B-side "The Game" Genre Hip hop Label GOOD Music, Geffen | Released May 22, 2007 Length 3:31 | |
Format 12", CD single, digital download, vinyl | ||
"The People" is a song by American rapper Common, released as the second single of his seventh studio album Finding Forever. It made its first appearance on Kanye West's Can't Tell Me Nothing mixtape. The song features production by West and contains background vocals provided by soul singer Dwele. The original version of the song had Common singing the hook by himself, but this was later replaced with Dwele singing the hook. It contains samples of "We Almost Lost Detroit" by Gil Scott-Heron as well as vocal samples of "Long Red" by Mountain (the latter of which was sampled on Wouldn't Get Far featuring West). This action was part of West's intention to pay tribute to J Dilla through the production style expressed within the album.
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Though it performed moderately on the charts, "The People" became one of the most critically acclaimed songs of the year. The song was listed at number twenty-nine on Rolling Stone's the 100 Best Songs of 2007. It also received a nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 50th Grammy Awards.
Music video
The music video for "The People" was directed by NEON and filmed in Brooklyn, NY with footage from Chicago, IL. The video premiered on June 22 on Y! Music and features stills of Common rapping in the middle of a field on the outskirts of the city, interspersed with scenes of various locations throughout the metropolis.
Personnel
Information taken from Finding Forever liner notes.