I Thought About Killing You
"I Thought About Killing You" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, released as the opening track on his eighth studio album, Ye (2018).
The song was produced by West himself, Francis and the Lights, and Benny Blanco, with additional production from Mike Dean, Andy C and Aaron Lammer.
West first worked with American pop project Francis and the Lights on their 2016 single "Friends" alongside Bon Iver; he appeared in the song's music video.
[3] The project produced the song with West and Benny Blanco, while additional production was handled by Mike Dean, Andy C and Aaron Lammer.
"[4] The contributions of Wiley and fellow rapper Skepta weren't revealed until the credits of Ye were updated on June 14, 2018, to show them as co-writers on "I Thought About Killing You".
[8] West's then-wife Kim Kardashian posted a photo to her Instagram with the caption "I thought about killing you" on August 15, though did not directly reference him.
On June 7, 2018, six days after the release of Ye, the clean version of "I Thought About Killing You" had the lyric "Sorry, but I chose not to be no slave" added at approximately three minutes and 30 seconds into the song in reference to those comments.
[14] West delivers rap and spoken word lyrics over a cappella voices intoning "I know, I know" in the song, which sees him express thoughts about killing himself and someone else.
[16] At precisely two minutes and 20 seconds into the song, West begins to rap after having delivered spoken word and soft drums kick in at this point.
[27] Reviewing Ye for Exclaim!, Kyle Mullin viewed the song's vocal effects employed by West "that help him evoke the myriad voices that ring in a deranged mind" as being one of the "moments devoted to mental health" that truly give the album a purpose.
[28] In response to West's performance, Zachary Hoskins from Slant Magazine wrote "'Sometimes I think really bad things,' he confesses on the stark, harrowing opener 'I Thought About Killing You,' his voice dipping into an artificial chopped-and-screwed baritone.
"[30] Alexis Petridis was more mixed in The Guardian, claiming that despite there being "something audacious about the way 'I Thought About Killing You' suddenly turns into a completely different track three-quarters of the way through, neither of its two contrasting parts are anything to write home about.
"[33] In Consequence of Sound, Wren Graves claimed that "some of that Life of Pablo rambling starts to creep in" when the first two minutes of the track "feel repetitive after just a few listens.
"[34] Ross Horton from The Line of Best Fit characterized the track as "comically bad" and being "an interesting, sinister concept that is executed in so poorly that you begin to question where the record is going.
