Hold My Liquor
"Hold My Liquor" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, from his sixth studio album Yeezus (2013). It was primarily produced by West and longtime collaborator Mike Dean, who also provides a guitar solo, with additional production from Arca and Noah Goldstein. It features vocals from rapper Chief Keef and singer-songwriter Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. It is a house ballad that is built upon a pulsating synth beat with metallic stabs. In the song, West stumbles into an ex-girlfriend's home for reckless sex, with lyrics that contain references to substance abuse and issues with relationships and self-image.
"Hold My Liquor"
The song received highly positive reviews from music critics, who praised its instrumental, West's verse, Dean's guitar solo, and the performances of Vernon and Chief Keef; one reviewer placed the song on his list of the best songs of 2013. Despite not being released as a single, the song was able to chart in the United States on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. West performed the song on the Yeezus Tour and at the Glastonbury Festival in 2015. It was covered by Lorde and CEO in 2013.
Critical reception[edit]
The song received highly positive reviews from music critics, with many praising its instrumentation, West's vocals, and Dean's guitar solo. Multiple critics have described the track as "woozy."[12][14][15] The Velvet Underground's Lou Reed gave the song a positive review in The Guardian saying: "'Hold My Liquor' is just heartbreaking, and particularly coming from where it's coming from – listen to that incredibly poignant hook from a tough guy like Chief Keef". He then praised its synthesized guitar solo, calling it "devastating" and "absolutely majestic."[5] Gavin Haynes of NME called the song "the missing link between the woozy-weepy electronics of 808s... and his new incarnation [on Yeezus]."[14] Jordan Sargent of Spin described the song as "the woozy and, arguably, darkest track" on Yeezus.[15] Andrew Unterberger from Popdust also praised the song, claiming the instrumental was reminiscent of the Drive soundtrack and labeling West's verse a highlight.[11] Unterberger did however, criticize Vernon and Chief Keef's contributions, calling them "uninspiring" and felt another verse by West would have been better.[11] Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone described the song as "an elegantly wasted house ballad, with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver as dyspeptic diva crooning under the amber waves of drank and teenage Chicago rapper Chief Keef playing the sad gangsta."[16]
Kyle Kramer of Complex named "Hold My Liquor" the best song of 2013.[17] In 2018, Phil Witmer of Noisey looked back on "Hold My Liquor" and fellow Yeezus track "Black Skinhead", writing that they weren't rap, but 'rock anthems from the 25th century' and branded "Hold My Liquor" as the album's 'emotional peak'.[18]
Commercial performance[edit]
Despite not having been released as a single, "Hold My Liquor" managed to debut at number six on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 and remained on the chart for only one more week.[19] The track also debuted at number 32 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart upon the album's release and fell down eleven places to number 43 the next week.[20][21]
Live performances and cover versions[edit]
Before West had officially announced The Yeezus Tour, Mike Dean gave confirmation of a tour for the album and added that "Hold My Liquor" would be great to play live.[22] West subsequently performed it at the KeyArena in Seattle on the tour's opener[23] and again on the second day of West's performance at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.[24] It was again performed on the tour during the first concert at the Barclays Center in New York City, with a gremlin-like monster joining him on stage during it.[25][26] However, during another performance at Glastonbury in 2015 with Vernon, West forgot the lyrics.[27] When speaking, West said: "[we went] off the rails and [had] a moment of feeling like we're back in the studio, or feeling like we're back in high school" and named Vernon as his favorite living artist.[27]
Lorde performed a cover version at the 2013 iHeartRadio Music Festival.[28][15] In her version, Lorde sang abridged versions of Vernon's intro, Chief Keef's hook, and West's verse, bookending the performing with the line "bitch, I'm back out my coma."[15] According to Jordan Sargent of Spin, "her backing band kept the beat's shrieking punctuations and played up the bass drum's insistent, almost techno-level thump."[15] ceo uploaded his cover version, titled "My Liquor", to SoundCloud on December 9, 2013, but later deleted it.[29] A revamped version was released by BJ the Chicago Kid on October 7, 2014, titled "Can't Hold My Liquor", which kept several important components of the original.[30]
Credits adapted from the Yeezus liner notes.[8]