Cruel Summer (GOOD Music album)

Cruel Summer
Compilation album by
GOOD Music
ReleasedSeptember 14, 2012 (2012-09-14)
Recorded2011–12[1]
GenreHip hop
Length54:31
Label
Producer
Kanye West chronology
Watch the Throne
(2011) 		Cruel Summer
(2012) 		Yeezus
(2013)
Singles from Cruel Summer
  1. "Mercy"
    Released: April 3, 2012
  2. "Cold"
    Released: April 17, 2012
  3. "New God Flow"
    Released: July 21, 2012
  4. "Clique"
    Released: September 6, 2012

Kanye West Presents: GOOD Music – Cruel Summer,[2][3][4] commonly referred to simply as Cruel Summer, is a compilation album[5] by recording artists of American record label GOOD Music, released on September 14, 2012, by the label itself and its parent company, Def Jam Recordings. GOOD Music's founder, American rapper Kanye West, first revealed plans for the label's collaborative album in October 2011. It was preceded by four singles—"Mercy", "Cold", "New God Flow", and "Clique"—that saw mixed success on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album features West himself, alongside the label's then-signees Pusha T, Big Sean, Teyana Taylor, Kid Cudi, John Legend, Common, D'banj and Malik Yusef, as well as affiliates Jay-Z, 2 Chainz, Travis Scott, and Cyhi the Prynce, among others. Production of Cruel Summer was primarily handled by members of GOOD Music's production wing, Very GOOD Beats, which included West, Hit-Boy, Hudson Mohawke, Travis Scott and Lifted, among others.

Cruel Summer received "a fairly lukewarm response" from critics,[6] who commended its hubristic style and the tracks featuring West, but found it uneven as an album. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 205,000 copies in its first week. The album also reached the top 10 of charts in Australia, Canada, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. As of November 4, 2012, Cruel Summer has sold 389,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

A sequel to the album titled Cruel Winter began development sometime in 2016, although it was unfinished and never released. The GOOD Music label is not active as of 2024, and none of the artists featured on the album, including labelhead Kanye West, are still with the label.[7]

  1. ^ "Production Credit: Lifted Talks "Mercy," Signing to G.O.O.D. Music & First Meeting With Kanye". XXL. New York. April 9, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference iTunes NZ was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Kanye West Presents Good Music Cruel Summer". Spotify. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  4. ^ "Kanye West Presents Good Music Cruel Summer [Explicit]: Various artists". Amazon. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  5. ^ "Kanye West's 'Cruel Summer' compilation leaks online". NME. IPC Media. September 14, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference ADM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Kanye West collaborator CyHi the Prynce says Cruel Winter is finally finished". 24 March 2017.