Made in America (Jay-Z and Kanye West song)
| "Made in America" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Jay Z and Kanye West featuring Frank Ocean | |
| from the album Watch the Throne | |
| Recorded | 2011 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 4:52 |
| Label | |
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| Producer(s) |
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"Made in America" is a song by American hip hop recording artists Kanye West and Jay Z, from their first collaborative album Watch the Throne. It is the eleventh track on the album and features vocals from OFWGKTA singer Frank Ocean. Lyrically, the song explores themes of family life and the American Dream. It expresses the hardships of youth and coming of age. The track received positive reviews from music critics who praised Ocean's vocal hook, and the subject matter of the verses. The song has been compared to "inspirational ballads of late-period Michael Jackson." The song charted on South Korea Gaon International Chart at number 178. Jay Z and West performed the song at their 2011 Watch the Throne Tour.
Jay Z and Kanye West are both American rappers who have collaborated on several tracks together. In 2010, they began production and recording on a collaborative record Watch the Throne. Frank Ocean is an R&B singer who released his debut mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra in early 2011 to critical acclaim. The release of the mixtape interested West, who was reported to be a big fan. West invited Ocean to write and sing on two of the songs from the record. Frank wrote and provided vocals on tracks "No Church in the Wild" and "Made in America" and the songs were recorded in New York.
The song has been described as an "understated soft-pop" track with influence from Michael Jackson and his 1985 charity single "We Are the World". Ocean's hook "pays tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King, Malcolm X, Betty Shabazz and, of course, the sweet baby Jesus on the album's most serene track." Rob Harvilla of Spin stated that "PBR&B prince Frank Ocean" sings on the "subdued but triumphant "Made in America" (wherein Jay wistfully recalls his grandma's banana pudding and Kanye complains about South Park). The song "invokes heroes of the civil rights movement" and reflects on how West and Jay have "seized what might be an American Dream."
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