Gold Digger | Kanye West Wiki - Fandom

"Gold Digger"Song by Kanye West

General information

Featured artist(s)

Jamie FoxxPlain Pat (backing vocals)Don C (backing vocals)

Released

July 5, 2005

Recorded

2004-2005

Studio

The Record Plant, Hollywood, CA; Sony Music Studios, NYC; Chalice Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; Grandmaster Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA

Genre

Hip-Hop

Length

3:28

Album

Late Registration

Label(s)

Roc-A-Fella • Universal

Writer(s)

Kanye West • Jamie Foxx • Patrick Reynolds • Don Crawley • Renald Richard • Ray Charles • Jon Brion • Alain Macklovitch

Producer(s)

Kanye West • Jon Brion • A-Trak s chronology

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Track list

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"Touch The Sky"	"Skit 1"

Music video

"Gold Digger (AOL Sessions)"Song by Kanye West

General information

Featured artist(s)

Jamie Foxx

Released

April 24, 2006

Recorded

September 21, 2005

Studio

Abbey Road Studios

Genre

Hip-Hop

Length

3:18

Album

Late Orchestration

Label(s)

Roc-A-Fella • Universal

Writer(s)

Kanye West • Jamie Foxx • Patrick Reynolds • Don Crawley • Renald Richard • Ray Charles • Jon Brion • Alain Macklovitch

Producer(s)

Kanye West • Jon Brion • A-Trak Track list

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"Gold Digger" is a song recorded by American rapper Kanye West featuring guest vocals by Jamie Foxx. Released as the second single from West's second album, Late Registration (2005).[1] Co-produced with Jon Brion, the song contains samples of Ray Charles' "I Got a Woman".

Upon its release, many surmised that West conceived "Gold Digger" after watching Jamie Foxx's portrayal of Ray Charles in the film Ray.[2] However, he had actually constructed the beat of the song long before the movie was even developed.

Contents

• 1 Production
• 2 Background
• 3 Reception
• 4 Lyrics
• 5 References

Production[]

The song has a fake sample in which Jamie Foxx interpolates Ray Charles' song "I Got A Woman". Gold Digger plays in 92.5 BPM at 4/4 and is in the key Ab Minor.

Background[]

In 2003, West performed a very early version of the song titled "18 Years" at the 2nd Annual Dynamic Producer Conference in New York City.[3] West originally produced and recorded "Gold Digger" in Ludacris' home in Atlanta for Shawnna's 2004 debut album Worth Tha Weight and had written the chorus from a woman's first-person viewpoint: "I'm not sayin' I'm a gold digger, but I ain't messin' with no broke n****s." However, for reasons unknown, Shawnna passed on using the song. Not wanting to let it go to waste, West decided to keep the beat for himself and add lyrics expressed from a man's point-of-view.[4]

The second verse of "Gold Digger" was the first to be written, as West used to rap the verse in early 2004 while on tour promoting his debut album, The College Dropout. The first verse was made later in the year while West was on Usher's Evolution Tour. Lastly, the original third verse was taken from an unreleased song called "Drop Dead Gorgeous," which West had produced and rapped on for Murphy Lee of St. Lunatics. About a year later, right before "Gold Digger" was set to be released as a single, West decided to write a different third verse and in a week the new song was recorded and mastered at Sony Music Studios in New York City. He did a slam poetry version of this track before it released too, in this version, it contains more shocking lines, the line "18 years, 18 years and on the 18th birthday he found out it wasn't his!" was originally "25 years, 25 years, he killed that bitch, they gave him 25 years!"

The idea of Jamie Foxx singing an interpolation of Ray Charles' "I Got a Woman" came to West's head when him and John Mayer went to see the movie Ray. John Mayer said in an interview that Foxx was doing a "fake" sample, meaning it would sound like a sample, but it was actually someone singing in the studio. Foxx's vocals were recorded over many takes; in one version he sang from start to finish, but the track was retracted as his performance didn't coincide well with the song's instrumentation. After recording another version, Foxx decided to re-record it once more as he felt it contained too many explicit lyrics. Once the track was finally in place, it was layered with additional instruments provided by American film score composer Jon Brion and individually selected by West. By the end of their very first studio session together, the pair had completed the basic tracks for the final version of "Gold Digger".[5]

Reception[]

"Gold Digger" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 on September 6, 2005, becoming West's and Foxx's second number one single. The single broke a record for the most digital downloads in a week, selling over 80,000, and at the time was also the fastest-selling digital download of all time; both records have since been broken. It was 2005's second-longest running number one on the Billboard Hot 100. At the 2006 Grammy Awards, "Gold Digger" was nominated for Record of the Year and won the award for Best Rap Solo Performance. The song lists at number 60 on Billboard magazine's All Time Top 100 and at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade. "Gold Digger" was voted number 20 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. The single topped The 2005 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll. As of January 2011, the song has sold over 3,000,000 copies in the United States. In 2018, The song was ranked 63 on the Top 100 Billboard Hot 100 Songs of all time, as part of Billboard's celebration of the 60th anniversary. "Gold Digger" is one of the best-selling singles in the United States.[6]

Lyrics[]

[[Intro] She take my money when I'm in need Yeah, she's a triflin' friend indeed Oh, she's a gold digger Way over town that digs on me (Uh) [Chorus] (She give me money) Now, I ain't sayin' she a gold digger (When I'm in need) But she ain't messin' with no broke n***as (She give me money) Now, I ain't sayin' she a gold digger (When I'm in need) But she ain't messin' with no broke n***as [Refrain] (I gotta leave) Get down, girl, go 'head, get down (I gotta leave) Get down, girl, go 'head, get down (I gotta leave) Get down, girl, go 'head, get down (I gotta leave) Get down, girl, go 'head [Verse 1] Cutie the bomb, met her at a beauty salon With a baby Louis Vuitton under her underarm She said, "I can tell you rock, I can tell by your charm Far as girls, you got a flock I can tell by your charm and your arm" But I'm lookin' for the one, have you seen her? My psychic told me she'll have a ass like Serena Trina, Jennifer Lopez, four kids And I gotta take all they bad asses to ShowBiz? Okay, get your kids, but then they got their friends I pulled up in the Benz, they all got up in We all went to din' and then I had to pay If you fuckin' with this girl, then you better be paid You know why? It take too much to touch her From what I heard she got a baby by Busta My best friend said she used to fuck with Usher I don't care what none of y'all say, I still love her [Chorus] (She give me money) Now, I ain't sayin' she a gold digger, uh (When I'm in need) But she ain't messin' with no broke n***as, uh (She give me money) Now, I ain't sayin' she a gold digger, uh (When I'm in need) But she ain't messin' with no broke n***as, uh [Refrain] (I gotta leave) Get down, girl, go 'head, get down (I gotta leave) Get down, girl, go 'head, get down (I gotta leave) Get down, girl, go 'head, get down (I gotta leave) Get down, girl, go 'head [Verse 2] Eighteen years, eighteen years She got one of your kids, got you for eighteen years I know somebody payin' child support for one of his kids His baby mama car and crib is bigger than his You will see him on TV any given Sunday Win the Super Bowl and drive off in a Hyundai She was supposed to buy your shorty Tyco with your money She went to the doctor, got lipo with your money She walkin' 'round lookin' like Michael with your money Shoulda got that insured, Geico for your money If you ain't no punk Holla, "We want prenup! We want prenup!" (Yeah!) It's somethin' that you need to have ‘Cause when she leave yo' ass, she gon' leave with half Eighteen years, eighteen years And on the eighteenth birthday, he found out it wasn't his? [Chorus] (She give me money) Now, I ain't sayin' she a gold digger, uh (When I'm in need) But she ain't messin' with no broke n***as, uh (She give me money) Now, I ain't sayin' she a gold digger, uh (When I'm in need) But she ain't messin' with no broke n***as, uh [Refrain] (I gotta leave) Get down, girl, go 'head, get down (I gotta leave) Get down, girl, go 'head, get down (I gotta leave) Get down, girl, go 'head, get down (I gotta leave) Get down, girl, go 'head [Verse 3] Now, I ain't sayin' you a gold digger, you got needs You don't want a dude to smoke, but he can't buy weed You go out to eat, he can't pay, y'all can't leave There's dishes in the back, he gotta roll up his sleeves But while y'all washin', watch him He gon' make it to a Benz out of that Datsun He got that ambition, baby, look at his eyes This week, he moppin' floors, next week, it's the fries So stick by his side I know there's dudes ballin', and yeah, that's nice And they gon' keep callin' and tryin', but you stay right, girl And when he get on, he'll leave yo' ass for a white girl [Refrain] (I gotta leave) Get down, girl, go 'head, get down (I gotta leave) Get down, girl, go 'head, get down (I gotta leave) Get down, girl, go 'head, get down (I gotta leave) Get down, girl, go 'head [Outro] Let me hear that back

References[]

1. ↑ https://open.spotify.com/track/1PS1QMdUqOal0ai3Gt7sDQ?si=6f724342f1324510
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_(film)
3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DOdBM9AlVQ&feature=youtu.be
4. ↑ https://americansongwriter.com/did-you-know-kanye-wests-gold-digger-was-written-for-another-artist/
5. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Digger_(Kanye_West_song)#Composition_and_lyrics
6. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Digger_(Kanye_West_song)#Reception

Late Registration
Singles "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" • "Gold Digger" • "Heard 'Em Say" • "Touch The Sky" • "Drive Slow" Other tracks "Wake Up Mr. West" • "Skit #1 • "My Way Home" • "Crack Music" • "Roses" • "Bring Me Down" • "Addiction" • "Skit #2 • "We Major" • "Skit #3" • "Hey Mama" • "Celebration" • " Skit #4" • "Gone" • "Late" Chronology Previous • Next

Late Orchestration
"Diamonds From Sierra Leone" • "Touch The Sky" • "Crack Music" • "Drive Slow" • "Through The Wire" • "Workout Plan" • "Heard 'Em Say" • "All Falls Down" • "Bring Me Down" • "Gone" • "Late" • "Jesus Walks" • "Gold Digger"