Recorded 2015–16 Length 3:14 | Genre Hip house Label GOOD
Def Jam | |
Released September 9, 2016 (2016-09-09) Format Digital download
streaming | ||
"Fade" is a song by American rappers Kanye West, Post Malone and Ty Dolla Sign. It was released as the third single from West's seventh studio album, The Life of Pablo (2016), on September 9, 2016. The Tidal-exclusive music video premiered at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards. The song has peaked at number 47 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Contents
Background
"Fade" features vocals from rappers Post Malone and Ty Dolla Sign. It also samples several different songs. The musical sample providing the bass line and melody is taken from Chicago House classic, "Mysteries of Love" by Mr Fingers. The vocal samples include, "Deep Inside" by Hardrive, "I Get Lifted" by Barbara Tucker, and two different versions of "(I Know) I'm Losing You"; one by American rock band Rare Earth and the other by 1970s recording act the Undisputed Truth. Fade also contains lyrical references to "Rock the Boat" by Aaliyah. Post Malone had first met West at a party thrown by West's sister-in-law Kylie Jenner. The two met up and eventually decided to record together. "So I went over to Ye's and we just started working and then we just started talking. And we just kept on going. I went in the studio with Kanye and we just recorded the scratch vocals and then I wrote over it… He was just a normal guy, like me, and super cool. He was wearing all camo, just all camo. He was very quiet and he was very, very humble," Post stated in an interview with The Fader. "Fade" was announced as the third single from The Life of Pablo in June 2016. It was serviced to US urban and pop radio on September 20, 2016.
Music video
The music video for the song was released on August 28, 2016 on music streaming service Tidal, after being unveiled at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards. It was uploaded to West's Vevo channel on September 6, 2016. The video features Teyana Taylor and her husband, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert. It has also drawn comparisons to a famous scene from the 1983 film Flashdance, which involved dance moves similar to the ones seen in the "Fade" music video. Near the end of the video, she and her husband are in the shower and after that, Teyana turns into a cat, while lying on her husband.