"Carnival" (stylized in all caps) is a song by the American hip-hop superduo ¥$, composed of rapper Kanye West and singer Ty Dolla Sign, with American rappers Rich the Kid and Playboi Carti, from the duo's debut studio album, Vultures 1 (2024). It was written by West, Ty Dolla Sign, Digital Nas, Ojivolta, TheLabCook, the Legendary Traxster, Rich the Kid, and Playboi Carti, being produced by the former six. On February 15, 2024, "Carnival" was released as the third single from Vultures 1 by YZY on an EP pack.
A hip-hop song with elements of punk rock and based on a sample of West's "Hell of a Life", "Carnival" features an EDM and trap beat. The song prominently contains a vocal loop of chants from Inter Milan's ultras, combined with a bassline and synthesizers. Lyrically, it features the artists discussing oral sex with a woman. Music critics were polarized towards the song, split between praise of the production and criticism of West's verse. Some lauded the chants and picked it as an album highlight, though numerous critics were repulsed by West comparing himself to figures who have been accused of sexual assault. West mentioning Taylor Swift in the song was criticized by her fans.
Commercially, "Carnival" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming the fifth chart-topper for West and making him the only rap act to reach the summit across three separate decades. It became the second number-one for Ty Dolla Sign on the Hot 100, and the first for both Rich the Kid and Playboi Carti. The song also topped the charts in Greece, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, and the United Arab Emirates. It peaked within the top-10 of 13 other territories, such as Canada and Luxembourg, as well as the Billboard Global 200.
The song received double platinum and platinum certifications in the US and New Zealand from the Recording Industry Association of America and Recorded Music NZ, respectively. An accompanying music video was released, which was a tribute to the ultras that features computer-generated imagery of them at a stadium, where male figures fight amongst each other. Critics mostly praised the video for its violent style of imagery.
Background and recording
Kanye West served as an executive producer on Playboi Carti's second album, Whole Lotta Red, released on Christmas day in 2020. Playboi Carti subsequently discussed their collaboration to fellow rapper Kid Cudi, hailing West's history and that he "opened my eyes to some shit". The former explained working together brought realization of his heavy appreciation for West, feeling this for how he introduced him to his team too that largely understood what he was saying. Playboi Carti later appeared on West's single "Off the Grid" for his 2021 album Donda, while he also contributed to the demo album Donda 2. West and Ty Dolla Sign featured him on the Vultures 1 tracks "Carnival" and "Fuk Sumn", with the former also including an appearance from Rich the Kid. In April 2024, Rich the Kid described working with Playboi Carti as having come "full-circle" from recording videos in his grandmother's apartment years ago. Rich the Kid said the two spend time across Los Angeles together "doing all types of crazy shit", feeling they made history with the collaboration. He still wanted to work with West due to enjoying his music despite his controversies in the media and after the song's success, him and Ty Dolla Sign were dedicated to production of Rich the Kid's fourth album Life's a Gamble.
"Carnival" was previewed during West and Ty Dolla Sign's Vultures listening party at the United Center in Chicago on February 8, 2024. This version of the song used a sample of a live performance at the 1983 US Festival of "Iron Man" by English rock band Black Sabbath. The band's lead singer, Ozzy Osbourne, responded that the unauthorized sample went against his will. Osbourne posted to social media that West asked for permission to sample part of the performance from the US Festival without vocals, yet he "was refused permission because he is an antisemite and has caused untold heartache to many". He said in response to West still using the sample at the listening event, "I want no association with this man!" Despite Ozzy posting he did not want to be associated with West, him and his wife Sharon Osbourne had dressed up as the rapper and his partner Bianca Censori for Halloween 2023. Osbourne told TMZ that West had "fucked with the wrong Jew", characterizing him as a "disrespectful anti-Semite". She also accused West of representing hate and the Osbournes sent a cease and desist to him. Sharon said in a statement that the Osbournes were "considering legal action" and although Ozzy had not spoken with West, their team had contacted his team. On February 10, 2024, West and Ty Dolla Sign started their Vultures listening event at the UBS Arena in New York with the song. Playboi Carti and Rich the Kid joined them, while West's track "Hell of a Life" from his 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was sampled in place of "Iron Man". This effectively maintained the presence of "Iron Man", as "Hell of a Life" uses a cleared sample of the song. On July 30, 2024, an alternate version of "Carnival" leaked online with lyrics from West admitting to a porn addiction.
"Carnival" was first conceived in studio sessions for Vultures in Saudi Arabia during 2023, where Rich the Kid flew in from Dubai after Ty Dolla Sign mentioned the sessions to him. Rich the Kid had to get a taxi from the airport in Saudi Arabia and he listened to the album on arrival, then started recording on his second day. He envisioned the song as "new-age rage rock star" material upon his first listen and recorded his chorus then the verse, completing this in 15 to 20 minutes at the most. Rich the Kid did not write down any of his lyrics and instead freestyled in the studio, questioning those who said he was lucky by saying it is not "like the words didn't come out of my mouth". He listened back after taking his headphones off and Ty Dolla Sign recorded next for the song, then the singer and West contacted him after their Las Vegas listening event to ask what contribution from him should be included on Vultures 1. Initially a beat produced solely by TheLabCook, the track was titled "Honor Roll" at the time and Rich the Kid warranted its inclusion due to the elevated level of energy. According to Rich the Kid, "Carnival" would likely not have included on the album if not for him.
The track was produced by West and Ty Dolla Sign with Digital Nas, Ojivolta, TheLabCook, and the Legendary Traxster. The producers co-wrote it with Rich the Kid and Playboi Carti. West added much of the production to the track and selected the chants, with Rich the Kid having picked the beat. Ty Dolla Sign said that he initially hesitated to play the track for West because he was against any hi-hats on the album, although the rapper appreciated it upon his first listen in Las Vegas and then recorded his verse, as well as altering the melody. Italian football club Inter Milan's ultras named "Curva Nord" recorded their background vocals in the studio, which were used as chants. Shortly before the release of Vultures 1, Ty Dolla Sign FaceTimed Rich the Kid and played Playboi Carti's verse, sending him the final version across. On March 18, 2024, a video surfaced online of West recording his verse for the song in a room as he was surrounded by dozens of friends. West had headphones across his head as he nodded along to the blaring music and his friends talked amongst themselves, until they went silent when he rapped the verse.
Composition and lyrics
Musically, "Carnival" is a sparse hip-hop song, with elements of punk rock. It features an EDM and trap beat. The song incorporates a vocal loop of chanting from Inter Milan's ultras on the hook that is accompanied by intones of "ooohhh" and clapping percussion throughout, which drew comparisons to the melody of "Mo Bamba" (2017) by Sheck Wes. "Carnival" opens with the chants, combined with sounds of distortion. Sonically, the song was noted for its energy by both HotNewHipHops Aron A. and Vibes Marc Griffin. The song is based on a sample of "Hell of a Life", which in turn samples Ozzy Osbourne's "Iron Man". Billboards Michael Saponara wrote that the substitute sample helps "bring the grunginess" to "Carnival". The song includes a heavy bassline and grinding synthesizers, while it invokes the style of mosh pits. West utilizes a gasping tone and in between the verses of the performers, a heavy guitar is featured.
In the lyrics of "Carnival", West, Ty Dolla Sign, Rich the Kid, and Playboi Carti discuss their experiences of oral sex with a woman. On its hook, the ultras shout "head so good, she a honor roll". West trolls cancel culture as he compares himself to R. Kelly, Bill Cosby, and Puff Daddy on the song, all of whom have faced sexual assault controversies. He raps the line "I mean since Taylor Swift" and when he had a Rollie on his wrist, alluding to his interruption of the singer at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards that started their publicized feud. West also compares himself to Jesus and declares he turns water to Cristal, following this line with his support for Chris Brown after "what they did" to the singer. West asserted the mention is because Brown is one of the great artists who have struggled to break through due to the machinations of "middle men" in a 2024 interview, expressing that he deserves success and "is a god". He ends his verse abruptly by rapping that his children are "in a fake school", subsequently referencing this in a post telling his ex-wife Kim Kardashian to take them out of the Sierra Canyon School. West had attempted to open his own Donda Academy school, although this was closed down due to his antisemitic controversies in October 2022. While the final version of "Carnival" ends Ye's verse on "we ain't", the uncut line that can be heard on demos of track states "got my kids in a fake school, we ain't Jewish". During Playboi Carti's verse, he pays tribute to fellow rapper SahBabii.
Release and promotion On February 10, 2024, ¥$ released their debut studio album, Vultures 1, independently through YZY, including "Carnival" as the 12th track. The song was played after West and Ty Dolla Sign had left the stage during their listening event for the record at Milan's Mediolanum Forum on February 22, 2024. According to Rich the Kid, the crowd chanted along with the song and continued to do so after the event had finished, achieving its intentions of sounding "crazy in the fucking arena". On March 10, 2024, West and Ty Dolla Sign hosted a Vultures listening party at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, which was closed with an audience sing-along to the song after they performed it earlier at the event.
The song was released to Apple and YouTube Music as the third single from Vultures 1 by YZY on February 15, 2024, after this release faced issues due to the album being removed from the former platform. The single release was an EP pack that features explicit and clean versions of "Carnival", with the former lasting for four minutes and twenty-four seconds (4:24). The release also features the Hooligans version, the instrumental, and the a capella. On February 17, 2024, West revealed the song's cover art that shows a close-up photo of a screaming skinhead, who is stained with blood. The artwork was designed by Canadian artist Jon Rafman, who previously created the music video for Havoc's version of West's 2023 single "Vultures". After the track reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, Rich the Kid said that he and West achieving this as independent artists was "crazy, because people was asking me why I'm going so hard".
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