Released September 11, 2007 Length 2:47 | Genre Hip hop Label Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam | |
Recorded 2006
Sony Music Studios
(New York, New York)
The Record Plant
(Hollywood, California) Writer(s) K. West, W. Becker, D. Fagen | ||
"Champion" is a song by American hip-hop artist Kanye West. It was released as the second song on the track-listing of his third studio album, Graduation. The track was produced by West and Brian "All Day" Miller and contains elements of "Kid Charlemagne" by the jazz-rock band Steely Dan. Though not released as a single, "Champion" managed to debut and peak at ninety-nine and ninety-four on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and Pop 100 chart respectively. The official music video for the song was directed by Nabil Elderkin and released on August 12, 2008 on West's blog.
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Chart performance
Despite not being released as a single, "Champion" managed to enter charts. It made both its debut and peak at number ninety-nine on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The song also managed to debut and peak at number ninety-four on the U.S. Billboard Pop 100 chart for the issue date of September 29, 2007.
Music video
An accompanying music video was made for "Champion" and directed by Nabil Elderkin. The Olympic-themed video revolves around a puppet version of Kanye West participating in the 100 m sprint at a sporting event known as the Unified Games. After receiving permission to race thanks to majority vote on a live "K-Span" television broadcast, the scene transits to the starting line. It is there that flashbacks display the extensive training the puppet undertook to get where he is. The race commences and nearing the finishing line, the puppet is able to pass the other runners and emerge victorious. The music video was released on August 12, 2008 on West's blog. The video was filmed at Adolfo Camarillo High School in Camarillo, California.
Personnel
Information taken from Graduation liner notes.