"Hurricane" is a song by American rapper 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 was produced by West alongside BoogzDaBeast, DJ Khalil, Mike Dean, and Ronny J, with co-production and additional production from several others. The track also features additional vocals from the Sunday Service Choir and KayCyy. It came from a jam session at Archwood Music Studio, based in Los Angeles, and was passed on by Chance the Rapper to West, who shared a preview of the track 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.
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. The song was also performed by West at the Free Larry Hoover Benefit Concert, during his second set. Artist Revenue Advocates (ARA) issued a lawsuit against West for unauthorized elements of "MSD PT2" in July 2024, accusing him of not having obtained a license for usage on the song; though the court determined that the final song did not contain any audio samples, earlier previews did and were argued to be commercialized.
Background and recording
The foundation of "Hurricane" came from a three-hour jam session at Archwood Music Studio between American music producer DJ Khalil, bassist Daniel Seeff, and songwriters Josh Mease and Sam Barsh. This version, a one minute instrumental titled "MSD PT2", was later sent to producer Nascent through a Dropbox folder in March 2018. In July 2018, Chance the Rapper announced that West was coming to Chicago to produce a seven-track studio album for him, similar to those recorded during the Wyoming Sessions. According to producer BoogzDaBeast, the beat for the song was originally intended for Chance the Rapper, who passed on it after hearing it. However, when West heard the beat, Boogz recalled that it "sparked something in him", leading to the creation of the song and his now-scrapped album Yandhi, which was set to release two weeks after the demo was recorded.
On September 11, 2018, West reinstated his Instagram account, via which he subsequently shared a snippet of a demo version for "Hurricane", including him singing the chorus; the demo was recorded one day prior to being previewed. A week later, West announced via Twitter that Yandhi was set for release on September 29, 2018. West reaffirmed that the song was set to be included on the album via a snippet posted to Twitter on September 27, 2018. Yandhi went unreleased on its scheduled date and was eventually scrapped. Over time, "Hurricane" went through several iterations, containing vocals from Ant Clemons, Big Sean, Ty Dolla Sign, and Young Thug, with several leaks of the song surfacing online. Though Yandhi had been shelved, "Hurricane" later went into consideration for Donda and created heavy anticipation.
After postponing the release of Yandhi twice, West revealed on Twitter that his recording sessions with Chance the Rapper in Chicago had helped himself reconnect with his roots and faith in Jesus. In early 2019, West started hosting choir sessions with the gospel group The Samples, enlisting choir director Jason White and songwriter Nikki Grier for help with choir arrangement and writing gospel renditions of songs in his discography. Clemons recalled that the sessions eventually "morphed" into West's gospel group the Sunday Service Choir, who performed around the world with the rapper. West recorded with the group for their debut studio album Jesus Is Born (2019), which is credited solely to them. The Sunday Service Choir were one of the guest appearances on Donda to be revealed at the public listening parties, while they contributed additional vocals to six of the album's tracks outside of "Hurricane".
On July 21, 2020, West tweeted "Lil Baby my favorite rapper but won't do a song wit me [sic]". Responding to the tweet, Lil Baby declared that nobody had told him West wanted to collaborate and the two arranged a meeting. The rapper was subsequently flown out to Cody, Wyoming, to record for Donda. During the session, Lil Baby recorded his verse for "Hurricane" after Kenyan-American singer songwriter KayCyy had suggested that he should contribute to it, having told him that it was one of the most anticipated songs. In an attempt to appear on the track, KayCyy recorded a bridge which West "actually ended up fucking with", according to the singer. The reworked song was first previewed officially on July 22, 2021, during the first listening party for Donda at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The version played at the event featured a hook that was "heavily autotuned" and performed by West himself.
In an cover story interview for GQ on August 2, 2021, Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd stated, "I'd love to work with Kanye again. Especially on production." The two had worked together twice in the past; firstly when a West demo evolved into the Weeknd's "Tell Your Friends" (2015); and the singer featured on West's 2016 track "FML" for their second collaboration. Shortly after the interview, West posted a photo of his call log to Instagram that included "Abel Weeknd", leading to speculation of the Weeknd being included on Donda. "Hurricane" was teased again on August 5, 2021, with the Weeknd performing the hook during the second listening party for the album at Mercedes Benz Stadium. Two days later, American music producer and frequent West collaborator Mike Dean went to Discord and Twitter to ask fans which version of "Hurricane" they preferred between the original version, new version, or a blend of the two. Dean stated in the Discord chat that he was showing West comments from fans; he also told Zane Lowe in an Apple Music interview that West "took all the information he got from everyone, including online reviews, personal friends reviews and he'd just kind of digest it all and adjust the album the way he wants".
Composition and lyrics
Musically, "Hurricane" is an R&B, hip-hop, and pop jam. It utilizes West's typical production style, relying on an atmospheric beat, while including layered organs, heavy bass, and trap drums. 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, which was done by Italian mixing engineer Irko at the request of West over a phone call. According to Rolling Stones Paul Thompson, the choir vocals are processed "in ways that are slightly alien". Alongside the group, additional vocals are provided by KayCyy. West and Lil Baby perform a verse each on the song, while the Weeknd sings the chorus. He delivers gospel-infused vocals, as well as contributing a falsetto. The song's vocal production was handled by White and Grier, while Louis Bell and Patrick Hundley did the editing.
Lyrically, West discusses ongoing personal issues on the song, such as his breakup with Kardashian, his house, past, and fears. 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." 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." With certain lyrics, the rapper reflects on progressing from being a school dropout to a guest speaker at Yale University. Lil Baby provides a mournful performance with his verse, admitting at one point that he simply wants to "restart it".
Release and promotion
After Donda failed to release on August 6, 2021, "Hurricane" appeared on Apple Music as the second track on the Donda pre-order page. The track was made available via international streaming services such as Yandex and Line Music on August 8, though was not available on any in the United States. On August 29, "Hurricane" was included as the fifth track on West's tenth studio album Donda. The track was playlisted by Swedish mainstream station Sveriges Radio P3 on September 3, 2021. It was sent to American rhythmic contemporary radio stations as the album's lead single 11 days later, through West's labels GOOD Music and Def Jam.
On October 20, 2021, American rapper Big Sean performed his unreleased verse for "Hurricane" as part of a nine-minute freestyle with Power 106's L.A. Leakers. On October 31, 2021, the Sunday Service Choir performed a gospel rendition of "Hurricane" with Canadian singer Justin Bieber for their Halloween concert at an anonymous rooftop location. The group were dressed entirely in white and surrounded by an audience dressed in black, while the singer rocked a white hood. During the performance, Bieber freestyle-sang over the track. On November 7, 2021, a rendition of the song was performed by the Sunday Service Choir for a session in tribute to the victims of a crowd crush at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival set. The performance was live-streamed, as was the group's performance of it at a session promoting the deluxe edition of Donda a week later. On December 9, 2021, West performed the song at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as part of his and Canadian musician Drake's Free Larry Hoover Benefit Concert. Drake accompanied him on stage and the rapper's performance marked a return after the musician had performed alone, which shocked the audience.
On December 12, 2021, West performed the track as part of a surprise five-song set in the middle of fellow rapper Future's headlining performance at Rolling Loud California. While performing, he rocked a white hoodie, "Free Hoover" jeans, and Yeezy boots. On February 22, 2022, West performed "Hurricane" at the accompanying concert for his eleventh studio album Donda 2 in Miami's LoanDepot Park. During the performance of the song, West appeared to experience an issue with his in-ear monitors and seemingly lost his place, though it was speculated that he forgot the lyrics. The rapper's performance of "Hurricane" was followed by a performance of "Jail pt 2", which featured him reacting to the problem by throwing his microphone.
Critical reception