No Church in the Wild
"No Church in the Wild" is a song by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West featuring American singers Frank Ocean and The-Dream, from the former two's first collaborative album Watch the Throne (2011). Opening the album, the song explores themes of religion and decadence. The track received highly positive reviews from music critics, who praised Ocean's vocal hooks, the depth of the verses, the cinematic production and the song's power as an opening track.
"No Church in the Wild"
March 20, 2012
2011
4:32
- 88-Keys
- Kanye West
The track was released as the seventh and final single from Watch the Throne. The song peaked at number 72 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and entered the top 40 on both the US Billboard Hot Rap Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. The song received a music video directed by Romain Gavras released on May 29, 2012. The video features anarchic riot footage and large street fights. The video received positive reviews from critics who praised the visuals of the video and the unique aesthetic presented in the video. The video was shot in Prague, Czech Republic.
Jay-Z and West performed the song as part of the setlist of their Watch the Throne Tour and Ocean performed his portion of the song on several occasions during his November 2011 tour through North America and Europe. The song received a nomination for Best Original or Adapted Song at the 2013 Black Reel Awards, along with two nominations at the 55th Grammy Awards for Best Short Form Music Video and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, winning the latter.
Background[edit]
Jay-Z and Kanye West are close friends and American rappers who have collaborated on several tracks together, such as singles like "Swagga Like Us", "Run This Town", and "Monster".[1][2] In 2010, they began production and recording on a collaborative record Watch the Throne.[2] Frank Ocean is an R&B singer who released his debut mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra in early 2011 to critical acclaim.[3][4] The release of the mixtape interested West, who was reported to be a big fan.[5] West invited Ocean to write and sing on two songs on the record.[6] Frank wrote and provided vocals on tracks "No Church in the Wild" and "Made in America" and the songs were recorded in New York.[5][7] The production of the track was handled by 88-Keys and Kanye West.[8]
88 Keys randomly visited West to say hello, and stumbled upon a Watch the Throne" session, in a room with Jay-Z, Q-Tip, No I.D. and engineer Noah Goldstein, 88-Keys played 20 of his beats that were catalogued on SoundCloud. "Everybody in the room just started going crazy," 88-Keys said. An hour later, they had singled out the beat that would become "No Church in the Wild." West told 88-Keys what additions he wanted made, "add an extra kick drum on there... a heavier bass line and strings". The next day, 88-Keys met Frank Ocean for the first time and heard the chorus as well as an unreleased spoken word intro. Over the next few days, Jay-Z recorded his 16 bars and Kanye recorded an eight-bar verse. For a while, the song remained unfinished but was completed close to the album release.[8]
88-Keys did not hear the final version until Jay-Z showcased it at the invite-only listening session at the Museum of Natural History's planetarium in August 2011.[8] Record producer and singer The-Dream sings a verse on the track using Auto-Tune.[9] The track impacted urban radio as the seventh and final single from Watch the Throne on March 20, 2012.[10]
Reception[edit]
"No Church in the Wild" received mostly positive reviews from music critics and was often described as a highlight from Watch the Throne. Andy Gill of The Independent stated "the best track is surely the opener 'No Church in the Wild', whose deep, detuned twang groove, over a marching organ motif, is the most striking music on the album, promising rather more than the rest of the record is able to deliver. Both this and the other stand-out track, "Made In America", feature assured vocal refrains from Frank Ocean, while the two rappers muse over familiar themes of loyalty, sexuality and maternal solidarity."[28] Rolling Stone claimed that it is one of the most musically impressive songs on Watch the Throne and described the production as an "ominous, darkly funky bass groove and chilly synths tailor-made for Ocean's off-kilter crooning."[7] Matt Popkin from American Songwriter praised Jay-Z's needs jesus verse and the menacing vibe of the song.[29] NOW claimed that the "uncomfortably visceral opener 'No Church In The Wild' – with its filthy Phil Manzanera guitar sample and mournful Frank Ocean chorus – cuts to the heart of Watch The Throne's power dynamic."[30] However, PopMatters criticized that the verses "feel a little out of focus compared to the hook and beat's opulence."[31] Sputnikmusic's Tyler Fisher commented "88-Keys creates a positively epic opening track with 'No Church in the Wild', full of creeping guitar riffs and pulsating bass, building tension that simply never releases."[32] Rolling Stone named the track the sixth best song of the year, reporting that "with Hov and Yeezy getting deep into arcane theology, this track is just another high."[33]
Dagbladet named it the 12th best song of 2011.[34] In 2019 XXL named the song as one of the 25 best Hip-Hop album intro's since 2000.[35]