New Slaves

"New Slaves" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his sixth studio album, Yeezus (2013). The song features additional vocals from Frank Ocean. It was produced by West and co-produced by Benjamin Bronfman, while Mike Dean, Noah Goldstein, Travis Scott, Sham Joseph, and Che Pope contributed additional production. West, Bronfman, and Dean co-wrote the song with Ocean, Cyhi the Prynce, Malik Yusef, Rhymefest, Elon Rutberg, Sakiya Sandifer, King Louie, and Anna Adamis, with Gábor Presser receiving credit due to a sample of his composition. In May 2013, the song was previewed by Hudson Mohawke at the Polish Free Form Festival and formally announced by Virgil Abloh. West debuted it with video projections of him rapping on buildings worldwide in locations like Los Angeles, London, and Amsterdam.

An industrial hip hop, political rap, and gothic rock song with electro and heavy metal elements, the production of "New Slaves" is minimalist and based on synths. The song samples "Gyöngyhajú lány" by Omega and "HBA War" by Dutch E Germ. Lyrically, West discusses racial politics as he connects black people's wealth classes to how consumerism holds them back. The song received widespread acclaim from music critics, who mostly highlighted West's lyrical message about racism. Some commended the style of the industrial production and saw it as an album highlight, while a few critics praised Ocean's contributions. The song was listed as one of the best tracks of 2013 by multiple publications, including Complex and Paste. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, it received a nomination for Best Rap Song.

In the United States, "New Slaves" reached number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. West first performed it live on Saturday Night Live in May 2013, backed by projections of his face and discount price tag images. Later that year, he performed the song during The Yeezus Tour (2013–14). West stated that its second verse was the best rap verse of all time in July 2013. Presser issued a lawsuit over the song's allegedly unauthorized sample of "Gyöngyhajú lány" in May 2016, accusing West of not having made a formal deal. The two reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement in March 2017, although it was reported that Presser had known of the sample prior to release. Hit-Boy re-worked the song on "New Chains" in July 2013, which was inspired by the freedom of James Somersett.