| "Heard 'Em Say" | ||||
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| Single by Kanye West featuring Adam Levine | ||||
| from the album Late Registration | ||||
| B-side | "Touch the Sky" | |||
| Released | October 24, 2005 | |||
| Recorded | 2005 | |||
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| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 3:23 | |||
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| Kanye West singles chronology | ||||
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| Adam Levine singles chronology | ||||
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| "Heard 'Em Say (Version 1)" on YouTube "Heard 'Em Say (Version 2)" on YouTube | ||||
"Heard 'Em Say" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his second studio album, Late Registration (2005). The song features a guest appearance from Adam Levine. It was produced by West with Jon Brion, the former of which served as a songwriter alongside Levine, while Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin also received credit due to the sample of "Someone That I Used to Love". When West played Levine an early version of the song during a flight to Rome in 2004, the singer felt he had a chorus written that would work perfectly. West lacked certainty about collaborating with Levine before hearing him in rehearsal at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards, after which the two recorded the song quickly with assistance from Brion. It marked the first song recorded for the album and originally, West sang the chorus.
On October 24, 2005, "Heard 'Em Say" was released on a 12" vinyl as the third single from Late Registration by Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam. A hip hop ballad, it relies on excerpts of Natalie Cole's "Someone That I Used to Love" and features a subdued instrumentation, which includes keyboards and piano chords. The song contains a lullaby tone, as well as an R&B chorus and elements of art rock. Lyrically, West laments the socioeconomical issues facing African-Americans while reminding listeners to appreciate the present, taking the perspective of a struggling citizen confused by the world.
"Heard 'Em Say" received widespread acclaim from music critics, who generally appreciated the musical style. Some praised Levine's vocal performance, while numerous critics appreciated West's lyrical talent. The song garnered a nomination for Best Hip-Hop Song Collaboration at the 2006 Groovevolt Music and Fashion Awards. In the United States, it debuted at the last position of the Billboard Hot 100 while West's single "Gold Digger" was at number one, making him the seventh artist to bookend the chart. The former marked a crossover success for West and Levine, and peaked at number 26 on the Hot 100. The song also reached the top 40 in Australia, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. It has been certified platinum in the US and the UK by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and British Phonographic Industry (BPI), respectively.
The song's first music video was directed by Joe DeMaio and Michel Gondry, who took two years to be persuaded by West to collaborate; it was filmed in October 2005 and aired in December. The visual was shot live-action, depicting West keeping watch of his children inside the Macy's Herald Square store as they play around. After West felt dissatisfied with the visual, he commissioned Bill Plympton to shoot an alternate video, which premiered in November 2005. The music video features extensive use of pencil-sketch animation and casts West as a taxicab driver picking up passengers in a fictional city, until a lit cigarette match starts a fire that kills him. The first video won Best Hip-Hop Video at the 2006 Music Video Production Awards, while the second one was very well-received by critics. West performed "Heard 'Em Say" at the Coachella and Global Gathering festivals in 2006 and 2008, respectively. A cover version of the song was performed for BBC Radio 1Xtra in March 2016 by G-Eazy, who censored certain lyrics.