"Niggas in Paris" (censored as "Ni**as in Paris") is a song by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West from their collaborative studio album, Watch the Throne (2011). The song was produced by Hit-Boy with West and Mike Dean, while Anthony Kilhoffer contributed additional production. The producers served as co-writers with Jay-Z and Reverend W.A. Donaldson, the latter of whom was credited due to a sample of his work. Jay-Z envisioned the song's concept as how the two obtained their wealth, instead of showing it off. Pusha T was originally offered the beat, yet rejected it due to the playful sound. The beat was crafted by Hit-Boy and went unused until he was called by Don C, and he then provided it for the song. On September 13, 2011, the song was released to US rhythmic and urban contemporary radio stations as the album's fourth single, through Def Jam, Roc Nation, and Roc-A-Fella.
An uptempo hip-hop and club song with elements of West Coast rap, "Niggas in Paris" features a minimalist beat and samples from "Baptizing Scene" by Donaldson. The song also samples a couple of excerpts of Will Ferrell and Jon Heder from the sports comedy film, Blades of Glory (2007). Lyrically, it carries a theme of black empowerment as Jay-Z and West discuss defying their odds to achieve extensive wealth and success. Jay-Z envisions he would have elsewise found himself in jail, while West asserts that his doctors diagnosed him with an illness for his realness. The song received acclaim from music critics, who highlighted Jay-Z and West's verses. Some praised the synthesizer driven production and focus was also placed on the samples from Blades of Glory, while some critics saw it as an album highlight.
The song was named to year-end lists for 2011 by multiple publications, such as Pitchfork and Rolling Stone. It was awarded Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, alongside winning Track of the Year and Best Club Banger at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards. Later appearing on retrospective lists of numerous outlets, "Niggas in Paris" was ranked as the 81st best song of all time by NME in 2014. The song reached number five on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming the 11th top-five hit for Jay-Z and the 10th for West on the chart. Also in the United States, it topped the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts. The song also reached the top-10 in the likes of Canada, Scotland, and the United Kingdom. It was certified diamond in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America, standing as Jay-Z's first single to achieve this certification and West's second. The song further received triple platinum certifications in Denmark and the UK by IFPI Danmark and the British Phonographic Industry, respectively.
An accompanying music video was premiered at the entrance to Shoreditch High Street railway station in February 2012, using split screen kaleidoscopic effects to go between Jay-Z and West performing the song at the Staples Center and footage of their crowd. The music video received a nomination for Video of the Year at the 2012 BET Awards, while it was nominated for Best Editing and Best Hip-Hop Video at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards. Jay-Z and West performed the song repeatedly at concerts on the Watch the Throne Tour (2011–12), providing their largest number of consecutive performances at a concert in Paris. The rappers performed the song three times for Jay-Z's set at BBC Radio 1's Hackney Weekend in 2012, three years before West delivered a performance of it at the Glastonbury Festival. The song was used as a soundtrack across different forms of media, including Otter Spice Productions' browser game, Kanye Zone (2012). Katy Perry performed an acoustic version of it for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge in March 2012, replacing the explicit language with alternate phrases. In October 2011, the remix of "Niggas in Paris" was released, featuring a verse from T.I.
Background and recording
Jay-Z and West are both American rappers who have collaborated on several tracks together, such as the singles "Swagga Like Us" (2008), "Run This Town" (2009), and "Monster" (2010). In 2010, the two began production and recording together for a collaborative record titled Watch the Throne. West revealed that "Niggas in Paris" was inspired by the range of experiences he witnessed when traveling to Paris, where he had an office and a small courtyard near the retailer Colette. Speaking with GQ in November 2011, Jay-Z explained that the song's concept is focused on how him and West obtained their wealth rather than flaunting this at everybody. During a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City for The Yeezus Tour on November 24, 2013, West said that the song would not exist if it was not for him viewing singer Lenny Kravitz as "the first nigga in Paris" with his rock star persona from being with models and wearing clothes from designer Rick Owens.
The song was produced by Hit-Boy, West, and Mike Dean, with additional production from Anthony Kilhoffer. The beat was made by record producer Hit-Boy, who had met West in 2007 and Jay-Z through him, and had previously crafted several rejected beats for the project. Hit-Boy had planned on giving the beat to his associate Chilly Chill before receiving a call from Don C asking for it. The producers co-wrote the song with Jay-Z, while Reverend W.A. Donaldson received a songwriting credit due to being sampled. West came up with the idea of sampling a couple of excerpts from actor Will Ferrell's character Chazz Michael Michaels in the 2007 sports comedy film Blades of Glory. During the album's sessions, West offered the beat of "Niggas in Paris" to fellow rapper and GOOD Music signee Pusha T, who rejected it as he felt it too playful for his disposition. Parts of the song were taken from the album's sessions at the Le Meurice hotel in Paris during November 2010, while the later sessions at The Mercer Hotel were held over three weeks in 2011.
Composition and lyrics
Musically, "Niggas in Paris" is an uptempo hip hop and club song, with elements of West Coast rap. The song begins with an excerpt of Ferrell's declaration from Blades of Glory: "We're gonna skate to one song and one song only." It later samples Ferrell talking about how art does not need any meaning when "it's provocative ... it gets the people going", which appears in the middle of West's verse and was interpreted by Rolling Stones Matthew Perpetua as summarizing the lyrical style of hip hop. The song also features samples of Reverend W. A. Donaldson's "Baptizing Scene" (1960). It has a slow, cheerful minimalist beat, which incorporates bounciness. The beat is driven by a riff of stabs of looped icy synthesizers, combined with kick drums. The song includes Hit Boy's bleeps, while a braggadocio flow is used by Jay-Z and West. Jay-Z raps fast, whereas West begins in half-time before moving to a faster pace. In the middle of the song, it transitions from continuous snare shots and orchestration of staccato electronics to an 808 breakdown. The breakdown contains industrial sounds, distorted thumping sub-bass, and operatic backing vocals. For the last 30 seconds, the song is dominated by a dubstep drop. The ending features studio buzz, synthesized monk voices, and static bursts.
The lyrics of "Niggas in Paris" are themed around black empowerment, with Jay-Z and West discussing how they defied the odds of their backgrounds to obtain extensive wealth and success. Jay-Z uses his verse to envision that had he not achieved success, he would have ended up in jail with his peers as he appreciates his freedom. The rapper lists out different elements of his success such as drinks and clothing, while he justifies his arrival to Paris by rapping that if others escaped what he had they would be there "getting fucked up too". West references the royal theme of Watch the Throne by imagining himself as Prince William of Wales in the wake of his marriage to Catherine Middleton, deciding he would instead marry the twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. He declares that he has been diagnosed with an illness by his doctors, who apparently said he is "suffering from realness". The rapper teases entering his zone and offers the ad-lib "hah?!", as well as rapping the phrases "going gorillas" and "that shit cray!" The performers trade lines with each other, including Jay-Z boasting about having his "hot bitch" at home and West retorting by asking how many of these he owns himself.
Release and promotion On August 8, 2011, "Niggas in Paris" was included as the third track on Jay-Z and West's collaborative studio album Watch The Throne, a month before they unveiled its cover art with the same motif as that of their single "Otis". The artwork displays the performers' names and the song's title in white letters against the colours of the French flag. Jay-Z and West invoked the cover for "Why I Love You", which was released as a single to rhythmic contemporary radio stations in the United States simultaneously with "Niggas in Paris" on September 13, 2011, through their record labels Def Jam, Roc Nation, and Roc-A-Fella. On the same date, the former was sent to US urban contemporary radio stations by the aforementioned labels. "Niggas in Paris" was later serviced to US mainstream radio stations by Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam on November 8, 2011.
On February 9, 2012, Jay-Z and West premiered the music video for "Niggas in Paris" with a projection at the front of East London's Shoreditch High Street railway station. The video followed "Otis" as the second visual from Watch the Throne, with its footage taken from the rappers' concert at Los Angeles' Staples Center on their accompanying tour in December 2011. After performing the song, Jay-Z announced the video had been filmed live at the venue. The music video was self-directed by West, with Jon handling the production. Good Company worked on post-production, while Daniel Pearl served as the director of photography.
The music video is preceded by an epilepsy warning, informing people that it may trigger their seizures and advising of viewer discretion. The video utilizes split screen kaleidoscopic effects to jump from Jay-Z and West performing the song at the Staples Center to footage of the crowd, which mostly features models. Mirror images are shown of the performance, which the camera pans in to. The visual incorporates laser-lights, roars from lions, and imagery of Paris landmarks such as Notre-Dame de Paris. For the excerpt from Blades of Glory that interrupts West's verse, a brief snippet of Ferrell's appearance in the film is displayed.
The music video received a nomination for Video of the Year at the 2012 BET Awards, losing the award to "Otis". At the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, the visual was nominated for the awards of Best Editing and Best Hip-Hop Video. The video received a nomination for Best Hip-Hop Video at the 2012 Antville Music Video Awards, while it was nominated for Best International Urban Video at the 2012 UK Music Video Awards. As of June 12, 2023, the music video has received over 386 million views on YouTube.
Reception
The song was met with widespread acclaim from music critics, with praise going towards Jay-Z and West's performances. Writing for Pitchfork, Tom Breihan was impressed with the song's "propulsive synth riff and gigantic drums" as Jay-Z showcases his technical rap skills, while he highlighted West's lyrics about his apparent illness. Michaelangelo Matos of The Guardian called the "percolating track" a standout on Watch the Throne for invoking Wiley's production, comparing the "sick sub-bass" and a snare to static. Matos hailed Jay-Z and West's performances, commenting that the phrase "that shit cray" leaves the word crazy unfinished.