| "Niggas in Paris" | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Jay-Z and Kanye West | |||||
| from the album Watch the Throne | |||||
| Released | September 13, 2011 | ||||
| Format | Digital download | ||||
| Recorded | 2011 | ||||
| Genre | Hip hop | ||||
| Length | 3:39 | ||||
| Label | Roc-A-Fella, Roc Nation, Def Jam | ||||
| Writer(s) | Kanye West, Shawn Carter | ||||
| Producer |
Hit-Boy, Kanye West (co.), Mike Dean (add.), Anthony Kilhoffer (add.) |
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| Jay-Z singles chronology | |||||
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| Kanye West singles chronology | |||||
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"Niggas in Paris" (edited for radio as "In Paris" or simply "Paris") is a song by American rappers Kanye West and Jay-Z, from their collaboration album Watch the Throne. It debuted at #75 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the week of the album's release.[1] The song was sent to Rhythmic and Urban radio on September 13, 2011.[2] The song has since peaked at number 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Kanye West's 14th top-10 single and Jay-Z's 18th making Jay-Z the rapper with the most top-10 hits.[3]
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In an interview, Kanye West revealed that the song was inspired by his travels in Paris, "I am where art meets commercial. The sweet spot between the hood and Hollywood. Having a conversation with Karl Lagerfeld and Jay-Z within the same hour. When we’re in Paris dressing all crazy at fashion shows, we listening to Jeezy. Jeezy in Paris, that’s what it is." [4]
The artwork for "Niggas in Paris" features the French flag with a black third substituted for a blue one and is the exact same cover used for Kanye West and Jay-Z's song "Why I Love You" which was released to radios simultaneously with "Niggas in Paris" on September 13, 2011.[5][6]
The official remix features rapper T.I.. Remixes or freestyles on this beat created by other artists include a remix by Chris Brown and T-Pain, a freestyle by Game titled "Niggas in Compton", a freestyle by Meek Mill which appeared on his mixtape Dreamchasers, a remix by Busta Rhymes, a remix by Chevy Woods titled "Taylors in Paris", a freestyle by Trey Songz which a appeared on his mixtape #LemmeHolDatBeat2 titled "In Africa", a remix by E.S.G. titled "Niggas in Houston", and a remix by Felony titled "Niggas in Harris". Rapper Traphik (aka Timothy DeLaGhetto) did a freestyle to "Niggas in Paris" for his weekly 16. Pitbull released a remix of "Niggas In Paris" called "Latinos In Paris" with Vein,Jamie Drastik, and Sensato. Busta Rhymes made a remix to the beat as well. Other rappers that did freestyles: Yelawolf, Young Jeezy, and Romeo Miller.
On December 13, 2011, after their last Los Angeles stop at Staples Center on their Watch the Throne Tour Jay-Z announced that the live performance would be used for the song's music video.[7]
Rolling Stone commented on the song by saying "Jay and Ye come in hard over a slow, menacing beat and icy synthesizer notes, but regardless, this cut is mostly memorable for including an unexpected sample of dialogue from the Will Ferrell/Jon Heder ice-skating comedy Blades of Glory. 'No one knows what it means, but it's provocative, Gets the people going!' says Ferrell with deep conviction, essentially summing up the art of hip-hop lyrics."[8] Billboard commented on the song by saying "N**gas in Paris:" Kanye steals the show on the Hit-Boy produced club anthem. A sampling of dialogue from the 2007 film Blades of Glory is tucked in between."[9] The Guardian called the song a standout track on the album and also commented by saying "This percolating track could have been produced by Wiley, with sick sub-bass and a snare that sounds like static. Both rappers are in excellent form, with West repeating "That shit cray". Kanye begins in half-time and speeds up. Among the lines that jump out: "I'm suffering from realness" and "Don't let me get in my zone." A standout track."[10] Pitchfork complimented that the song possessed great moments by Kanye West and said the following "It also features this great Kanye moment, "Doctors say I'm the illest because I'm suffering from realness/ Got my niggas in Paris, and they going gorillas,"[11] Pitchfork later named "Niggas In Paris" the 12th best track of 2011 and Rolling Stone named it the second best of the year.[12] XXL named "Niggas In Paris" the best song of 2011 as well as the "hottest beat" of 2011.[13][14] Digital Spy placed this song on their 24th spot of the best songs of 2011.[15]
The song has been performed on the Watch the Throne Tour. MTV News said with "the track's Will Ferrell intro ("We're gonna skate to one song and one song only") brought on the moment that everyone was waiting for."[16] USA Today commented "at one point, as Jay-Z and West performed Niggas in Paris' from their new hit CD, "Watch the Throne," West exhorted the audience to "Bounce! Bounce!" The resulting stomping had Philips Arena rocking and shaking in a way that it hasn't for the Hawks in a long time."[17] In early stops, the song was performed three times. Kanye West and Jay-Z began performing the song more than thrice at the Miami show at American Airlines Arena by performing the song five times. The song was played six times at the TD Garden in Boston on November 21, 2011 setting a record for the tour at the time. It was then broken when it was performed seven times at The Palace of Auburn Hills. On December 12, 2011 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA, the song was played a total of 9 times, a record which would stand until the next night, when the duo performed the song 10 times. The crowd was also told that cameras had been brought to the concert for the record breaking December 13th performance to film the music video for the song. The song was also performed live as part of the 2011 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. During the Final Tour Stop in Vancouver the aforementioned record was met again with the duo performing the song ten times on the final night, Dec. 18 at Rogers Arena, despite several newspaper articles claiming that it was performed a total of eleven times.[18][19][20][21]
On August 27, 2011, "Niggas in Paris" made its debut on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 75 making it the second highest debut for any non-single on the album behind only "Who Gon Stop Me". On the US Billboard Hot Digital Songs the song debuted at number 58 even before it was released as a single from the album.[22] It has since peaked at #5 on the Billiboard Hot 100. As of December 2011, the song has sold over 1 million copies in the United States.[23]
The credits for "Niggas in Paris" are adapted from the liner notes of Watch the Throne.[24]
| Charts (2011-12) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100) | 33 |
| South Korea Gaon Chart[25] | 53 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[26] | 5 |
| US R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[27] | 1 |
| US Rap Songs (Billboard)[28] | 1 |
| US Pop Songs (Billboard)[29] | 22 |
| Country | Provider | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | RIAA | Gold[30] | 500,000+ |
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | September 13, 2011 | Rhythmic[6] and Urban radio[31] | Roc-A-Fella/IDJMG |
| November 8, 2011 | Top 40/Mainstream radio[32] | Roc-A-Fella/IDJMG |
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