Released July 29, 2016 Length 5:01 | Recorded 2014 Label GOOD
Def Jam | |
Genre Alternative hip hop
R&B Writer(s) Kanye West
Sia Furler
Victor Mensah
Magnus August Høiberg
Alan Soucy Brinsmead
Noah Goldstein
Elon Rutberg
Cydel Young
Ryan McDermott
Mike Dean
Kirby Lauryen
Pat Reynolds
Caroline Shaw | ||
"Wolves" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, featuring Sia and Vic Mensa from his seventh studio album The Life of Pablo (2016). It was produced by Cashmere Cat and Sinjin Hawke and was originally planned to be the opening track to his seventh studio album, The Life of Pablo. West debuted the song on February 12, 2015 at a fashion show where he also premiered his new Adidas shoe. The presentation was broadcast live to more than 40 locations around the world. "Wolves" became the second confirmed track from the album and originally featured Sia and Vic Mensa. The initial album version introduced a new verse from West and an additional outro from Frank Ocean, omitting Sia and Vic Mensa's contributions. However, in March 2016, the album was updated with a new version of the song that reinstated Sia and Vic Mensa's verses. Frank Ocean's outro has been split into a separate track, titled "Frank's Track", which appears after "Wolves" on the track list.
Contents
Composition
"Wolves" was produced by Cashmere Cat and Sinjin Hawke and originally featured vocals by Australian singer and songwriter Sia and Chicago rapper Vic Mensa. The song has been described as "melancholic" and "somber" with a slower beat, a minimal arrangement, and a heavily Auto-Tuned bridge. The "lurching" chorus is performed by Vic Mensa and includes the lyrics, "I'm just bad. Bad for you." Sia performs a "bluesy" rendition of West's words approximately three minutes and fifteen seconds into the song.
The album version features a rap from West and a moody outro from Frank Ocean, replacing Vic Mensa and Sia's verses. An alternate version, however, was leaked online including Frank Ocean, Vic Mensa, and Sia. Unlike the album version, Frank Ocean's outro is featured at the start of the song, and West's rap is omitted.
In March 2016, over a month after the album's release, West updated the album's Tidal track list with a reworked version of "Wolves", which includes the previously removed vocals from Vic Mensa and Sia. The outro sung by Frank Ocean was split into a separate track called "Frank's Track".
Music video
The video for the song was released on July 29, 2016 as part of a Balmain advert campaign. It resonates with the emotional feel of the song as it features Kanye and Kim in tears. The video also features Alessandra Ambrosio, Joan Smalls, Jourdan Dunn, Josephine Skriver, Kylie Jenner, Sia, and Vic Mensa.
Live performances
West was one of several musical guests for the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special, which aired on NBC in February 2015. He performed "Jesus Walks" and "Only One", then Sia and Mensa joined him for the live debut of "Wolves". Due to the "claustrophobic, starkly black-and-white" set, all three vocalists crawled and crouched throughout the song due to their limited mobility, and Sia wore a large white bob wig.
Reception
Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone said the song was reminiscent of West's work on his album 808s & Heartbreak (2008).