2018 single by Kanye West
"XTCY" is a song by Kanye West. It was originally released by DJ Clark Kent on August 11, 2018 for free download before being released as a single on August 30. The song heavily samples "My Bleeding Wound" by The New Year.
Background.
On May 15, 2018, West posted an image of an unfinished track listing for his then-upcoming album "Ye". The second song was slated to be "Extacy" and the third track was "Wouldn't Leave". Prior, "Extacy" featured vocals from singer Ty Dolla Sign. After "Ye" was released without "Extacy", West posted a new track list on June 1, 2018, of his collaborative project with Kid Cudi titled "Kids See Ghosts". "Extacy" was placed as the last, unnumbered track on the list. "Kids See Ghosts" was also released without the track.
Composition.
"XTCY" is a hip hop song built around vocals sampled from the 1974 electronic-soul song "My Bleeding Wound" by The New Year. The lyrics, which are as erotic as they are explicit, that West shows in the track have also been shown by him in the songs "I'm In It" and "I Love It". West reuses his "poop, scoop, whoop" ad-libs from "Lift Yourself".
Promotion.
On August 11, 2018, DJ Clark Kent tweeted a link to download the song from the file sharing website, WeTransfer. West later retweeted Kent's tweet.
Critical reception.
Matt Miller of "Esquire" viewed the track as unpleasant and described the conclusion as being West explaining "that all this nasty shit he's describing are thoughts he's had while on Ecstasy."
Artwork.
The original artwork for "XTCY" is a photo from Kylie Jenner's 21st birthday party, taken at Craig's Restaurant in West Hollywood, California. The artwork features West's then wife, Kim Kardashian, and sisters-in-law Khloé Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian. The artwork is in reference to the lyrics: "You got sick thoughts? I got more of 'em / You got a sister-in-law you'd smash? I got four of 'em". Upset reactions were shown from fans of The Kardashians via Twitter to these lyrics.
The official cover art for the song's release as a single, revealed on August 30, 2018, is a painting of the same photo by London-based artist Shadi Al-Atallah, who would also produce the cover art for West's preceding single "I Love It".
Commercial performance.
Following on from its release as a single, "XTCY" managed to reach number 32 on the New Zealand Hot Singles chart.
Credits and personnel.
Credits adapted from Tidal.
References.
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