Nah Nah Nah
| "Nah Nah Nah" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Kanye West | ||||
| Released | October 16, 2020 | |||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| Kanye West singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Remix cover | ||||
 Remix artwork | ||||
| DaBaby singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| 2 Chainz singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Nah Nah Nah" is a song by American rapper Kanye West. It was released for digital download and streaming through GOOD Music and Def Jam on October 16, 2020. The song served as the "theme song" for West's presidential campaign launched in July of that year.
"Nah Nah Nah" was written and produced by West and American record producer Dem Jointz. A remix, featuring fellow rappers DaBaby and 2 Chainz, was released on November 13, 2020. The song was West's second and last single as a lead artist in 2020, following "Wash Us in the Blood" (featuring Travis Scott).
On August 9, 2021, both versions of the song were removed from all streaming services. While it was presumed to be due to controversy over DaBaby's homophobic statements, West later worked with DaBaby on "Jail pt. 2" from his album Donda (2021), released just 20 days after the song was pulled from streaming.[1][2]
Background[edit]
On October 14, 2020, Kanye West shared on Twitter a snippet of a song titled "Nah Nah Nah".[3] The clip featured footage of Joaquin Buckley's knockout victory at UFC Fight Island 5 and Star Wars.[4] The song was released after a series of tweets from West celebrating presidential polling results in Kentucky, which later turned out to be fake.[4][5] It was officially released onto streaming services the night of October 16 after being debuted in full on DJ Pharris’ Power 92 Chicago show.[5]
On October 18, West tweeted a screenshot of a text conversation with DaBaby,[6] teasing that he had recorded a verse for a song. The following day, West posted a snippet of DaBaby's verse.[7][8] On October 29, West posted a longer snippet to his Twitter account of DaBaby's full verse along with a verse from 2 Chainz.[9][7][10] The remix later got officially released onto streaming services on November 13.[11]
On September 17th, 2023, 16 alternate versions of the song leaked. All of these files were dated between October 21st, 2020, and October 25th, 2020, and featured entirely different production done by Dem Jointz, BoogzDaBeast, and FnZ. While all of these versions were similar, they each had minor differences to the mixing, arrangement, and production. Some had vocal contributions from only West, some with only DaBaby, some with only 2 Chainz, and some with all three. The most popular of these leaked versions featured the furthest along version of the alternate instrumental, with the arrangement going from West, to DaBaby, to a shortened version of 2 Chainz's verse, to the rest of West's vocals.[12] While these versions were ultimately scrapped and a version of the remix with the original instrumental was instead released, it is theorized that the alternate production version was set to release on a version of Donda that would have released in November 2020, but this version ultimately never saw the light.
Charts[edit]
Original[edit]
| Chart (2020) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[13] | 18 |
Remix[edit]
| Chart (2020) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[14] | 34 |
Release history[edit]
| Region | Date | Format | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | October 16, 2020 | Digital download | [15] | |
| Various | November 13, 2020 | Remix | [16] |
References[edit]
- ^ Romano, Nick (August 9, 2021). "Kanye West's 'Nah Nah Nah' remix with DaBaby pulled from streaming platforms". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
- ^ Aswad, Jem (August 9, 2021). "Kanye West Removes DaBaby Remix From Streaming Services". Variety. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
- ^ Strauss, Matthew (14 October 2020). "Kanye West Shares New Song "Nah Nah Nah": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- ^ a b Johnson, Patrick (14 October 2020). "Kanye West Releases New Track "NAH NAH NAH" to Celebrate Fake Presidential Polling Numbers". Hypebeast. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- ^ a b Li, Nicolaus (17 October 2020). "Kanye West's "Nah Nah Nah" Is Now on Streaming Platforms". Hypebeast. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- ^ "ye on Twitter: "👀"". Twitter.
- ^ a b Enis, Eli (29 October 2020). "Kanye West Shares "Nah Nah Nah" Remix Featuring DaBaby and 2 Chainz: Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- ^ "ye on Twitter: "DABABY TURNED THIS VERSE AROUND SO QUICK ITS INSPIRATIONAL TO SEE HOW FAST WE CAN MOVE AS A PEOPLE. I HAD TO GIVE YALL AT LEAST A SNIPPET."". Twitter.
- ^ Ruiz, Matthew (29 October 2020). "Kanye West Shares New "Nah Nah Nah" Remix With DaBaby and 2 Chainz: Listen". Pitchfork.
- ^ Krol, Charlotte (29 October 2020). "Kanye West shares 'Nah Nah Nah' remix with DaBaby and 2 Chainz". NME. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- ^ Powell, Jon (13 November 2020). "Kanye West releases DaBaby and 2 Chainz-assisted "Nah Nah Nah (Remix)" in full". Revolt. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- ^ [yeunreleased] (2024-02-28). Kanye West - NAH NAH NAH (alt prod.) | DONDA 2020. Retrieved 2024-07-10 – via YouTube.
- ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. October 1, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
- ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. November 23, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
- ^ "Nah Nah Nah - Single by Kanye West on Apple Music". Apple Music.
- ^ "Nah Nah Nah (Remix) [feat. DaBaby & 2 Chainz] - Single by Kanye West on Apple Music". Apple Music.
