So Appalled
Encyclopedia
"So Appalled" is a Hip-hop song by recording artist Kanye West
and appears as the seventh song on the track-listing of his fifth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Originally released unmastered as the seventh G.O.O.D. Fridays
track, the song finally made its way onto My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy with an extended verse. The song was produced by West, along with No I.D.
and Mike Dean
, and features verses by several notable musicians, including Shawn "Jay-Z" Corey Carter
, Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton
, Cydell "Cyhi Da Prynce" Young
, Kaseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean
, Robert "RZA" Diggs
who all receive writing credits. The song received positive reviews from music critics, with Jay-Z's verse being named as a highlight. The song charted on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart as reported by Billboard
.
's G.O.O.D. Fridays
, a music giveaway that provided free MP3
downloads every week. It was originally believed to be a song for West and Jay-Z
's collaborative album Watch the Throne
as reported by Consequence of Sound
, but it was later confirmed not to be. The song was 6 minutes, 38 seconds long. The song featured several guest appearances by GOOD Music
recording artists, along with long time West collaborator and friend Jay-Z. The song was not mastered properly amongst its original release however. It was noted for its impressive roster of features and was described as "another Kanye West-helmed all-star collabo." The song would later find its way onto West's fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy along with two other GOOD Friday songs. The version on the album was altered production-wise and was longer, and featured a sample of Manfred Mann
Earth Band
's song You Are – I Am. The song was released with two covers, one "accompanied by gruesome artwork of a nude woman splayed on a white surface with blood streaming from her mouth" and one with the image obscured by Bright red letters.
analysed the lyrics indepth, and wrote that "Swizzy
sets the track's tone with ad-libs such as "one hand in the air, if you don't really care" as West
follows with bars like "We above the law, we don't give a fuck 'bout y'all/ I got dogs that'll chew a fucking hole through the wall." They continued and wrote, "Jay-Z
takes jabs at ankle-biting MCs, launching his verse with, "How should I begin this?/ I'm just so offended/ How am I even mentioned by these fuckin' beginners?/ I'm so appalled/ I might buy the mall/ Just to show niggas how much more I have in store." Hov spends most of his bars deconstructing the hate that surrounds outsize fame but poses the question, "Would you rather be underpaid or overrated?" and that "Cyhi
holds his own among an intimidating roster of established MCs with lines like "If God
had an iPod
, I'd be on his playlist". Pitchfork Media criticized Da Prynce's lyrical contributions to the song, stating "On the otherwise amazing Kanye track "So Appalled", CyHi offers a black hole of a verse. His most memorable line ("If God had a iPod, I'd be on his playlist") mostly just raises questions. Like: Why does God's iPod only have one playlist?" The song contains numerous pop culture references, like to the film The Dark Knight
, the breakfast cereal
Cheerios
, the business magnate
Donald Trump
, rapper MC Hammer
, and "We Major", a song from West's album Late Registration
. Knightnews stated "as Kanye sucks the joy about being famous, his collaborators follow suit: Jay-Z underscores the jealousy he has to face on a regular basis when he raps “I went from the favorite to the most hated/But would you rather be underpaid or overrated?“ and that, "Overall, the song teaches a valuable lesson that fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, rather, it is a double-edged sword." In an interview with MTV
, Pusha T
, the asked "whether a lyric from West's "So Appalled" ("I speak of gospel, hostile/ Tony doing time for what he did to nostrils") referred to Gonzalez, Pusha, who has typically been guarded about his ex-manager in the press, would only say, "That's self-explanatory."
of Time
wrote "Tracks like "Dark Fantasy
" and "So Appalled" are built on rumbling tanks of pianos and strings that sound as if West is marching into the apocalypse
." David Amidon of PopMatters
stated that "Where Late Registration
found West inviting his friend Jon Brion to impart slices of film scoring to the odds and ends of his tracks, here every song contains an underscore as ambitious as the beats upfront. “Hell of a Life” and “So Appalled” alone carry enough auditory sugar to make listening to this album on any regular sort of listening device almost a fool’s errand. Channing Freeman of Sputnikmusic
mused that "the guest spots on "So Appalled" are very lengthy - Kanye appears within the first minute and then drops out for good - but the droning beat is so mesmerizing that it's barely even noticeable." MTV
praised the song, reporting "this all-star cipher is a backpackers dream as Ye's G.O.O.D. Music soldiers fire away with resolve. But the Brooklyn
icon, Jay-Z
, steals the show with an edgy verse dismissing his critics with a 16 that's as pushy as a New Yorker during rush hour. Please, Hammer
, stop replying." Slant Magazine
commented "with the posse
cuts 'Monster and 'So Appalled,' Kanye kicks out the two hardest rap tracks of his career." Becky Bain of Idolater
described the song as a "dramatic, gloomy epic of a tune that has each artist taking turns at the mic. The song is so long—one minute for each collaborator—it’s virtually a musical Where’s Waldo trying to find Kanye’s verse."
, however it only spent one week on the chart. The song also appeared on the South Korean Gaon Chart
at 95.
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
and appears as the seventh song on the track-listing of his fifth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Originally released unmastered as the seventh G.O.O.D. Fridays
G.O.O.D. Fridays
G.O.O.D. Fridays was a weekly free music giveaway started by rapper Kanye West. The name originates from the name of his label, G.O.O.D. Music, and is also a reference to the Friday before Easter, which is known as Good Friday. Every Friday, beginning on August 20, 2010, Kanye planned on releasing...
track, the song finally made its way onto My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy with an extended verse. The song was produced by West, along with No I.D.
No I.D.
No I.D., officially known as Immenslope and also known as Ernest Wilson , is a hip hop and R&B record producer, also the vice-president of Def Jam Recordings, best known for his early work with Chicago rapper Common and is known as "The Godfather of Chicago hip hop".. The nickname No I.D...
and Mike Dean
Mike Dean (producer)
Mike Dean is an American hip-hop producer. He is known for pioneering the "Dirty South" sound in the 1990s, particularly in work for artists from Rap-A-Lot Records. Dean has most notably worked alongside Scarface of the Geto Boys, 2Pac, Do or Die, Tha Dogg Pound, Yukmouth of the Luniz, Outlawz,...
, and features verses by several notable musicians, including Shawn "Jay-Z" Corey Carter
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
, Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton
Pusha T
Terrence Thornton better known by his stage name Pusha T is an American recording artist, occasional actor and one half of the critically acclaimed hip hop duo Clipse. He is also the co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Re-Up Records along with his brother Gene 'Malice' Thornton...
, Cydell "Cyhi Da Prynce" Young
Cyhi Da Prynce
Cydel Young also known as CyHi The Prynce , born September 15, 1984 is an American rap artist from Stone Mountain, Atlanta. He is signed to Kanye West's GOOD Music Label and Def Jam Recordings...
, Kaseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean
Swizz Beatz
Kasseem Dean , better known by his stage name, Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, DJ, rapper and painter. At the age of 17, he gained attention in the hip-hop world through his friendship with rapper DMX. Grady Spivey and rapper Cassidy helped launch his label Full Surface Records...
, Robert "RZA" Diggs
RZA
Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...
who all receive writing credits. The song received positive reviews from music critics, with Jay-Z's verse being named as a highlight. The song charted on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart as reported by Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
.
History
"So Appalled" was first released on September 24, 2010, and was the seventh song to be featured apart of Kanye WestKanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
's G.O.O.D. Fridays
G.O.O.D. Fridays
G.O.O.D. Fridays was a weekly free music giveaway started by rapper Kanye West. The name originates from the name of his label, G.O.O.D. Music, and is also a reference to the Friday before Easter, which is known as Good Friday. Every Friday, beginning on August 20, 2010, Kanye planned on releasing...
, a music giveaway that provided free MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
downloads every week. It was originally believed to be a song for West and Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
's collaborative album Watch the Throne
Watch the Throne
Watch the Throne is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West, released on August 8, 2011, by Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc Nation, and Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions for the album took place at various recording locations and began in November 2010. It was...
as reported by Consequence of Sound
Consequence of Sound
Consequence of Sound, also known often as CoS, is a Chicago-based music website featuring news, album and concert reviews, and editorials. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook micro-site, which serves as an on-line database for music festival news and rumors...
, but it was later confirmed not to be. The song was 6 minutes, 38 seconds long. The song featured several guest appearances by GOOD Music
GOOD Music
GOOD Music is a record label and management firm founded by music producer and artist Kanye West. "GOOD" is an acronym for "Getting Out Our Dreams".-History:...
recording artists, along with long time West collaborator and friend Jay-Z. The song was not mastered properly amongst its original release however. It was noted for its impressive roster of features and was described as "another Kanye West-helmed all-star collabo." The song would later find its way onto West's fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy along with two other GOOD Friday songs. The version on the album was altered production-wise and was longer, and featured a sample of Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann was a British beat, rhythm and blues and pop band of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboardist, Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band...
Earth Band
Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Manfred Mann's Earth Band is a British progressive rock group formed in 1971 by Manfred Mann.-Formation:Having started in the 1960s with a British band that had such hits as "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" and "The Mighty Quinn", then moving on to Jazz Fusion with Manfred Mann's Chapter Three, Manfred's third...
's song You Are – I Am. The song was released with two covers, one "accompanied by gruesome artwork of a nude woman splayed on a white surface with blood streaming from her mouth" and one with the image obscured by Bright red letters.
Track Listing
Lyrics
MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
analysed the lyrics indepth, and wrote that "Swizzy
Swizz Beatz
Kasseem Dean , better known by his stage name, Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, DJ, rapper and painter. At the age of 17, he gained attention in the hip-hop world through his friendship with rapper DMX. Grady Spivey and rapper Cassidy helped launch his label Full Surface Records...
sets the track's tone with ad-libs such as "one hand in the air, if you don't really care" as West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
follows with bars like "We above the law, we don't give a fuck 'bout y'all/ I got dogs that'll chew a fucking hole through the wall." They continued and wrote, "Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
takes jabs at ankle-biting MCs, launching his verse with, "How should I begin this?/ I'm just so offended/ How am I even mentioned by these fuckin' beginners?/ I'm so appalled/ I might buy the mall/ Just to show niggas how much more I have in store." Hov spends most of his bars deconstructing the hate that surrounds outsize fame but poses the question, "Would you rather be underpaid or overrated?" and that "Cyhi
Cyhi Da Prynce
Cydel Young also known as CyHi The Prynce , born September 15, 1984 is an American rap artist from Stone Mountain, Atlanta. He is signed to Kanye West's GOOD Music Label and Def Jam Recordings...
holds his own among an intimidating roster of established MCs with lines like "If God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
had an iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
, I'd be on his playlist". Pitchfork Media criticized Da Prynce's lyrical contributions to the song, stating "On the otherwise amazing Kanye track "So Appalled", CyHi offers a black hole of a verse. His most memorable line ("If God had a iPod, I'd be on his playlist") mostly just raises questions. Like: Why does God's iPod only have one playlist?" The song contains numerous pop culture references, like to the film The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight (film)
The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins...
, the breakfast cereal
Breakfast cereal
A breakfast cereal is a food made from processed grains that is often, but not always, eaten with the first meal of the day. It is often eaten cold, usually mixed with milk , water, or yogurt, and sometimes fruit but sometimes eaten dry. Some cereals, such as oatmeal, may be served hot as porridge...
Cheerios
Cheerios
Cheerios is a brand of breakfast cereal by General Mills introduced on May 1, 1941 as the first oat-based, ready-to-eat cold cereal. Originally named CheeriOats, the name was changed to Cheerios in 1945 because of a trade name dispute with Quaker Oats. The name fit the "O" shape of the cereal pieces...
, the business magnate
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
, rapper MC Hammer
MC Hammer
Stanley Kirk Burrell , better known by his stage name MC Hammer , is an American rapper, entertainer, business entrepreneur, dancer and actor. He had his greatest commercial success and popularity from the late 1980s until the mid-1990s...
, and "We Major", a song from West's album Late Registration
Late Registration
Late Registration is the second studio album by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released August 30, 2005, on Roc-A-Fella Records. Recording sessions for the album took place over the course of a year at various recording studios located in New York City and Hollywood...
. Knightnews stated "as Kanye sucks the joy about being famous, his collaborators follow suit: Jay-Z underscores the jealousy he has to face on a regular basis when he raps “I went from the favorite to the most hated/But would you rather be underpaid or overrated?“ and that, "Overall, the song teaches a valuable lesson that fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, rather, it is a double-edged sword." In an interview with MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, Pusha T
Pusha T
Terrence Thornton better known by his stage name Pusha T is an American recording artist, occasional actor and one half of the critically acclaimed hip hop duo Clipse. He is also the co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Re-Up Records along with his brother Gene 'Malice' Thornton...
, the asked "whether a lyric from West's "So Appalled" ("I speak of gospel, hostile/ Tony doing time for what he did to nostrils") referred to Gonzalez, Pusha, who has typically been guarded about his ex-manager in the press, would only say, "That's self-explanatory."
Reception
"So Appalled" has received positive reviews from music critics, though it was considered one of the lesser tracks on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. David BrowneDavid Browne
David Browne is an American journalist and author. He was the resident music critic at Entertainment Weekly between 1990 and 2006. He was an editor at Music & Sound Output magazine and a music critic at the New York Daily News before EW...
of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
wrote "Tracks like "Dark Fantasy
Dark Fantasy (song)
"Dark Fantasy" is a song by American hip hop artist Kanye West, from his fifth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The song serves as the opening track of the album, and was written by Kanye West, Ernest Wilson, Jeff Bhasker, Mike Dean and the RZA...
" and "So Appalled" are built on rumbling tanks of pianos and strings that sound as if West is marching into the apocalypse
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
." David Amidon of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
stated that "Where Late Registration
Late Registration
Late Registration is the second studio album by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released August 30, 2005, on Roc-A-Fella Records. Recording sessions for the album took place over the course of a year at various recording studios located in New York City and Hollywood...
found West inviting his friend Jon Brion to impart slices of film scoring to the odds and ends of his tracks, here every song contains an underscore as ambitious as the beats upfront. “Hell of a Life” and “So Appalled” alone carry enough auditory sugar to make listening to this album on any regular sort of listening device almost a fool’s errand. Channing Freeman of Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
mused that "the guest spots on "So Appalled" are very lengthy - Kanye appears within the first minute and then drops out for good - but the droning beat is so mesmerizing that it's barely even noticeable." MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
praised the song, reporting "this all-star cipher is a backpackers dream as Ye's G.O.O.D. Music soldiers fire away with resolve. But the Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
icon, Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
, steals the show with an edgy verse dismissing his critics with a 16 that's as pushy as a New Yorker during rush hour. Please, Hammer
MC Hammer
Stanley Kirk Burrell , better known by his stage name MC Hammer , is an American rapper, entertainer, business entrepreneur, dancer and actor. He had his greatest commercial success and popularity from the late 1980s until the mid-1990s...
, stop replying." Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
commented "with the posse
Posse
Posse may refer to:* Posse comitatus , a group of men assembled to assist in law enforcement* Posse , starring Kirk Douglas* Posse , starring Mario van Peebles...
cuts 'Monster and 'So Appalled,' Kanye kicks out the two hardest rap tracks of his career." Becky Bain of Idolater
Idolator (website)
Idolator is a music blog. Created by the blog network Gawker Media in August 2006, Idolator was later sold to rival blog network Buzz Media, which also owns music blog Stereogum. From the 2007 departure of original head writer Brian Raftery until November 2009, the blog's head writer was Maura...
described the song as a "dramatic, gloomy epic of a tune that has each artist taking turns at the mic. The song is so long—one minute for each collaborator—it’s virtually a musical Where’s Waldo trying to find Kanye’s verse."
Chart position
The song charted at 14 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart as reported by BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
, however it only spent one week on the chart. The song also appeared on the South Korean Gaon Chart
Gaon Chart
The Gaon Chart is a national record chart of South Korea. It is complied by the Korea Music Content Industry Association and sponsored by South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism; with an aim to create a national chart for Korea similar to the Billboard charts and Oricon charts...
at 95.
| Chart (2010) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| US Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
14 |
| South Korean Gaon Chart Gaon Chart The Gaon Chart is a national record chart of South Korea. It is complied by the Korea Music Content Industry Association and sponsored by South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism; with an aim to create a national chart for Korea similar to the Billboard charts and Oricon charts... |
95 |