| Love Lockdown | Tom Wrecks Remix |
“Love Lockdown” is a song by Kanye West from his fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak (2008). The track was produced by West and co-produced by Jeff Bhasker. It was released for digital download on September 18, 2008, in various countries as the lead single from 808s & Heartbreak through West’s record labels, Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam.
Background[]
The song began as a complete mumble freestyle, Saul Williams described this version as "gibberish, where lyrics would go." Williams stated that he "help[ed] [Kanye] interpet [his] gibberish, so it sounds just like [his] gibberish, but [we] found the words in there". He also said he helped write the track. [1]
The song was first premiered live by West at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards on September 7. Two days later, West stated via his blog that the track was his favorite to date at the time and had been written a week and a half before the premiere.[2][3]
On September 10, 2008, West shared the song through his blog. The shared version was met with negative responses from fans, West confirmed via his blog that the song was being re-recorded: "Your prayers have been answered! There's a new version of 'Love Lockdown' coming." West had also revealed that he "re-sung it" and the song was being mastered while telling those who do not like Auto-Tune it is "too bad" because he loves the effect and has been using it all the way back since his debut studio album The College Dropout (2004).[4]
"Love Lockdown" was ultimately released as the albums lead single on September 18, 2008. Following this, West would post the stems for the song to his blog, each featuring isolated song portions of the song, and the stems were used to enable fans to remix the song. They included an acapella, distorted vocals, the piano, and the outro synth-beat.[5]
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
I'm not loving you way I wanted to
What I had to do, had to run from you
I'm in love with you, but the vibe is wrong
And that haunted me all the way home
So you never know, never, never know
Never know enough 'til it's over love
'Til we lose control, system overload
Screaming, "No, no, no, n-no"
I'm not loving you way I wanted to
See, I wanna move, but can't escape from you
So I keep it low, keep a secret code
So everybody else don't have to know
[Chorus]
So keep your love lockdown, your love lockdown
Keeping your love lockdown, your love lockdown
Now keep your love lockdown, your love lockdown
Now keep your love lockdown, you lose
[Verse 2]
I'm not loving you way I wanted to
I can't keep my cool, so I keep it true
I got somethin' to lose, so I gotta move
I can't keep myself and still keep you too
So I keep in mind, when I'm on my own
Somewhere far from home, in the danger zone
How many times did I tell you 'fore it finally got through?
You lose, you lose
I'm not loving you way I wanted to
See, I had to go, see, I had to move
No more wasting time, you can't wait for life
We're just racing time, where's the finish line?
[Chorus]
So keep your love lockdown, your love lockdown
Keeping your love lockdown, your love lockdown
Now keep your love lockdown, your love lockdown
Now keep your love lockdown, you lose
[Verse 3]
I'm not loving you way I wanted to
I bet no one knew, I got no one new
Know I said I'm through, but got love for you
But I'm not loving you way I wanted to
Gotta keep it going, keep the loving going
Keep it on the roll, only God knows
If I'll be with you, baby, I'm confused
You choose, you choose
I'm not loving you way I wanted to
Where I wanna go, I don't need you
I've been down this road too many times before
I'm not loving you way I wanted to
[Chorus]
So keep your love lockdown, your love lockdown
Keeping your love lockdown, your love lockdown
Now keep your love lockdown, your love lockdown
Now keep your love lockdown, you lose
[Outro]
You lose
You lose
You lose
You lose
References[]
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7vJ0pdCYVA
- ↑ https://www.stereogum.com/19721/kanye_west_debuts_love_lockdown_on_the_vmas/video/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20080911151956/http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/blog/index.php?em3106=205666_-1__0_~0_-1_9_2008_0_0
- ↑ https://www.nme.com/news/music/kanye-west-810-1324797
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20080926213712/http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/blog/?em3106=207109_-1__0_~0_-1_9_2008_0_0&em3281=&em3161=