Cruel Summer (GOOD Music album)
Kanye West Presents: GOOD Music – Cruel Summer,[2][3][4] commonly referred to simply as Cruel Summer, is a compilation album[5] by recording artists of American record label GOOD Music, released on September 14, 2012, by the label and Def Jam Recordings. The American rapper Kanye West, head of the label, first revealed plans for a label collaborative album in October 2011. The album produced four singles—"Mercy", "Cold", "New God Flow", and "Clique"—that charted on the US Billboard Hot 100. The album features West himself, alongside the label's then-signees Pusha T, Big Sean, Teyana Taylor, Cyhi the Prynce, Kid Cudi, John Legend, Common, D'banj and Malik Yusef, as well as affiliates Jay-Z, 2 Chainz, Travis Scott, and Cyhi the Prynce, among others. Production on the album was primarily handled by members of GOOD Music's production wing, Very GOOD Beats, which included West, Hit-Boy, Hudson Mohawke, Travis Scott and Lifted, among others.
Cruel Summer
September 14, 2012
2011–12[1]
54:31
- Kanye West
- Andrew "Pop" Wansel
- Anthony Kilhoffer
- Boogz & Tapez
- Dan Black
- Hit-Boy
- Hudson Mohawke
- Illmind
- Jeff Bhasker
- Ken Lewis
- Lifted
- Mano
- Mannie Fresh
- Mike Dean
- Tommy Brown
- Travis Scott
- The Twilite Tone
- Young Chop
Cruel Summer received "a fairly lukewarm response" from critics[6] who commended its hubristic style and the tracks featuring West, but found it uneven as an album. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 205,000 copies in its first week. The album also reached the top 10 of charts in Australia, Canada, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. As of November 4, 2012, Cruel Summer has sold 389,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
A sequel to the album titled Cruel Winter began development sometime in 2016, although it was unfinished and never released. The GOOD Music label is not active as of 2024, and none of the artists featured on the album are still with the label.[7]
Background and recording[edit]
Kanye West founded the GOOD Music label in 2004.[8] Since the label's inception, multiple acts have been signed to the label, including close collaborators of West such as Kid Cudi, Common, John Legend, Pusha T, Big Sean and Travis Scott. West first announced plans for a GOOD Music album in October 2011 via his Twitter account.[9] Later on May 23, 2012, the title was revealed in part with a film, Cruel Summer, written by Elon Rutberg and produced by Alex Rosenberg,[10] which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival.[11] The album was originally slated for release on August 7, 2012, but underwent several delays.[12]
Pusha T said that he recorded over 20 verses for the album, and a song with Big Sean and Common called "Trash Bags" that was ultimately scrapped.[13] American rapper Azealia Banks also said that she recorded with West earlier in 2012, but her contributions were not included on the album.[14]
Release[edit]
Cruel Summer was made available to pre-order on the website of the Japanese branch of retail chain HMV on September 1, 2012, revealing the album's track listing as well as each track's respective performers.[15][16] The album's artwork was designed by DONDA, West's creative agency.[17]
Singles[edit]
"Mercy", a collaboration between Kanye West, Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz, was released as the album's lead single on April 3, 2012. The track was premiered by Funkmaster Flex's Hot 97 radio show and was released onto the Internet the following day onto West's official website.[18] The release of the track continued West's GOOD Fridays, a music giveaway that provided free MP3 downloads every week, which had been on hiatus since December 2010.[19] The song peaked at number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts.[20]
"Cold", featuring DJ Khaled, was released as the album's second single. The track was then released as a single onto iTunes on April 17, 2012.[21] Following its digital release, the song impacted urban contemporary radio on May 8, 2012.[22] The single peaked at numbers 89 and 69 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs singles charts.[20]
"New God Flow", a collaboration between Pusha T and Kanye West, was released onto iTunes as the album's third single on July 21, 2012.[23] It first premiered at the 2012 BET Awards on July 2, 2012, with West performing an a cappella version of his verse.[24] The song peaked at number 89 on the Billboard Hot 100.[25] "Clique", a collaboration between Kanye West, Jay-Z and Big Sean, was released as the album's fourth single on September 7, 2012.[26] The single peaked at numbers 12 and 2 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs singles charts.[20]
Commercial performance[edit]
The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 205,000 copies in its first week.[44] It also entered at number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.[44] In its second week the album dropped to seventh, selling 55,000.[45]
Cruel Summer debuted at number four on the Canadian Albums Chart, with first-week sales of 12,000 copies in Canada.[46] As of November 4, 2012, Cruel Summer has sold 389,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[47]
As of 2020, Cruel Summer is tied with Shady XV as the second-best performing record label compilation album on Billboards year-end Compilation albums chart,[48][49] behind Eminem Presents: The Re-Up (3) in 2007, since records began in 2006.[50]
Notes
Sample credits[51]