Pure Souls Explained

Pure Souls
Type:song
Artist:Kanye West featuring Roddy Ricch and Shenseea
Album:Donda
Cover:Almost black square 020305.png
Recorded:May 25 – August 2021
Length:5:59
Label:
Producer:
  • Kanye West
  • BoogzDaBeast

"Pure Souls" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his tenth studio album, Donda (2021). The song features vocals from fellow American rapper Roddy Ricch and Jamaican singer Shenseea.

The song peaked at No. 52 on the Billboard Hot 100. It has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting sales of over 500,000 units in the United States.[1]

Background

In September 2020, West had a rant on his Twitter account where amongst posting his full recording contract with Universal, he posted a video of him urinating on one of his Grammy awards; captioning the post with "Trust me... I won't stop".[2] [3] Roddy Ricch, who is featured on the track, was nominated for six entries at the 2020 Grammy awards, but left the show empty handed. Roddy Ricch called out West in March 2021, believing that he disrespected the Grammys, saying "How do you think that makes the world look at my accomplishment?".[4] In an interview with Big Boy in June 2021, he stated that he had met up with West and recorded music together and that there was no disrespect towards him.[5] Roddy Ricch references the incident on the song, singing "They said I was mad at the Grammys, but I'm looking at my Grammy right now/Pulled up on Ye and said they don't understand me, I just want my dog to pipe down".[6]

The song was first previewed during a listening party at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on July 22, 2021.[6] At the August 5 listening party, West changed part of his verse, removing lines that alluded to his relationship with Barack Obama such as "44 telling me I'm still not folks".[7] At the August 26 listening party at Soldier Field, West added Jamaican singer Shenseea to the track. The collaboration came about after he had watched her freestyle at Hot 97 with Funkmaster Flex, which was uploaded on July 28, 2021.[8] At the listening event, Shenseea joined West on the stairs of his remade childhood home along with artists such as Travis Scott, Marilyn Manson and DaBaby.[9]

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[10]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2021)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Lithuania (AGATA)[11] 80
South Africa (TOSAC)[12] 26
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[13] 83
US Gospel Songs (Billboard)[14] 10

Year-end charts

Chart (2021)!scope="col"
Position
US Christian Songs (Billboard)[15] 47
US Gospel Songs (Billboard)[16] 14

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mallick . Dani . 2023-08-16 . Shenseea Earns Her First Gold Certification In The US . 2023-08-20 . DancehallMag . en-US.
  2. Web site: Kanye West Whizzing On His Own Grammy... Gets Twitter Time-out . TMZ . 30 November 2021 . 16 September 2020.
  3. Web site: Cordero . Rosy . Kanye West tweets pages from record contracts, video of Grammy in toilet . EW . 30 November 2021 . 16 September 2020.
  4. Web site: Saponara . Michael . Roddy Ricch Calls Out Kanye West For Pissing On His Grammy Award After Winless 2021 Showing . HipHopDX . 30 November 2021 . 16 March 2021.
  5. Web site: Eilbert . Mark . Roddy Ricch Clears Up Grammy Rant Directed At Kanye West . HipHopDX . 30 November 2021 . 10 June 2021.
  6. Web site: Robinson . Joshua . Roddy Ricch's Feature On "DONDA" Addresses His Past Frustrations With Kanye West . HotNewHipHop . 30 November 2021 . 23 July 2021.
  7. Web site: Rindner . Grant . 11 Ways Kanye West’s Donda Album Has Already Changed . GQ . 30 November 2021 . 9 August 2021.
  8. Web site: Lee . Sasha . Five Takeaways From Shenseea’s New Kanye West Features . Dancehall Mag . 30 November 2021 . 2 September 2021.
  9. Web site: Watkis . Donovan . Shenseea Joins Kanye West At Chicago ‘Donda’ Livestream Event . Dancehall Mag . 30 November 2021 . 27 August 2021.
  10. Web site: Donda Deluxe credits . Tidal . 30 November 2021.
  11. Web site: 2021 35-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100). Lithuanian. AGATA. September 3, 2021. December 20, 2021.
  12. Web site: Local & International Streaming Chart Top 100: 27/08/2021 to 02/09/2021. The Official South African Charts. June 1, 2024. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20210909213625/https://theofficialsacharts.co.za/charts/streaming-chart-20-08-2021-to-26-08-2021/. September 9, 2021.
  13. Web site: Veckolista Singlar, vecka 36. Sverigetopplistan. December 20, 2021.
  14. Web site: Kanye West Chart History (Hot Gospel Songs). Billboard. December 20, 2021.
  15. Web site: Hot Christian Songs – Year-End 2021. Billboard. December 20, 2021.
  16. Web site: Hot Gospel Songs – Year-End 2021. Billboard. December 20, 2021.