Power (Kanye West song)

"Power" is the first single from America, rapper Kanye West off of his currently untitled fifth studio album. The song features singer Dwele and is co-produced by Kanye West and Symbolyc One. The song strongly features a sample of "21st Century Schizoid Man" by British progressive rock band King Crimson.

Background

The beat to the song was initially given to Rhymefest, only having West to listen to the song and gave interest in it. The song was recorded in Hawaii. The song was supposed to be released for digital download in early June, but for an unexplained reason it was cancelled. An unmastered version of the song reached the internet in early May 2010. Critical response to the song has been positive.

The intro is the current walk-up song of Milwaukee Brewers All-Star Ryan Braun, as well as Cincinnati Reds center fielder Drew Stubbs.

Music Video

Kanye West’s six-figure Horus chain hangs low in this first image from his “Power” video. The New York Times got a sneak peek of the clip directed by artist Marco Brambilla. As West raps, the camera slowly pans out in one continuous, unedited take to reveal him surrounded by nude female attendants; some kneel before him, others wear devil horns, and some are suspended upside down from the ceiling. The Sword of Damocles hangs over the rapper’s head, while an executioner prepares to strike him with a blade.

“It’s kind of apocalyptic, in a very personal way,” Brambilla told ArtsBeat. “It’s a very exaggerated hyper-sensational version of what the song is saying.”

On July 29, 2010, Kanye tweeted on his new official Twitter page, "At the Edit of Power."

The controversial video is expected to premiere on the 5th of August right after Jersey Shore. Kanye was boasting the tagline, “IT’S NOT A VIDEO…IT’S A PAINTING,”.

"I shot images of the casting, people who came in as dancers and models and actresses in the various poses, and then it was put together as a photograph originally," Brambilla said. "We had very little time to shoot it. We only had a day to shoot, it so I basically know exactly how each element would look, where each element would go and how the whole piece would choreograph, because there's about 24 layers of video in the piece, and they are all interconnected. So it's almost like a visual ballet in a way, and it had to be pre-planned in a very specific way to make it cohesive and to make it work. That was the most challenging part of it: how to [translate] it from a still, a painting, and then make the painting come alive into the filming and the photography." The music video was 90 seconds long.

"It didn't answer all the questions," he added. "It just becomes more provocative and a little bit more tense at the end, because it cuts away just before the action within it resolves itself, so it kind of leaves you with the feeling that something's about to happen."

"I made it very clear at the beginning that I wasn't really interested if it was going to be a music video," he said. "I wanted to do something which was more like a visual accompaniment to the track, and so it didn't really need to be any specific length and it didn't really need to be the whole song. It needed to kind of introduce the song in a different way and a fresh way, and I came with this continuous shot with no cuts, no lip sync, and the minute, minute and a half just ... seemed like the perfect amount of time to show.

After the music video aired, many copies of the video were posted online. Many of the fans had mixed comments on the video, some saying that it was disapointing and didnt live up to the anticipation. Some people say that instead of it being a music video it is more of a visual art piece.

Music and structure

"Power" is a progressive rock-infused hip hop song. This song samples "21st Century Schizoid Man" by the British rock band King Crimson and "Afromerica" by Continent Number 6.

Album art

The album art for the song "Power" was produced by American visual artist George Condo. The single had two other alternate albums designs. Kanye explained on his website that the original artwork represents how he tends to opinionate himself and how he always states his thoughts.

Release

On Friday, May 28, 2010, an unfinished version of the speculative first single was leaked onto the internet.

Late on the night of Wednesday, June 30, 2010, the single was released on iTunes for digital download with a different album cover also designed by the same artist that drew the last album cover.

Critical reception

The song has received a positive reception from critics. Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone gave a positive review of the song saying, "Kanye's best single since "Stronger" rides a torrid whipsaw beat, as he takes on his spelunking media image, pinballing from self-aware ("I'm an asshole") to defiant ("Kiss my asshole"). The sentiment is classic Kanye, but he hasn't melted down this brilliantly in a long time." Jason Lipshutz from Billboard praised the song saying, "With its stunning mix of rock-leaning production, memorable rhymes and unadulterated attitude, new single "Power" is a pissed-off shot of adrenaline that plays upon all of the controversial rapper's strengths. Rhyming over a soulful vocal harmony and an abrasive sample of King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man," West dismisses his doubters, takes a shot at "Saturday Night Live" and shrugs off his recent hiatus from hip-hop."

Live performances

Kanye West performed this song at the 2010 BET Awards atop a mountain-like prop, with a video compilation of footage shot on top of a mountain playing in the back. There is also speculation that his video will be similar to the performance. It was only his second televised performance since the 2009 VMA incident.

Media usage

The song was used in promotional trailers for David Fincher's film "The Social Network".
Tags: Mary-Kate Olsen Hooking Up With Kanye West , Kanye West ,  Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen , Turkey's ruling party set for:Thrice , Cleveland , LeBron James