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Send It Up

"Send It Up" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kanye West, from his sixth studio album Yeezus (2013). It was produced by West, Daft Punk, Gesaffelstein, Brodinski, Arca and Mike Dean. Like other songs on the album, it features an industrial hip hop sound, with elements of electronic music. The song features vocals from American rapper King Louie, who improvised his contributions. It contains a sample of "Memories" (also known as "Stop Live Inna De Pass") by Jamaican reggae and dancehall singer Beenie Man. Eight days before its release on the album, West performed the song live at the Governors Ball Music Festival, along with four other tracks from Yeezus.

"Send It Up"
Song by Kanye West
from the album Yeezus
ReleasedJune 18, 2013
Recorded2013
Genre
Length2:58
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Audio video
"Send It Up" on YouTube

"Send It Up" has received positive reviews from music critics, with many complimenting the production and party appeal. Despite not being released as a single, it charted on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and On-Demand Songs charts at number 50 and 42 respectively. One line in the song was changed to being rapped a cappella when West reworked the Apple Music version of Yeezus in 2016. It was covered by punk rock band Idles in 2018.

Background and composition

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The song was co-produced by French electronic duo Daft Punk.

Before they collaborated for the first time on "Send It Up", American rapper King Louie found out West was a fan of his after West gave him a shoutout in the 2012 GOOD Music collaboration "I Don't Like (Remix)", featuring Chief Keef, Pusha T, Big Sean, and Jadakiss.[1] King Louie called the shoutout "crazy" and appreciated his ability to influence Chicago-based rappers.[2] Along with his vocal appearance on "Send It Up", King Louie also has a writing credit on another Yeezus track, "New Slaves".[3]

"Send It Up" is an industrial hip hop song, with elements of electronic music.[4] According to MTV's Rob Markman, the song contains a "kinetic" beat, with "blaring sirens" and "a pounding drum."[5] It features vocals from King Louie, who freestyled his entire verse.[5] King Louie later explained on MTV News that the song's beat was different than he originally recorded: "the beat was just one instrument, two instruments and then now it's like a whole party thing."[5] However, he called the final version "dope."[5] The song was co-produced by French electronic duo Daft Punk, who also co-produced the other Yeezus tracks "On Sight," "Black Skinhead," and "I Am a God."[3][6] For the chorus, which repeats twice at the end of the song, West added a sample of "Memories" (also known as "Stop Live Inna De Pass") by Jamaican reggae and dancehall singer Beenie Man.[4][7]

When West began to make adjustments to the songs on his seventh studio album The Life of Pablo (2016),[8] he did the same to "Black Skinhead" and "Send It Up" for the Apple Music version of Yeezus (the Spotify and Tidal versions of the songs remained unchanged).[9] On "Send It Up", West cut the instrumental backing track to his line at the 1:30 mark, making it a cappella.[10][11]

Release and promotion

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"Send It Up" was released on June 18, 2013, as the ninth and penultimate track on West's sixth studio album Yeezus.[12] Eight days before its release, on June 10, 2013, West performed live at the Governors Ball Music Festival; his set included five songs from the then-upcoming album, including "New Slaves", "Black Skinhead", and "I Am a God".[13][14] While "Send It Up" and "On Sight" were played, their titles were not introduced; West instead introduced them as "new shit."[14][15] The song was performed at the opening show of The Yeezus Tour in Seattle's KeyArena.[16] A cover version was performed by punk rock band IDLES on BBC Radio 1 in August 2018.[17]

Commercial performance

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"Send It Up" was one of the album's least-performing songs. Upon the release of Yeezus, the song debuted at number 50 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart the week of July 6, 2013.[18] The same week, it peaked at number 42 on the US Billboard On-Demand Songs chart.[19]

Critical reception

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Since release, the song has received positive reviews from music critics, with many complimenting its production and party appeal. Rob Markman of MTV News gave the track a positive review, calling it "a clear-cut party starter."[5] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian wrote, "the mid-tempo four-to-the-floor thud of "Send It Up" is strafed with electronic squeals and bursts of menacing, growling bass," as well as pointing out the track's "dance influences."[20] Michael Madden of Consequence of Sound described its sound as being reminiscent of the work done by DJ Mustard and the Nine Inch Nails album Pretty Hate Machine.[21] Julianne Escobedo Spephard of Spin called the song "bananas" and complimented producer Arca's work on the song, writing: "[It] recalls both the sub-bass on [her] EP Stretch 2, and the demonic elasticity of [her] beat for Mykki Blanco's "Join My Militia".[22] Gavin Haynes of NME wrote that the song "finds a natural pathway between new Robo-Kanye and the stark experiments," such as his 2012 GOOD Music collaboration "Clique".[23] In a more mixed review, Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork described the track as being "riotous" and wrote in response to King Louie's appearance: "His presence, along with that of fellow Chi-town driller Chief Keef, makes the message clear: America may want to ignore these young black men from the gang-strewn South Side, but here, they have a voice."[24]

Credits and personnel

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Credits adapted from the Yeezus liner notes.[3]

Charts

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Chart (2013) Peak
position
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[25] 50
US On-Demand Songs (Billboard)[19] 42

References

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  1. ^ "King Louie Talks Kanye West Shoutout on "I Don't Like (Remix)", Upcoming Projects". XXL. May 4, 2015. Archived from the original on July 13, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  2. ^ Markman, Rob (May 10, 2012). "King Louie Didn't Know Kanye West Is a Fan". MTV News. MTV Networks. Archived from the original on June 17, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Yeezus (PDF) (Media notes). Kanye West. Def Jam Recordings. 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 3, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2019.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ^ a b "10 Quick Reactions to Kanye West's Yeezus". Complex. June 14, 2013. Archived from the original on December 16, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e Markman, Rob (June 14, 2013). "Kanye West's Yeezus Track Got King Louie To Wake Up And Freestyle". MTV News. MTV Networks. Archived from the original on July 13, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  6. ^ Findlay, Mitch (September 19, 2018). "Kanye West's "Yeezus:" Unpacking A Truly Divisive Album". HotNewHipHop. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  7. ^ Farmer, Brian (June 18, 2013). "Here Are All of the Samples Used for Kanye West's 'Yeezus'". Highsnobiety. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  8. ^ Minsker, Even (March 31, 2016). "Kanye West Updates The Life of Pablo Again". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on June 16, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  9. ^ Carley, Brennan (April 18, 2016). "Apple Music, Spotify, and Tidal Are Streaming Different Versions of Kanye West's 'Yeezus'". Spin. Archived from the original on June 11, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  10. ^ Camp, Zoe (April 18, 2016). "Kanye West Changes Yeezus Tracks on Apple Music". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on August 9, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  11. ^ Plaugic, Lizzie (April 12, 2016). "Kanye West reworked parts of Yeezus on Apple Music". The Verge. Archived from the original on July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  12. ^ Jeffries, David. "Yeezus – Kanye West". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  13. ^ Dombal, Ryan (June 10, 2013). "Report: Kanye West at Governors Ball". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on June 16, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  14. ^ a b Anderson, Stacey (June 10, 2013). "Kanye West Performs 'Yeezus' Songs at Governors Ball". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 5, 2018. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  15. ^ Breihan, Tom (June 10, 2013). "Watch Kanye West Perform New Songs At Governors Ball". Stereogum. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  16. ^ Reiff, Corbin (October 20, 2013). "Kanye West Brings on Jesus for 'Yeezus' Tour Kickoff". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 17, 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  17. ^ Clarke, Patrick (August 15, 2018). "Hear IDLES' unconventional cover of Kanye West's 'Send It Up'". NME. Archived from the original on October 5, 2018. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  18. ^ "Kanye West Send It Up Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  19. ^ a b "Kanye West Chart History (On-Demand Songs)". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 14, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  20. ^ Petridis, Alexis (June 17, 2013). "Kanye West: Yeezus – review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  21. ^ Madden, Michael (June 20, 2013). "Kanye West – Yeezus". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  22. ^ Shephard, Julianne Escobedo (June 15, 2013). "Kanye West's 'Yeezus': Our Impulsive Reviews". Spin. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  23. ^ Haynes, Gavin (July 2, 2013). "Kanye West – 'Yeezus' review". NME. Archived from the original on June 17, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  24. ^ Dombal, Ryan (June 18, 2013). "Kanye West: Yeezus Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  25. ^ "Kanye West Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
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