"Good Morning" is the first song from American hip hop recording artist and record producer Kanye West's third studio album Graduation (2007). The song was produced by West and contains samples from the recording "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" by English singer and pianist Elton John. As the opening track, the song serves as an introduction to the musical and lyrical themes of the album. West establishes the academic narrative of it, celebrating his graduation in the realm of hip hop and rapping about his skepticism of higher education over thumping, off-kilter boom bap drums.
The composition of "Good Morning" is both light and dark in tone and retains keyboard-laden, electronic instrumentation in addition to being imbued with poignant introspection. The song's atmospheric hip hop production harbors a subdued measure of progressiveness as West incorporates New-Age and ambient elements. His pensive verses are largely built on self-aggrandizing undercut with self-criticism and explore lyrical concerns pertaining to anti-establishment. The song's lyrics express motivational declarations of triumph and contain numerous pop-culture references.
"Good Morning" received generally favorable reviews from contemporary music critics, who praised its production as well as West's wordplay. West performed the song as the opener of the set-list on his worldwide Glow in the Dark Tour (2008). In the years since its release, the song has been covered and remixed by a variety of hip hop artists, record producers and musical groups.
Though not released as a single, an animated music video was produced for "Good Morning". The video was produced by Japanese animation studio OLM and directed by Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami, who had designed the album artwork of Graduation and the cover art for the album's singles. The surrealistic visuals of the video take influences from Japanese anime and utilises cel-shaded animation. The narrative is centered around West's anthropomorphic teddy bear mascot Dropout Bear. He overcomes various obstacles while racing through a futuristic city in an effort to reach his college campus in time for his graduation ceremony. The short animated feature was released to widespread critical acclaim and is often cited as one of West's most artistic music videos. It was included in the 'best-of' lists of publications such as Billboard and Complex, and has been showcased in multiple art museums.
Background
"Good Morning" was written and produced by West. Due to being the album's introductory track, the song's original title was "Good Morning (Intro)," but subsequently was changed. Unlike its predecessors, rather than a fake Bernie Mac intro or a Broke-Phi-Broke skit, the album-opener instead begins with vocals from West. Along with West's usage of the vocal samples, one of the most distinctive aspects of the production for "Good Morning" is the significant emphasis on electronics. The opening track signals his progression towards a more electronic soundscape.
The song contains samples from the recording "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" by English singer and pianist Elton John. Incidentally, John had professed a desire to work with West during a Rolling Stone interview on August 25, 2006. John imparted that with the assistance from an artist such as West or Pharrell Williams, both of whom he tremendously respects, he wanted to bring his songs and melodies to hip hop beats. It was while he was discussing his forthcoming autobiographical studio album The Captain & the Kid (2006). Being a concept album, it acts as the sequel to his ninth album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975), which contains the song that West samples. Years later, the two artists officially collaborated with one another on West's fifth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), which John described as "genius." John played the piano and was one of many in a long roster of recording artists who provided background vocals for the fifth track "All of the Lights".
"Good Morning" was first heard by music listeners when the digital radio station BBC Radio 1Xtra hosted an exclusive "Audience With Kanye West" venue at the BBC Radio Music Theatre in London on August 13, 2007. West guided a specially selected audience through Graduation, playing the album in its entirety directly from his MacBook Air laptop via a speaker system. The premiere was part of an extensive promotional campaign that West embarked on for his third album during a trip to the United Kingdom. Two weeks later, "Good Morning" was played as an opener when West hosted an album listening session for Graduation in New York City. The late-night album listening session was held at the New World Stages on August 28, 2007. Inside an auditorium, West explained the influences and aspirations that went into the making of his third album. Throughout the night, he played previews of its songs from start-to-finish without interruption, some with video accompaniment to match. When West played "Good Morning," scenes from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey were broadcast on a screen while lights flashed in sequence with the thumping beat of the track.
Recording
"Good Morning" was the first track that West started working on for Graduation. Recording sessions primarily took place at Sony Music Studios in New York City and at The Record Plant in Hollywood, California. The track was then mixed at the Chalice Recording Studios in Hollywood, California. According to former GOOD Music recording artist Tony Williams, West first booked a studio in Detroit, Michigan to begin working on the recording in February 2006. He was in Detroit to perform for a pre-game concert held during VH1's Pepsi Smash Super Bowl Bash festivities of Super Bowl XL, when the Seattle Seahawks played against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Beginning in early 2006, West had overseen the recording and production of Graduation simultaneously with Finding Forever (2007), the seventh studio album of his close friend, fellow Chicago hip hop artist and label affiliate Common. As a result, there was significant overlap in between the studio sessions for the two records.Shipley, Al. Kanye West's 'Graduation': 10 Things You Didn't Know . Rolling Stone. Retrieved on September 11, 2017. Common was helpful in facilitating the composing process, as West producing songs for his album would sometimes either lead to the making of hip-hop beats or inspire creative ideas which were applied towards his own project. "Good Morning" was a case of the latter in regards to its programmed drums. The track's murky, slightly off-kilter drum-machine beat that West crafted aligns with the J Dilla methodology he channeled and maintained throughout Finding Forever in tribute to the recent passing of the underground hip hop producer. West's newfound fascination with house-music also played a role on his approach to drum programming. He relied more on clipped electro tones for his rhythmic patterns, giving the drum beats more of a punch. In contrast to Finding Forever, West set aside his trademark soul samples in favor of airy synthesizer tones that would carry well when performed in arenas.
Like most of the material throughout his third album, West's songwriting on "Good Morning" is characterized by confessional storytelling and simplified lyricism. West shortened his lines for each verse in order to more directly get his lyrical concerns across.Beaumont, 2015. p. 232 As for his rapping, after touring with and studying the live performances of European arena rock bands such as U2 and the Rolling Stones, West decided to simplify some of his rhymes due to not always being able to rock crowds with complex lyrics. He opted for a less intricate lyrical delivery featuring lines built on anthemic sloganeering with a more universal context. This would work in combination with sing-along hooks that tens of thousands of fans could chant in unison at his stadium concerts.
"Good Morning" contains additional vocals provided by Australian singer Connie Mitchell of the dance music group Sneaky Sound System, as well as soul singer Tony Williams. West had Connie Mitchell and Tony Williams sing a descending vocal line together over the looped sample. Their celestial unison singing and the floating monophonic vocal loop combine to form a warm background harmony. The oohing vocals from the ethereal backing choir function as a hook which serves to further engender moody atmosphere.
The song also includes an interpolation of vocals that were provided by rapper Jay-Z which are spliced into the song's outro. During the closing refrain, Jay-Z briefly recites a line from "The Ruler's Back", the rapper's own opening track for his album, The Blueprint. Similar to Finding Forever, the album's record production had been handled primarily by West. West altered the rhythm of the phrase by omitting a word in order to place more emphasis on the beat. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jay-Z detailed some backstory in regards to his small contribution. From a creative stance, West was apparently quite enthusiastic about the incorporation of his a capella into the track. Jay-Z explained, "You have to really care about the music ... [Kanye] was bragging about having the a capella. He's like, 'Yo, that's how I spun it, 'cause I had the a capella.' I'm like, wow! The things he cares about! That's not a big thing, but in his mind, 'I had the a capella, so I was able to put that in there without any drums.'" Although he does provide the additional vocals, Graduation marks the first studio album released by West not to feature a full-length guest rap verse from Jay-Z.
Composition
"Good Morning" is an uptempo hip hop track that lasts for a duration of three minutes and 15 seconds. The song's musical and lyrical content is both light and dark in tone. It harbors an atmosphere that is sunny and largely optimistic, but also wary and sentimental. The progressive hip hop song contains elements of electronic and ambient music as well as New-Age keyboards. It has a minimal and downbeat electronic instrumentation which consists of keyboards, muted drums, and background vocals.Greg Kot (August 31, 2007). 'Graduation' day arrives: Kanye West exploits his growing pains . Chicago Tribune. Accessed 2007-10-01. "Good Morning" begins when West utters controlled "uh" grunts before he unleashes the track's thumping, off-kilter boom bap drums. The song's opening section then initiates an static backbeat derived from echoed-out cowbell hits. Its steady, metronomic cowbell beats punctuate the subversive, trembling bass drum rhythm and generate an insistent laid-back groove. The main accompaniment comes in the form of enigmatic, organ-like electric piano keys layered with a resounding, high-pitched electronic synth-drone.