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Hurricane (Kanye West song)

"Hurricane" is a song by American rapper and record producer Kanye West and Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd featuring fellow American rapper Lil Baby, from the former's tenth studio album Donda (2021). The song features additional vocals from the Sunday Service Choir and KayCyy. It came from a jam session at Archwood Music Studio and was passed on by Chance the Rapper to West, who shared a preview in September 2018. The song was originally slated for inclusion on West's since scrapped album, Yandhi, and went through multiple reiterations prior to release, with the final version being debuted in July 2021. On August 8, 2021, it was accidentally made available via certain streaming services before being pulled less than 24 hours later, but was officially released with the rest of the album on August 29, 2021. It was also eventually sent to US rhythmic contemporary radio stations as the album's lead single on September 14, by GOOD Music and Def Jam. An R&B, hip hop, and pop jam with an atmospheric beat, it contains organs and bass.

"Hurricane"

September 14, 2021 (2021-09-14)

September 1, 2018–August 2021

  • Archwood Music (Los Angeles)

4:04

In the lyrics of the song, West touches on personal issues. "Hurricane" received generally positive reviews from music critics, who mostly highlighted the Weeknd's feature. Some praised the song's creativity, while a number of them complimented Lil Baby's verse. It was named to year-end lists for 2021 by multiple publications, including Complex and Slant Magazine. The song won Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, leading to West tying Jay-Z's record for the most Grammys among rappers.


"Hurricane" charted at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100, alongside reaching number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop, Gospel, and Christian Songs charts. The song scored top 10 positions in 10 other countries, including New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It has been certified platinum in both the United States and Canada by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Music Canada (MC), respectively. An accompanying animated music video debuted on March 8, 2022. Digital masked avatars appear in the video, escaping the ADX Florence prison building and watching the baptizing of a faceless representation of Jesus. The song was performed live by the Sunday Service Choir on multiple occasions, including at a 2021 Halloween concert with Justin Bieber.

Composition and lyrics[edit]

Musically, "Hurricane" is an R&B, hip hop, and pop jam.[32][33][34] It utilizes West's typical production style, relying on an atmospheric beat,[35][36] while including layered organs, heavy bass, and trap drums.[37][38][39] It features processed vocals by the Sunday Service Choir that are triggered and cut off in the style of a sampler, moving between digital and choral styles,[40] which was done by Italian mixing engineer Irko at the request of West over a phone call.[41] According to Rolling Stone's Paul Thompson, the choir vocals are processed "in ways that are slightly alien".[40] Alongside the group, additional vocals are provided by KayCyy.[42] West and Lil Baby perform a verse each on the song, while the Weeknd sings the chorus.[38] He delivers gospel-infused vocals, as well as contributing a falsetto.[43][44][45] The song's vocal production was handled by White and Grier, while Louis Bell and Patrick Hundley did the editing.[42]


Lyrically, West discusses ongoing personal issues on the song, such as his breakup with Kardashian, his house, past, and fears.[46][47] The hook sees the Weeknd exude confidence, singing: "Finally free, found the God in me / And I want you to see, I can walk on water."[48][43] West presents himself as having engaged in a conversation with God, rapping that he "was up for sale" yet could not tell and then declaring, "God made it rain, the Devil made it hell."[49][50] With certain lyrics, the rapper reflects on progressing from being a school dropout to a guest speaker at Yale University.[48] Lil Baby provides a mournful performance with his verse, admitting at one point that he simply wants to "restart it".[32][38][39]

Music video[edit]

In November 2020, a music video was initially shot in Manhattan by frequent West collaborator Hype Williams. Photographs from the shoot surfaced, showing Williams on set with West and Lil Baby.[76] In the end, West went with an animated CGI music video that was directed by French film-maker Arnaud Bresson, who also directed the visual for fellow album track "Heaven and Hell". Production was handled by Laure Salgon, with motion capture being used.[47] On March 8, 2022, a music video for "Hurricane" was premiered.[77]


An army of digital masked avatars dressed in Yeezy Gap hoodies–resembling the music video released for "Heaven and Hell"–are present in the video, demonstrating a dystopian-looking society.[77][78] The visual opens with the image of a half land and half water piece of coastline, accompanied by a grey dragon.[79] This is followed by the army of digital avatars climbing fences of the ADX Florence prison building while lightning strikes, appearing merely as silhouettes initially until they can be seen wearing opaque masks.[47][79][80] The avatars then escape prison to watch a faceless representation of Jesus get baptized, appearing on a beach where acid rain falls down.[77][80] In the following scenes, people ascending towards the sky close to a beam of light, while swirling hurricane clouds can be seen.[79][81] A flash of lightning pierces the sky, inviting the avatars to follow its light.[47] The video also shows clips of West and his collaborators as CGI humanoids performing the song from a "strange heaven-like place".[80] The video ends with a black and white photograph taken from Hurricane Katrina–which killed more than 1,800 people in 2005–of an American flag emerging from a pile of rubble.[79][80][81] Wren Graves, writing for Consequence, called the video a "scatterbrained stab at a disaster epic", with "seemingly-unfinished CGI that flickers in and out of focus from frame to incomprehensible frame".[79]


Shortly after the release of the music video, Russian painter Denis Forkas, who has contributed artwork for metal bands such as Behemoth, accused West of plagiarizing his 2017 piece Hortus Aureus in the music video for "Hurricane". Forkas claimed that he had not been contacted by any party involved in the production, and that the artwork was simply re-rendered for the video.[82]

Commercial performance[edit]

Upon the release of Donda, "Hurricane" debuted at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100, standing as the album's highest charting track and West's 19th top-20 hit on the chart.[83] The song's entry was powered by 29 million US streams, which led to it topping the Streaming Songs chart and giving West his third number-one.[84][85] "Hurricane" lasted for 11 weeks on the Hot 100.[86] It further debuted atop the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming West's eighth chart-topper and his first since "FourFiveSeconds" in 2015. The song stood among the rapper's seven simultaneous top-10 hits on the chart, which tied Drake's 2018 record.[85] It also reached the summit of both the US Christian Songs and Gospel Songs charts, marking West's third number-one on these charts.[87] On the Billboard year-end charts for 2021, the track ranked at numbers two and one on Christian Songs and Gospel Songs, respectively.[88][89] The song was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling 1,000,000 certified units in the US on January 10, 2022, becoming the album's first single to achieve this certification.[90]


In Canada, the track charted at number four on the Canadian Hot 100.[91] On November 23, 2021, "Hurricane" was certified platinum by Music Canada (MC) for pushing 80,000 units in the region.[92] The song debuted at number three on the New Zealand Singles Chart, charting similarly in Australia by reaching position 4 on the ARIA Singles Chart, becoming the highest charting track from Donda.[93][94] The song was also a top five hit in Norway and Denmark, peaking at numbers three and five on the Topp 20 Singles and Danish Top 40 charts, respectively.[95][96] It entered the UK Singles Chart at number seven, standing as the highest of West's three entries from the album.[97] On April 29, 2022, "Hurricane" was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for pushing 200,000 units in the United Kingdom.[98] As well as the UK, it charted at number seven on both the Icelandic Singles Chart and Irish Singles Chart.[99][100] The song reached numbers eight and nine on the Swedish Singles Chart and Swiss Singles Chart, respectively.[101][102] "Hurricane" also entered the top 20 in Finland,[103] Greece,[104] Lithuania,[105] Portugal,[106] India,[107] and Slovakia,[108] while it peaked at number five on the Billboard Global 200.[109]

on YouTube

Hurricane (Japanese lyric video)