G.O.O.D. Music”s compilation, “Cruel Summer,” which drops as the season ends on Sept. 18, features label head Kanye West with a number of top artists including R. Kelly, John Legend, Kid Cudi, Raekwon, 2 Chainz and The-Dream.
Snippets of the full album are on iTunes, but today we get a full version of opening track “To The World,” performed by West and Kelly. The song is basically a big “F You,” albeit an often clever one,” to you and yours.
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The song, which has a nice musical bed, bolstered by classical strings and a bold drum beat, opens with R. Kelly singing, “Let me see you put your middle fingers up to the world.” As lovely as he sounds, he”s mad at everyone: “Funny till they wait til you”re gone to miss you.” In other words, he believes you can fly– straight to hell.
West”s rap doesn”t come into until more than two minutes in– he mentioned Rick Ross, Francis Ford Coppola, Ving Rhames, and Mitt Romney. Then, over the graceful string bed, an unidentified female voice comes in.
The song doesn”t have a strong hook, although the line, “Bitch, I”m Rick James tonight,” we will probably start to see quoted everywhere. What it lacks in catchiness, it makes up for in a lovely melody that is totally contradictory to the “my way or the highway” lyrics.
What do you think of “To The World?”