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The second single from Watch the Throne, “Otis” has Yeezus flipping a portion of a classic Otis Redding track into an entire instrumental. He formed the track after his mentor No I.D. presented him with a producing challenge.
West incorporates a slowed-down refrain from Redding’s infamous “Try a Li...
[Produced by Kanye West]
[Intro: Otis Redding & JAY-Z]
It makes it easier, easier to bear
You won't regret it, no, no, no
Some girls, they don't forget it
Love is their only happiness
Squee'— Squee'— Squee'—
(Sounds so soulful, don't you agree?)
Squeeze her, don't tease her, never leave her
[Verse 1: JAY-Z]
Uh, I invented swag
Poppin' bottles, puttin' supermodels in the cab
Proof
I guess I got my swagger back, truth
New watch alert, Hublots
Or the big-face Rollie, I got two of those
Arm out the window, through the city, I maneuver slow
Cock back, snapback, see my cut through the holes, Hov
[Verse 2: Kanye West]
Damn, Yeezy and Hov, where the hell you been?
Niggas talking real reckless, stuntmen
I adopted these niggas, Phillip Drummond them
Now I'm 'bout to make 'em tuck they whole summer in
They say I'm crazy, well, I'm 'bout to go dumb again
They ain't seen me 'cause I pulled up in my other Benz
Last week, I was in my other, other Benz
Throw your diamonds up 'cause we in this bitch another 'gain
[Verse 3: JAY-Z]
Photoshoot fresh, looking like wealth
I'm 'bout to call the paparazzi on myself
Uh, live from the Mercer
Run up on Yeezy the wrong way, I might murk ya
Flee in the G450, I might surface
Political refugee, asylum can be purchased
Uh, everything's for sale
I got five passports, I'm never going to jail
[Verse 4: Kanye West]
I made "Jesus Walks," I'm never going to hell
Couture-level flow is never going on sale
Luxury rap, the Hermès of verses
Sophisticated ignorance, write my curses in cursive
I get it custom, you a customer
You ain't accustomed to going through customs, you ain't been nowhere, hah?
And all the ladies in the house got 'em showing off
I'm done, I'll hit you up maña— nah
[Verse 5: JAY-Z]
Welcome to Havana
Smoking Cubanos with Castro in cabanas
Viva México, Cubano
Dominicano, all the plugs that I know
Driving Benzes with no benefits
Not bad, huh, for some immigrants?
Build your fences, we diggin' tunnels
Can't you see we gettin' money up under you?
[Verse 6: Kanye West, Jay-Z & Both]
Can't you see the private jets flying over you?
Maybach bumper sticker read, "What would Hova do?"
Jay is chillin' (Uh), Ye is chillin' (Uh)
What more can I say? We killin' 'em
Hold up before we end this campaign
As you can see, we done bodied the damn lames
Lord, please let them accept the things they can't change
And pray that all of they pain be champagne
[Outro]
Scream it
Give it
Scream it
Otis was written by JAY-Z & Kanye West & Otis Redding & James Brown & Roy C & Kirk Robinson & Reginald Connelly & Harry Woods & Joseph Roach & James Campbell.
Otis was produced by Kanye West.
JAY-Z & Kanye West released Otis on Wed Jul 20 2011.
Yes, and it is as dope as the track itself. Check it:
Bu Thiam, Def Jam Vice-President of A&R at the time, was with Hov and Yeezy throughout the album’s recording process and saw how the duo came up with several of the Watch the Throne tracks. Here he recalls the story of the origin of the now-classic “Otis,” recorded in June 2011:
[Kanye] was lat...
Redding’s daughter, Karla Redding-Andrews, gave them permission and cleared the sample:
We just wanted to make sure lyrics and references in the song worked with the legacy of my father. To have two current, legendary artists use the legendary music of Otis Redding – we were quite honored.
Karla h...
The cover art for “Otis” was designed by Italian fashion designer Riccardo Tisci, who is the creative director of Givenchy. He had previously produced the artwork for “H-A-M,” and would go on to design the Watch the Throne album cover and the album’s tour merchandise.
“Otis” was certified 3x platinum by the RIAA on May 24, 2022.
The song peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the week of August 12, 2011. It charted for a total of 20 weeks.