Through the Wire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Through the Wire" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Single by Kanye West | ||
| from the album The College Dropout | ||
| Released | October 23, 2004 | |
| Format | 12" maxi single | |
| Genre | Rap | |
| Length | 3:41 | |
| Label | Roc-A-Fella/ Island Def Jam |
|
| Writer(s) | Kanye West David Foster C.Weil T.Keane |
|
| Producer(s) | Kanye West | |
| Certification | Uncertified | |
| Chart positions | ||
|
||
| Kanye West singles chronology | ||
| "Slow Jamz" 2004 |
"Through the Wire" 2004 |
"All Falls Down" 2004 |
"Through the Wire" is the first single from Kanye West's debut album, The College Dropout. Released in 2003, the single peaked at #15 in the USA becoming West's 2nd Top 20 single; it also peaked at #9 in the UK. Although he had previously made a guest appearance on singles like "Slow Jamz", "Through the Wire" was his solo debut single. The record samples the Chaka Khan song "Through the Fire" for its instrumentation and chorus. The track was a perfect example of a style West had developed as a producer: he often took classic R&B tracks and would speed up the track to create a high pitched sound and add some soulful instrumentals to create what critics of hardcore rap sometimes dismissed as having a "pop" like sound.
Kanye was involved in a near-fatal car accident in October 2002 following the signing of his contract to his current label (Roc-A-Fella/Island Def Jam) in Los Angeles and wrote the song while recovering in the hospital. In the accident, he had severely damaged his jaw, and needed it to be wired shut while it healed. This song was performed by Kanye while his jaw was still wired shut, forcing him to rap "through the wire," hence the name of the track.
One verse of the song referred to the 2000 movie Unbreakable, starring Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson:
- "Cause look how death missed his ass
- Unbreakable, would you thought they called me Mr. Glass?"
In another verse, Kanye says "I look like Tom Cruise on Vanilla Sky", referring to the 2001 movie Vanilla Sky, in which Tom Cruise's character is in a car accident and severely disfigures his face.
Kanye also has an official remix to the song, closing in at 2:22 long. In the remix, Kanye talks about how he had to pay for his own video for "Through the Wire", and how he's thankful for his mic and keyboard. The remix can be found online, and on various Kanye West mixtapes.
[edit] Single Tracklist
[edit] A-Side
- Through The Wire (Main)
- Through The Wire (Instrumental)
[edit] B-Side
- Two Words (Clean)
- Two Words (Main)
- Two Words (Instrumental)
| Kanye West |
| Albums and EPs |
|---|
| The College Dropout | Late Registration | Graduation| Freshmen Adjustment | Freshmen Adjustment 2 | Late Orchestration |
| Singles |
| Slow Jamz | Through the Wire | All Falls Down | Jesus Walks Talk About Our Love | Diamonds from Sierra Leone | Gold Digger | Heard 'Em Say | Touch the Sky |
| Related articles |
| Production Credits |
 |
This hip hop song-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
