Good Morning (Kanye West song)

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"Good Morning"
Song by Kanye West
from the album Graduation
ReleasedSeptember 11, 2007
Recorded2006–2007
Studio
GenreHip hop
Length3:15
Label
Songwriter(s)
YouTube

"Good Morning" is the first song from American

hip hop and rapping about his skepticism of higher education over thumping, off-kilter boom bap
drums.

The composition of "Good Morning" is both light and dark in tone and retains keyboard-laden, electronic instrumentation in addition to being imbued with poignant introspection. The song's atmospheric hip hop production harbors a subdued measure of progressiveness as West incorporates New-Age and ambient elements. His pensive verses are largely built on self-aggrandizing undercut with self-criticism and explore lyrical concerns pertaining to anti-establishment. The song's lyrics express motivational declarations of triumph and contain numerous pop-culture references.

"Good Morning" received generally favorable reviews from contemporary

set-list on his worldwide Glow in the Dark Tour (2008). In the years since its release, the song has been covered and remixed
by a variety of hip hop artists, record producers and musical groups.

Though not released as a

Complex, and has been showcased in multiple art museums
.

Background

Kanye West performing "Good Morning" for the Tim Festival at Marina da Glória in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on October 24, 2008, during the Glow in the Dark Tour.
West performing "Good Morning" in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on October 24, 2008, during the Glow in the Dark Tour

"Good Morning" was written and produced by West.[1] Due to being the album's introductory track, the song's original title was "Good Morning (Intro)," but subsequently was changed.[2] Unlike its predecessors, rather than a fake Bernie Mac intro or a Broke-Phi-Broke skit, the album-opener instead begins with vocals from West.[2][3] Along with West's usage of the vocal samples, one of the most distinctive aspects of the production for "Good Morning" is the significant emphasis on electronics.[4][5][6] The opening track signals his progression towards a more electronic soundscape.[7]

The song contains samples from the recording "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" by English singer and pianist Elton John.[1][4][5][6] Incidentally, John had professed a desire to work with West during a Rolling Stone interview on August 25, 2006.[8] John imparted that with the assistance from an artist such as West or Pharrell Williams, both of whom he tremendously respects, he wanted to bring his songs and melodies to hip hop beats.[8][9] It was while he was discussing his forthcoming autobiographical studio album The Captain & the Kid (2006).[8] Being a concept album, it acts as the sequel to his ninth album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975), which contains the song that West samples.[1] Years later, the two artists officially collaborated with one another on West's fifth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), which John described as "genius."[6] John played the piano and was one of many in a long roster of recording artists who provided background vocals for the fifth track "All of the Lights".[10]

"Good Morning" was first heard by music listeners when the

2001: A Space Odyssey were broadcast on a screen while lights flashed in sequence with the thumping beat of the track.[13]

Recording

Sony Music Studios, in New York City was one of the recording studios where "Good Morning" was recorded.

"Good Morning" was the first track that West started working on for Graduation.

Tony Williams, West first booked a studio in Detroit, Michigan to begin working on the recording in February 2006.[16] He was in Detroit to perform for a pre-game concert held during VH1's Pepsi Smash Super Bowl Bash festivities of Super Bowl XL, when the Seattle Seahawks played against the Pittsburgh Steelers.[16][17]

Beginning in early 2006, West had overseen the recording and production of Graduation simultaneously with  

drums.[22] The track's murky, slightly off-kilter drum-machine beat that West crafted aligns with the J Dilla methodology he channeled and maintained throughout Finding Forever in tribute to the recent passing of the underground hip hop producer.[4][23] West's newfound fascination with house-music also played a role on his approach to drum programming.[4] He relied more on clipped electro tones for his rhythmic patterns, giving the drum beats more of a punch.[4][22] In contrast to Finding Forever, West set aside his trademark soul samples in favor of airy synthesizer tones that would carry well when performed in arenas.[24]

Jay-Z
"Good Morning" concludes with additional vocals that are provided by American rapper Jay-Z.

Like most of the material throughout his third album, West's songwriting on "Good Morning" is characterized by confessional

verse in order to more directly get his lyrical concerns across.[27] As for his rapping, after touring with and studying the live performances of European arena rock bands such as U2 and the Rolling Stones, West decided to simplify some of his rhymes due to not always being able to rock crowds with complex lyrics.[13] He opted for a less intricate lyrical delivery featuring lines built on anthemic sloganeering with a more universal context. This would work in combination with sing-along hooks that tens of thousands of fans could chant in unison at his stadium concerts.[26][24][28]

"Good Morning" contains additional vocals provided by Australian singer Connie Mitchell of the dance music group Sneaky Sound System, as well as soul singer Tony Williams.[1] West had Connie Mitchell and Tony Williams sing a descending vocal line together over the looped sample.[16][22] Their celestial unison singing and the floating monophonic vocal loop combine to form a warm background harmony.[26][22][29] The oohing vocals from the ethereal backing choir function as a hook which serves to further engender moody atmosphere.[29][30][31][32]

The song also includes an

a capella into the track. Jay-Z explained, "You have to really care about the music ... [Kanye] was bragging about having the a capella. He's like, 'Yo, that's how I spun it, 'cause I had the a capella.' I'm like, wow! The things he cares about! That's not a big thing, but in his mind, 'I had the a capella, so I was able to put that in there without any drums.'"[33] Although he does provide the additional vocals, Graduation marks the first studio album released by West not to feature a full-length guest rap verse from Jay-Z.[1][22]

Composition

sloganeering and wafting hooks intended for crowds of fans to chant
and sing along to during his live concerts.

"Good Morning" is an uptempo hip hop track that lasts for a duration of three minutes and 15 seconds.

After its sparse

vocal harmonies composed with the use of wordless falsetto vocal samples from the recording "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" by Elton John.[5][6][7][31] West's style of rapping is slick and keenly aggressive during the three eight-bar verses.[13] His straightforward lyrical delivery exhibits a slow-paced, less technical approach to flow.[28][40] After its third verse, "Good Morning" elevates itself from a refrain to an outro that features the voice of Jay-Z.[42] He utters lyrics from the opening lines of "The Ruler's Back".[5] The musical composition reaches its conclusion with the pairing of Jay-Z's additional vocals to synthesizer parts.[1][44]

Lyrically, "Good Morning" is a triumphant declaration of professional and financial achievement.[45] It continues the education theme which was established by his previous studio albums The College Dropout (2004) and Late Registration (2005).[29][46] Both of the first two installments of West's planned album tetralogy began with an introductory track that involves a school administrator who labels him a disappointment.[47][48] By contrast, "Good Morning" starts off the third studio album with West graduating to the next level of success and proceeding towards the next phase of his career.[36][48] Accordingly, West uses the album-opener of Graduation to deliver an anthemic commencement address.[40][49] He announces that his record functions as a dissertation, making an analogy in which he likens his music to academia.[29][50] West compares overcoming life's hindrances to finishing a university most directly when he professes that, "You graduate when you make it up out of the streets."[29][39][40]

While primarily an uplifting anthem, West's lyrics are

self-criticism.[25][51][52] They suggest that every new success or achievement gives him more new reasons to doubt himself.[53] His conflicted, confessional lyricism and delivery is emphasized by way of the disarmingly simple, easygoing quality of the track's beat.[25][54] The song's pensive verses discuss lyrical concerns related to anti-elitism and anti-establishment.[5][31][51] West critiques societal hierarchies produced by the homogenization of the American education system.[55][56] Alongside motivational declarations of triumph, the lyrics of "Good Morning" are home to energetic, amusing word play laced with numerous pop-culture references.[5][31][57] They pertain to actress Rosie Perez, the 1989 Spike Lee film Do the Right Thing, civil rights leader Malcolm X, and the classic 1980s science-fiction film series Back to the Future.[57] West lays bear the forward-thinking theme of the album and critiques his peers when he rhymes, "Good Morning, look at the valedictorian/scared of the future while I hop in the DeLorean."[29][58] The song also includes an interpolation of the line, "Hustlers, that's if you're still livin', get on down..." from Jay-Z's 2001 album The Blueprint.[49]

Critical reception

"Good Morning" was met with generally favorable reviews from contemporary music critics. John Wash for Hot Press called the musical composition "glorious." He elaborates that the track's "dark, neurotic beats may form the backdrop, but the deliciously cheesy sampling lifts the song firmly into the pop spectrum."[59] Entertainment Weeklys Isabella Biedenharn noted, "the smooth, sublime 'Good Morning' is just so fresh and untethered — it's Kanye living in a pure, creative dream-space."[60] Natalie Weiner from Billboard has named "Good Morning" as one of West's most uplifting anthems, saying, "The Elton John sample, combined with Kanye's anti-establishment fervor, will make anyone feel better about their relative lack of diplomas."[51] RapReview's Jesa Padania also considered "Good Morning" to be a strong way to start the studio album and expressed affinity for the song's simple yet soulful hip-hop beat.[61] Chase Hoffberger from The Austin Chronicle gave praise to the innovative manner in which West samples Elton John for the record production.[62] The Observer staff writer Ben Thompson listed "Good Morning" as one of the top five songs from Graduation.[53]

Complex
encapsulated the opening track:

"... 'Good Morning' is [West's] cleanest opener, on his cleanest album; the perfect first step to what would be the capstone to the College trilogy, and the last time he would privilege cohesiveness in his catalogue. In his words, Graduation is his

three-verse structure, gently building beat, and sweet sense of melancholy. 'Ye would go on to burn his influences and talent down for scraps, and began to create weirder, bigger things. One thing he never lost, though, was his ability to start an album."[41]

Accolades

A columnist from

Aminé, who cites West as a musical influence, stated that the track is one of his favorite songs. He imparted, "'Good Morning' was a song that just made me feel good and I could still turn it on today. It was one of the first times where I started to hear bright, positive, hip-hop."[36] XXL named "Good Morning" one of the 25 best Hip-Hop album intro's of the 21st century in 2019.[68]

Music video

Development

Japanese Artist Takashi Murakami at the Palace of Versailles giving an interview to a film crew about his new exhibit 10th of September 2010
Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami, who designed the cover artwork for Graduation and its singles, directed the music video.

Even though it was not released as a single, a three-minute animated

Japanese culture and I was always into art, and Murakmi is a god in the art world."[69]

The short animated feature expresses glossy, colorful pastel imagery that take cues from Superflat, a post-modern art movement influenced by Japanese manga and animé which was founded by Murakami.[73][74] Often called "the Warhol of Japan," Murakami's surrealistic visual art is characterized by cartoonish creatures which appear friendly and cheerful at first glance, but possess dark, twisted undertones.[75][76] The artistic concept involves a fantastic, grotesque and sometimes dark universe of creatures like "Mr. Dob," "Smiley-Face Flowers," and colorful mushrooms.[77] The three-dimensional art technique blends artistry with Japanese anime and launched Murakami to fame in the 1990s.[77] It also attracted the attention of Marc Jacobs, creative director of Louis Vuitton, who recruited Muramki to revise the traditional LV monogram brand logo for their line of handbags and accessories. The commercially successful venture paved the way for Murakami's artwork to cross over into commerce and other mediums, propelling him into an internationally recognized artist.[77]

For the music video, the technicolor

3D animation of the Pokémon film franchise as well as the 2001 feature-length animé film, Inuyasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time.[81] Meanwhile, the storyline of the music video was written by West, himself a self-professed animé fan.[81] An edited version of the video was first displayed in an F.Y.E. commercial used for promotion of Graduation days before the album's release date.[82] A clip of the animated music video was leaked onto the Internet on November 12, 2007.[83] The music video found its way online by means through a fan's camera after a private screening at the Geffen Contemporary in the Little Tokyo district of Los Angeles, California.[83][84] West made the full version of the music video available on the iTunes Store on August 25, 2008.[85]

Synopsis

cel-shaded animation
.

The narrative of the music video centers around Dropout Bear, West's anthropomorphic teddy bear mascot.[86] Dropout Bear first appeared sitting forlornly on an empty set of gymnasium bleachers wearing baggy jeans and a corduroy jacket on the cover art for his debut album, The College Dropout.[86][87] He later appeared dressed in a collegian outfit—a blazer with a school insignia—on the album cover of West's sophomore release, Late Registration.[88] In the surrealistic video, Dropout Bear acts as the main protagonist while his journey takes place throughout a fictional futuristic metropolis known as Universe City.[18] Dropout Bear contends with a variety of unfortunate setbacks and overcomes a series of trials and tribulations as he races through the city in an effort to reach his college campus in time to attend his graduation ceremony.[89]

The story begins on a rainy day with Dropout Bear being woken up by his

subway car right before it pulls away.[86]

As he races down sidewalks, Dropout Bear is chased down by a monstrous storm cloud that swallows him whole.[83] He is then transported to a bizarre pocket dimension populated by multi-eyed, living, technicolor mushrooms. Dropout Bear evades lightning bolts and a tornado before falling through a hole and being regurgitated by the storm cloud monster back onto the city streets.[86] At that moment, the raining ceases and the sky clears, revealing a bright, shining sun.[83] Dropout Bear then dons a pair of Venetian Blind shades, having reached the campus of his university.[83] He makes it to his ceremony just in time to stand before his colleagues, a wide variety of anthropomorphic creatures like himself. Dropout Bear sheds his attire to reveal a graduation robe and academic cap and receives his bachelor's degree in hip-hop music from an elderly rabbit.[86] After he accepts his diploma, which reads "Kanye West", the visual narrative comes to a conclusion with Dropout Bear being blasted out of a cannon.[86][91] He is shot from the university, through the heavens and beyond the stratosphere into space as depicted on the back cover of Graduation.[90][92] Dropout Bear is last seen riding off into another galaxy with a few of his classmates in the flying DeLorean.[86] The song titles from the Graduation album are seen as they fly past.

Reception

Upon its official release, the "Good Morning" music video reached number-one on the

E! Online was somewhat wary of the animated short, writing, "Yes, the creativity in both these cases is admirable, especially this latest effort ... It all just makes us a little nervous, though. After all, it's OK for hip-hop stars to show their softer side, but it can also be taken a bit too far."[91] Regina Cho of Vibe found parallels between that of West and the film's protagonists. She explained that:

While many may attribute Kanye's fascination with the film to his similarities with Marty, he also possesses an extremely Doc Brown-like quality—a frenetic nature that prompts him to bounce outrageous ideas around that have the people around him in initial disbelief, but his out-of-the-box propositions often came into fruition as ingenious works of art that were far ahead of their time ... Kanye is notoriously known for making a whole lot of last-minute decisions that will either make or break the anticipated outcome, similar to how Doc Brown's sudden assertions dictated whether or not someone would just stay stuck 30 years in the past forever.[96]

which is located in New York City.

On November 11, 2013, the animated music video was included on Pop Art: 13 Awesome Artist-Musician Collaborations, a catalog compiled by Billboard.

Complex magazine ranked Murakami's direction of the music video for "Good Morning" at the eighth position for their list of The 10 Best Art and Music Collaborations of All Time.[98] In honor of his achievement of the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, women's fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar compiled a list of West's nine most essential music videos. The video for "Good Morning" was at number eight on the list, with columnist Madeline Kelly declaring that West is worthy of the recognition and there's no denying his talent.[89] Sharing similar sentiments, MTV staff writer Adam Fleischer placed "Good Morning" at number 14 on the list of West's top 25 most innovative videos.[99]

For his contribution, Murakami has benefited significantly from the artistic collaboration with West. Even though his monogram project with the fashion house Louis Vuitton had brought him international mainstream attention five years earlier, Murakami acknowledges the fact that the millennial youth who have gravitated towards his work learned about him through his joint efforts with musicians such as West and Pharrell Williams.[100] They opened up his contemporary artistry to a new generation of young music listeners.[100] According to Spin editor Jeremy Larson, West's collaboration with Murakami for the "Good Morning" music video also struck a chord with Murakami's audience as conflating art and commerce.[66] The short animated feature has since become one of the few music videos ever to be showcased in several prestigious art museums, including the Brooklyn Museum in New York City and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, California.[89][95]

Video clip

In addition to the animated music video, a special

2001: A Space Odyssey.[13] Similarly with the audio track, West went for a minimalist aesthetic in regards to the sequence of visual cues.[103] The video clip for "Good Morning" was one of seven that were designed by West and Derrick Lee exclusively for the event.[102] Derrick Lee was the editor of the music video for "Flashing Lights" and was able to edit all seven video clips in the span of three days.[103] West later made the video clip available for viewing on his official blog on March 20, 2008.[102]

Live performances

Kanye West performing at The Virgin Mobile Festival.
West often performed "Good Morning" as the opener of his concerts, including at his headlining appearance at the Virgin Mobile Festival in 2008.

On April 4, 2008, West gave a live performance of "Good Morning" during a six-song setlist at the

Chiba, Japan with "Good Morning". His live performance was interwoven with visual elements and the setlist centered around songs from Graduation.[106]

West performed "Good Morning" every single night as the opener of the set-list of his

2001: A Space Odyssey.[110][111] He wore jeans, a sweater with one missing sleeve, shoulder pads and a red windbreaker tied around his waist.[111]

Near the end of the tour's North American leg, with singers and a

Virgin Mobile Festival in Baltimore, Maryland on August 10, 2008.[113] Much like his Lollapalooza appearance in Chicago the weekend prior, West and Nine Inch Nails were both scheduled as headliners on different stages at the same time at opposite ends of the park.[113] At the start of the concert, following a brief instrumental, West walked onstage and started performing the song.[114] West was alone on the stage engulfed in smoke and fog in front of a live musical band and background vocalists who added percussive textures and harmony to the track.[114]

Cover versions and remixes

"Good Morning" has been covered and remixed by other hip hop artists, record producers and musical groups. Vitamin String Quartet composed a string-laden cover version of "Good Morning" for the opening song of their tribute album, The String Quartet Tribute to Kanye West.[115] In a similar composition, Rockabye Baby! featured an interpretation of "Good Morning" as the opening track of their tribute album, Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of Kanye West.[116] Intended for infants, the soothing rendition is a wordless lullaby instrumental, substituting keyboards and drums in favor of xylophones and bells.[117] The rendition was later featured on Good Day, Goodnight, their five-year anniversary 2-CD compilation release. The compilation album contains the most requested songs from their previous releases, including "Good Morning," in addition to several exclusive new tracks.[118]

Virginia hip hop duo

stanzas."[120] Likewise, Pitchfork reviewer Ryan Dombal described their song as a "well-chosen introspective pick."[119] A remix for "Good Morning" was produced by The Kickdrums for inclusion on Sky High, a remix mixtape that was mixed and compiled by DJ Benzi and Plain Pat.[121] The mixtape features remixes by various DJs and record producers of songs taken from West's first three studio albums. It was made in anticipation of the release of his fourth studio album 808s & Heartbreak (2008).[121] The remix project was commissioned by West himself the year prior. He handed over a cappellas and other session tapes to DJ Benzi, who then spent his time trying to match different and DJs and producers to certain tracks.[121] Like every of the other tracks, "Good Morning" (The Kickdrums Remix) had at least five revisions recorded before being completely finished.[121] The song's refrain contains guitar-driven production in addition to melancholic crooning. The remix also features a guest verse from then-newly signed GOOD Music recording artist Big Sean.[122]

Personnel

Information taken from Graduation liner notes.[1]

  • Kanye West – production
  • Jay-Z – additional vocals
  • Tony "Penafire" Williams
     – additional vocals
  • Connie Mitchell – additional vocals
  • Andy Chatterley – keyboards
  • Andrew Dawson – recording
  • Anthony Kilhoffer – recording, mix engineer
  • Bram Tobey – assistant mix engineer
  • Jason Agel – assistant mix engineer
  • Nate Hertweck – assistant mix engineer
  • Matty Green – assistant mix engineer

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Good Morning"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[128] Silver 200,000
United States (RIAA)[129] 2× Platinum 2,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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Bibliography

Further reading

External links