Back to Me (Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign song)
"Back to Me" is a song by the American hip hop superduo ¥$, composed of rapper Kanye West and singer Ty Dolla Sign, featuring American rapper Freddie Gibbs. It was produced by the lead artists along with 88-Keys, Digital Nas, Wax Motif, Anthony Kilhoffer, AyoAA, Nic Nac, James Alex Hau and Feez. The song contains a sample of "Rock Box" by Run-DMC.
"Back to Me"
February 10, 2024
2023–2024
4:55
YZY
- Ye
- Tyrone Griffin, Jr.
- Fredrick Tipton
- Quavious Marshall
- Charles Njapa
- Nasir Pemberton
- Daniel Chien
- Anthony Kilhoffer
- Asif Aswad
- Nicholas Balding
- James Alex Hau
- Sasha Hashemi
- Feez
- Ye
- Ty Dolla Sign
- 88-Keys
- Digital Nas
- Wax Motif
- Kilhoffer
- AyoAA
- Nic Nac
- Hau
- Feez
Composition[edit]
The song features a "crisp drum break" and "ethereal vocal samples",[1] as well as a sample and interpolation of the character Jay's line from the film Dogma (1999): "Beautiful, naked, big-titty womеn just don't fall out the sky, you know?"[2][3] Steven J. Horowitz of Variety stated that "The rolling drums and bleating bass line of 'Back to Me' recall the patter of 'Runaway'".[4]
Critical reception[edit]
The song received generally positive reviews, with particular praise towards Freddie Gibbs' performance. Gabriel Bras Nevares of HotNewHipHop described Gibbs in the song as "displaying why he's one of the best spitters in the game right now" and additionally remarked about the song: "Say what you will about Ye, his collaborators, and the ugly parts of this rollout, release, and platform, but talking strictly about the music, the effort here is undeniable."[1] In a negative review of Vultures 1, Alexis Petridis of The Guardian stated that the standard of Kanye West's lyrics is "thrown into stark relief by a exceptionally snappy guest verse from Indiana MC Freddie Gibbs on Back to Me".[5] Jayson Buford of Rolling Stone commented, "Freddie Gibbs, another eccentric loudmouth, shows up on 'Back to Me' and although the production on that song sounds like the ending to an HBO series, Gibbs's verse is strong."[6] HotNewHipHop's Aron A. wrote that "Freddie Gibbs delivers the verse of the album, if not the year so far on 'Back To Me.' He swiftly turns Ye's cheeky interpolation of Jay's 'beautiful big t*tty women just don't fall out the sky you know' into a katana-sharp verse that's equally playful and gruff with bars like, 'Turn a bird bitch to my X like I was Elon.'"[7] AllMusic's Fred Thomas commented, "A robust verse from Freddie Gibbs comes close to salvaging the otherwise uncalled-for filler of 'Back to Me'".[8] Reviewing Vultures 1 for HipHopDX, Scott Glaysher commented the song is "where things get a little strange, not necessarily for Kanye, but by listeners' standards" and in regard to the use of the line from Dogma, "Ye and Ty Dolla's creative output gets a little mundane when they simply repeat the actor's soundbite with some programmed drums underneath." He described Freddie Gibbs' verse as "fierce, the sheer energy".[2]