Waves (Kanye West song)

He also hinted in a tweet that he was "partially responsible" for the album's name change from Swish to Waves, before West eventually settled on The Life of Pablo.

[4] According to co-writer Derek Watkins, known as Fonzworth Bentley, Chris Brown came to be featured on "Waves" when West sought out a collaboration after thinking he was the answer to his question, "Who's the second most hated nigga in America?

[7][8] On April 22, 2016, Kid Cudi revealed to Billboard that West sent him an earlier version of "Waves" in December 2015, then he decided to clear out ab-libs for improvement when listening to an edit featuring Brown.

[11][12] In an interview with DJ Zane Lowe on May 24, Chance the Rapper shared his full demo of "Waves", which was arranged by him and included the reinterpreted sample of "Return to Innocence".

[3][13] On February 18, 2016, West's original version leaked online along with demos of other songs from The Life of Pablo, including "Fade" and "Highlights".

[30] After the album missed its scheduled release date under the title of The Life of Pablo on February 12, 2016, Chance the Rapper posted a series of tweets, telling how he "fought everyone" for the song to be included, after it had been removed from previous track lists.

[36] On April 11, 2016, West traveled to the Isle of Skye in Scotland to film a music video for "Waves", flying there from a performance in the Philippines that included the song.

[37][41] A hotel spokesman confirmed that photographs were banned during West's stay and his then-wife Kim Kardashian did not accompany him, asserting that the rapper was focused on working.

[38][41] A hotel co-owner told the Daily Record that West made was an ideal guest with his manners, taking pleasure to offer hospitality to his team anytime.

[37][38][41] VisitScotland's Scott Armstrong was satisfied with West choosing the island for the music video, hoping that the decision from someone of his level of fame "will inspire even more people to 'touch the Skye'".

[17] Jake Indiana from Highsnobiety cited the performance as among the album's best and was thankful for the song's inclusion bringing "a blinding moment of triumph and joy", noting it evokes "ascending to heaven with a choir of angels at your back".

[23] In USA Today, Patrick Ryan chose Brown's appearance as one of the album's "most memorable spots", while HipHopDX's Justin Hunte asserted that the song relies on him.

[42][43] The Atlantic's Spencer Kornhaber cited the feature as an instance of pretending that "momentary pleasures are permanent" and named the song as a highlight of The Life of Pablo, pointing out its "glorious, pulsating sound".

[25] The Chicago Tribune journalist Greg Kot considered that West's decision to feature the "R&B villain" Brown is his way to say anyone has "an opportunity to achieve Paul-like redemption".

[46] Sheldon Pearce of Spin wrote that "Waves" is the central part of "a discombobulated but altogether splendid group of sonic marvels" crafted by the album's producers, showcasing the type of work made by West when not on his Lexapro.

[26] At Drowned in Sound, Mark Ward offered that the song serves as a reminder of why West is due a tribute if his "ego-stroking is incessant".

[47] Jesal 'Jay Soul' Padania of RapReviews was dismissive of the song's inclusion on The Life of Pablo, branding it as "a fish out of water, not a bridge" and a disruption to the album's cohesiveness.

[49][51] On May 31, 2023, over seven years after having been made available to legally stream or download, "Waves" was awarded a triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for amassing 3,000,000 certified units in the US.

[39] He performed the song from his floating stage at Madison Square Garden in New York City for the Saint Pablo Tour on September 5, 2016.

[64][65] Chance the Rapper performed his version of the song in San Diego at the kickoff show of his Be Encouraged Tour on April 24, 2017, segueing from it into a cover of "Pt.

[22][69] An unofficial remix blending the song's released version and Chance the Rapper's demo was shared for download by a Reddit user on July 11.