from Dem Jointz on July 12.[32] The song was first previewed at the first Atlanta Donda listening event on July 22nd with KayCyy still on the bridge, the vocoded Kanye chorus and the new Kanye verse.[33] The song "Moon" had also been played at the end with quick succession, leading many to believe the song was intended to serve as an outro to the song similar to what "Frank's Track" was to "Wolves" on The Life Of Pablo (2016).

On August 4th, Fivio Foreign, Lil Yachty, Consequence and VIC MENSA would all meet up with Kanye to record references for the song. Some time between then and the final LP The Weeknd would also meet up with the artist to record the chorus for the song.[34] The song would be previewed at the second listening party with the new hook from The Weeknd and a new beat built around a church organ which can be presumed to have been done by BoogzDaBeast on August 5th.[35] 4 days later, the song would be accidentally released onto Russian streaming services before being immediately taken down, featuring KayCyy on the bridge still instead of the newly recorded Weeknd bridge.[36]

The song was played again at the Chicago listening party on August 26.[37] The song would be officially released on Donda as the fifth track on August 29th. The song would be rereleased as a promotional single three days later.

The song was met with massive success for both Kanye and The Weeknd, the song winning the award for the Best Melodic Rap Performance at the Grammy Awards. It marked Ye's 24th Grammy win, tying him with Jay-Z for the most Grammy wins of all time.[7][8] The song was met with a music video as well the following year on March 8.[38] A live version of the song would be released on March 3rd of 2023 as a part of The Weeknd's live album Life At SoFi Stadium, though the song only features The Weeknd singing.[39]

Music video[]

During the DONDA: WITH CHILD era in November 2020, Kanye was seen filming a music video in Manhattan for "Hurricanes" which featured Lil Baby and was directed by Hype Williams.[40] However, this music video was never released and it has not been leaked.

On March 8, 2022, Kanye released the official music video for "Hurricane". It is centered around the end of the world as acid rain falls and bodies pile up.[41]

Lyrics[]

[Chorus]
See this in 3D, all lights out for me
All lights out for me, lightning strikes the beach
Eighty degrees, warm it up for me
Finally free, found the God in me
And I want you to see, I can walk on water
Thousand miles from shore, I can float on the water
Father, hold me close, don't let me drown
I know You won't

[Verse 1]
Yeah, walkin' on the bridge, I threw my sins over the deep end
Sippin' 'til my stomach hurt, this month I done lost three friends
Early mornin', brainstormin', normally I can't sleep in
Sometimes I just wanna restart it, but it all depends
If I'ma be that same young, hungry ***** from West End
Wrote my hardest wrongs and the crazy part, I ain't have no pen
Maybach interior came with sheepskin
Still remember when I just had three bands
Now I'm the one everyone call on 'cause I got deep pants
Bro told me the way to beat the game is on the defense and
Never fazed by names that they might call me, but they gon' respect it
And I feel like you better off tryin' to call, I might not get the message
And she just tried to run off with my heart, but I blocked off the exit, yeah

[Bridge]
Oh-oh, I know You won't (I know You won't)
I know You won't (Oh), oh (Oh, yeah)
I know You won't, I know that You look over us (I know)
So we silently sleep
Bring down the rain, yeah, oh

[Verse 2]
Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm, I was out for self
Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm, I was up for sale, but I couldn't tell
God made it rain, the devil made it hail
Dropped out of school, but I'm that one at Yale
Made the best tracks and still went off the rail
Had to go down, down, down, this the new town, town, town
This the new ten, ten, ten, I'm goin' in, in, in
Here I go on a new trip, here I go actin' too lit
Here I go actin' too rich, here I go with a new chick
And I know what the truth is, still playin' after two kids
It's a lot to digest when your life always movin'
Architectural Digest, but I needed home improvement
Sixty-million-dollar home, never went home to it
Genius gone clueless, it's a whole lot to risk
Alcohol anonymous, who's the busiest loser?
Heated by the rumors, read into it too much
Fiendin' for some true love, ask Kim, "What do you love?"
Hard to find what the truth is, but the truth was that the truth suck
Always seem to do stuff, but this time it was too much
Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm, everybody so judgemental
Everybody so judgemental
Everybody hurts, but I don't judge rentals
Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm, it was all so simple

[Chorus]
I see you in 3D, the dawn is bright for me
No more dark for me, I know You're watchin' me
Eighty degrees, burnin' up the leaves
Finally, I'm free, finally, I'm free
As I go out to sea, I can walk on water
Won't you shine Your light? Demons talk on my shoulder
Father, hold me close, don't let me drown
I know You won't

References[]

  1. https://leaked.cx/threads/yandhi-21-09-2018-whiteboard-tracklist-surfaces.42092/
  2. https://open.spotify.com/album/5CnpZV3q5BcESefcB3WJmz
  3. https://open.spotify.com/album/2Wiyo7LzdeBCsVZiRA6vVZ
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 https://genius.com/Kanye-west-and-the-weeknd-hurricane-lyrics
  5. https://open.spotify.com/track/0RbW8kWozrVSIGb4V13o0o
  6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_(Kanye_West_song)#Composition_and_lyrics
  7. 7.0 7.1 https://www.grammy.com/artists/kanye-west/6900
  8. 8.0 8.1 https://www.xxlmag.com/kanye-west-hurricane-weeknd-lil-baby-best-melodic-rap-performance-2022-grammys/
  9. https://pillowcase.su/f/accc6c390a06a43c59fdae748948eea6
  10. https://www.revolt.tv/article/2022-03-31/160391/boogzdabeast-compares-kanye-west-to-kobe-bryant-lebron-james/
  11. https://pillowcase.su/f/f04d082464543b9580aab6e638fbe724
  12. https://pillowcase.su/f/c8bbea61c8279ac4c6d88d2bc7a38435
  13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmelsVahg-0
  14. https://pillowcase.su/f/cbacf270f9bae0814dd838d7bb4ab9d6
  15. https://pillowcase.su/f/bbee401f985cc1af95dd6d0e62fba279
  16. https://pillowcase.su/f/8a18bc8d3019edf012f40b2e1dd75664
  17. https://pillowcase.su/f/e6963e067dc69c76b4f637cd62b9f688
  18. https://pillowcase.su/f/d46fe1455b8a5f5506e7fbb749d72a3a
  19. https://pillowcase.su/f/f6e2d391bced29f43fa85c760d2a7cc5
  20. https://pillowcase.su/f/63b537cd9503936afeab2c047b26e876
  21. https://imgbb.com/Jt9Z3YW
  22. https://pillowcase.su/f/793da58a17947b815d9db0dd16cf5f17
  23. https://pillowcase.su/f/aa82042b08afe59a200f5cf9b722b0dd
  24. https://www.complex.com/music/kaycyy-interview-flew-by-you?
  25. https://pillowcase.su/f/f2a356077546a432e5368d87242b58c3
  26. https://pillowcase.su/f/f339660d4f60bed4626aa7f13cd524c1
  27. https://pillowcase.su/f/a10da4243102e5173b68235b9980ad1a
  28. https://pillowcase.su/f/6fa517b01cf509c1ae84a08254f4270b
  29. https://pillowcase.su/f/62a6a59eba2fd3577de257e9814af583
  30. https://pillowcase.su/f/590986577d51ed6a150237111a7d7cd8
  31. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_(Kanye_West_song)#Background
  32. https://pillowcase.su/f/28325921ad4f915dec22be31fc58221e
  33. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KDoCD1RTFs&t=5s
  34. https://pillowcase.su/f/088ecf5dfe44fbd1bb35896c06e93801
  35. https://pillowcase.su/f/9d6215d89cc48b7edb22a4200a17fae5
  36. https://pillowcase.su/f/8417a9998efc0539f72aeecd5f930b3d
  37. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpNA62HWtTA
  38. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRJiK-kdDb4
  39. https://open.spotify.com/track/45ypYpAdgoneWcBT0Wba3p?si=678981a53c084039
  40. https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.59089/title.lil-baby-kanye-west-reportedly-shooting-hype-williams-directed-hurricanes-video
  41. https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/kanye-west-hurricane-video-1235041015/
Donda
Singles
"Hurricane" • "Life Of The Party"
Radio singles
"Believe What I Say" • "Off The Grid"
Other tracks
"Donda Chant" • "Jail" • "God Breathed" • "Praise God" • "Jonah" • "Ok Ok" • "Junya" • "24" • "Remote Control" • "Moon" • "Heaven and Hell" • "Donda" • "Keep My Spirit Alive" • "Jesus Lord" • "New Again" • "Tell The Vision" • "Lord I Need You" • "Pure Souls" • "Come to Life" • "No Child Left Behind"
Deluxe tracks
"Up From The Ashes" • "Never Abandon Your Family"
Chronology
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