Released 2013 Genre Hip hop Label Roc-A-Fella
Def Jam | Recorded 2013 Length 6:00 | |
Writer(s) Kanye West
Cydel Young
Ross Birchard
Elon Rutberg
Malik Jones
Tony Williams
Mike Dean
Lewis Allen | ||
"Blood on the Leaves" is a song by American hip hop artist Kanye West from his sixth solo studio album Yeezus. It was produced by West, Hudson Mohawke, Lunice, Carlos Broady, 88-Keys, Arca and Mike Dean. It contains samples of Nina Simone's 1965 rendition of "Strange Fruit", and of TNGHT's song "R U Ready." "Blood on the Leaves" peaked at number 89 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Contents
Song analysis
Gil Kaufman of MTV called "Blood on the Leaves" "a churning anthem about conspicuous consumption" and "example of West's signature dichotomy in which he melds the sacred and profane." The original version of "Strange Fruit" recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939 has been deemed "shorthand for music that deals with racial injustice." Kanye also interpolates rapper C-Murder's 2000 song "Down for My N's", beat produced by KLC.
Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork called the song "a nightmarish story of divorce and betrayal," while Jody Rosen of Vulture states that "[Kanye is] well aware how audacious to interpolate that sacred song into a monstrously self-pitying ... melodrama about what a drag it is when your side-piece won't abort your love child." Nicholas Troester of conservative magazine First Things labeled the song as an "anti-abortion anthem" and thought the focus of the song is "the tremendous selfishness of adults who cannot understand the importance of families or children."
Live performances
West performed the song live at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.
Critical reception
Rolling Stone ranked "Blood on the Leaves" at number 20, on their list of the 100 Best Songs of 2013. Pitchfork positioned the song at number 11, on their list of the 100 Best Songs of 2013. It was ranked at number 24 on XXL's list of the best songs of 2013. They commented saying, "Mixing personal memories of a menacing relationship with the horrors of lynching for a record is often looked at as a blasphemous feat at first—but Kanye West made the combination work. Sampling Nina Simone’s 'Strange Fruit,' West’s 'Blood on the Leaves' from his sixth studio LP 'Yeezus' was a gorgeous metaphor of a failed relationship touted with bass, towering horns, and auto-tune effect reminiscent of '808s & Heartbreak'."
The song impressed director David Lynch: "I think it's one of the most modern pieces and so minimal, so powerful but at the same time so beautiful. It's a great, great song".