Water (Kanye West song)
"Water" is a song by American vocalist and record producer Kanye West from his ninth studio album, Jesus Is King (2019).
The song features a guest appearance by American singer Ant Clemons and additional vocals from gospel group the Sunday Service Choir.
Ultimately released as the seventh track on Jesus Is King in October 2019, "Water" received polarized reviews from music critics.
"[5] According to Clemons, the track was recorded five days prior to West and the Sunday Service Choir's appearance at the Coachella Festival on April 21, 2019.
[17] The chorus is performed by Clemons alongside the Sunday Service Choir and references liquid water, with it including him singing "take the chlorine out our conversation".
[14] West was joined by Clemons and American musician Ty Dolla Sign for his performance of the song, atop a hillside campsite known as "The Mountain".
[7] The performance was live streamed on YouTube through the vantage point of a peephole, with the camera recording close-up shots that followed a trail of water bottles.
[27] Writing for Black America Web, Aliya Faust viewed it as "the perfect addition to Easter Sunday" and praised West's rapping.
[28] Pitchfork writer Sheldon Pearce opined that anyone who was "willing to endure" West and the Sunday Service Choir's two-hour show at Coachella "were rewarded" with him and Clemons contributing to the performance of "Water".
[29] Following the performance, Hardeep Phull from Billboard noted the song for being "minimal and ghostly-sounding", though said that it "feels unfinished, but is clearly steeped in the gospel tradition that Sunday Service is embodying".
[30] Of his appearance at Coachella, Clemons labeled being stood "next to the Kanye West, on a mountain, singing about God" as "a dream come true".
[34] In September 2023, West's remix album Jesus Is King Part II with record producer and fellow rapper Dr. Dre leaked online, including a strengthened version of "Water" with a new verse from the former.
In a highly positive review, Matthew Progress of NOW Magazine viewed the content of it as being among "some of the most captivating melodies ever found on a West project" and said that the song continues the album's "vein of R&B-leaning, wavy church ballads" that begins with the vocals on "Everything We Need".
[38] For NME, Jordan Bassett named the song as the second best track on Jesus Is King, praising "the sense of community in the backing vocals", as well as the optimism shown within the lyrics, and "the unshowy production".
[23] In a mixed review, Paste's Steven Edelstone noted that the song is still "at least allowed the space to explore a few ideas" despite being short in length, while citing it as one of the album's highlights but criticizing the production.
[19] In Rolling Stone, Brendan Klinkenberg described West's singing that makes it "clear how urgent this album is for him" as being undercut by his meandering on the song.
