Who gon stop me in my moment

This song off 2011’s Watch The Throne is one of the more memorable from that album: a propulsive synth-driven beat meets some of the best lines on the album.

Allegedly, the beat bit Chiddy Bang’s “I Can’t Stop (Freestyle),” which originally a sample of the song “I Can’t Stop” by Flux Pavillion… but come on… the song was begging to be rapped over. You can’t call it plagiarism, dawg… it’s a sample. That Chiddy got pwned by Pitchfork and WTT ended up on their Best of 2011, well, that shows that execution is everything!

Fun Fact: This song was used in the 2013 movie, The Great Gatsby

Songfacts®:

• Production team The Jugganauts, who comprise R&B artist Verse Simmonds and Producer Sham "Sak Pase" Joseph, provided a tune heavily inspired by the UK style of electronic dance music called dubstep for this Watch The Throne track.

• Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in London, England in the late 1990s. Based on the drum 'n' bass and the two-step sound, dubstep tracks are driven by bass and sub-bass, typically around 140 beats per minute. They usually sound fairly dark, with lots of reverb added to create a sinister sound. Since 2010 artists such as Magnetic Man, Katy B and Chase & Status have been regular visitors to the higher end of the UK singles charts with dubstep tracks. Dubstep influenced tunes have also been recorded by various American artists such as Snoop Dogg ("Snoop Dogg Millionaire") and Britney Spears ("Hold It Against Me").

• The origins of the song lay in a call from Bu Thiam, Def Jam's VP of A&R, to submit tracks for Watch The Throne. Simmonds told MTV News he and his production partner immediately went to work. "What we did is, we locked in a week, we just went crazy on everything Jay and Kanye," he said. "I remember telling Sham, I was like, 'Yo, I think this dubstep stuff is going to be the next new flavor that everybody gotta be on. It gotta have a hip-hop feel to it still.'"

• Whilst Joseph made the beat, Simmonds wrote and referenced the chorus. The R&B singer-songwriter said he first imagined himself in Jay-Z and West's shoes. "When I recorded it, everybody was like, 'Yo, you sound just like Kanye, you sound just like Jay-Z,'" he remembered. "It's just crazy, because I felt like, at that moment in time, I was them. I got into that mode of: 'What would these guys say? How would they say it?' I think they heard it the first time and loved it."

• The two emcees spit their rhymes over a dubstep sample of Flux Pavillion's "I Can't Stop." Flux Pavilion, who is known to his mum as Joshua Steele, is an English dubstep producer and DJ and "I Can't Stop" can be found on his 2011 Circus #1 album.

• Verse Simmonds told The Boombox: "The whole concept [of 'Who Gon Stop Me'] was the space I was in at the time. I was like, 'Who gon' stop me?' Nothing gon' get in front of us and what we're doing. Let's get it!"

"Who Gon Stop Me" is a song by American hip hop recording artists Kanye West and Jay-Z, from their first collaborative album Watch the Throne (2011). The song is the ninth song on the official track list for the album.[1] Music critics praised the song.

The song samples dubstep producer Flux Pavilion's song "I Can't Stop" throughout. It charted in the United States, South Korea and Canada.

Composition[edit]

Co-writer Verse Simmonds claimed for "Who Gon Stop Me" to be influenced by the U.K. style of electronic dance music known as dubstep and recalled immediately going to work on it with Sham "Sak Pase" Joseph, who produced the song along with West and additional producer Mike Dean.[2] A sample of English dubstep producer Flux Pavilion's hit single "I Can't Stop", taken from his EP Lines in Wax and his mix album Circus One with Doctor P, is utilized for the hook and gnarled synths of the song.[3] In April 2012, Pavilion spoke of being sampled by West and Jay-Z as it being a powerful thing for not only being recognized outside his genre, but by superstars.[4]

In popular culture[edit]

Complex listed the track among their 25 pregame jams for NBA players.[5] The song was featured in the 2013 film The Great Gatsby.[6]

Critical reception[edit]

Several sources complimented West's vocals on the song.

"Who Gon Stop Me" received general acclaim from music critics. Spin gave the song a positive review and described the hook in the song "This is something like a holocaust / Millions of our people lost," by adding that "He's making the point that inner-city violence, by the dictionary definition of the word ("a mass slaughter of people"), is a holocaust, but is never framed as such".[7] Rolling Stone, similar to Spin, also stated that the song was an experimental track that featured a dubstep bass line and that it is flattering to West's vocal talents.[8] Billboard described "Who Gon Stop Me" by saying "The Throne throws the middle finger to haters and hardships of the past. "Til I die/ I'mma f***in ball," West raps. Perfect song for wildin'."[9] The Hollywood Reporter stated that the album also had a "dubstep-like" beat and described West and Jay-Z's verses by saying "It's unclear what Kanye's referring to by "our people." Jay-Z admits that he still likes Picasso, but now he also likes Rothko and Rilke. "[10] The Guardian described the song as using "Romping, ravey synths, a big stomp without much give."[11]

Commercial performance[edit]

Due to the hype around Watch the Throne, "Who Gon Stop Me" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 44, without actually being released as a single.[12] The reason for the song's relatively high debut on the Billboard Hot 100 is because of the song's high digital performance. On the week of August 27, 2011, "Who Gon Stop Me" debuted on the Billboard Digital Songs chart at number 19, which was the second highest debut of the week only under Drake's single "Headlines" and the song also debuted at number 6 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart.[13][14] In its second week on the Hot 100 it dropped to number 79, and by the third week it exited the chart entirely.[15] The song is the only non-single from Watch the Throne that managed to chart in the Top 50 on the Billboard Hot 100.[12] The song performed similarly in Canada, debuting at number 60 on the Canadian Hot 100 the week of the album's release.[16]

On April 10, 2015, the song was certified Gold in the US.[17]

Credits and personnel[edit]

• Produced by Sham "Sak Pase" Joseph and Kanye West
• Additional production by Mike Dean
• Recorded by Noah Goldstein at (The Mercer) Hotel, New York
• Mixed by Anthony Kilhoffer at (The Mercer) Hotel, New York
• Additional vocals: Mr Hudson

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^ "'Watch the Throne' Expanded Track Listing". The Comet. 2011-07-20. Archived from the original on 2011-12-24. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
2. ^ Rob Markman (2011-07-21). "Jay-Z, Kanye West Try Dubstep On Watch The Throne". MTV. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
3. ^ Al Horner (2016-08-14). "A guide to the samples on Jay Z and Kanye West's Watch The Throne". FACT Magazine. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
4. ^ Jake Paine (2012-04-19). "Flux Pavilion Speaks On His Role In Jay-Z & Kanye West's "I Can't Stop"". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
5. ^ Brandon Knight (2014-12-04). "25 Bangin' Pregame Jams for Your Favorite NBA Players". Complex. Retrieved 2018-12-22.
6. ^ "The Great Gatsby (2013) soundtracks". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
7. ^ "Track by Track: 'Watch the Throne' Pt. 2". SPIN.com. 2011-08-23. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
8. ^ Matthew Perpetua (2011-08-09). "Kanye West and Jay-Z's 'Watch the Throne': A Track-by-Track Breakdown | Music News". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
9. ^ "Jay-Z and Kanye West's 'Watch the Throne': Track-by-Track Review – The Juice". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
10. ^ "Jay-Z and Kanye West's 'Watch the Throne': Track-by-Track". The Hollywood Reporter. 2011-10-08. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
11. ^ Matos, Michaelangelo (2011-08-02). "Jay-Z and Kanye West: Watch the Throne – track-by-track review | Music | guardian.co.uk". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
12. ^ a b c "Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
13. ^ "Digital Songs Sales Chart – August 27, 2011". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
14. ^ a b "R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Songs Sales Chart – August 27, 2011". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
15. ^ "Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
16. ^ a b "Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
17. ^ "Gold & Platinum - Jay-Z & Kanye West - Who Gon Stop Me". RIAA. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
18. ^ "South Korea Gaon International Chart (Week: August 13, 2011 to August 20, 2011)". Gaon Chart. Archived from the original on November 5, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
19. ^ "Kanye West Chart History (Hot R&B Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
20. ^ "American single certifications – Jay-Z & Kanye West – Who Gon Stop Me". Recording Industry Association of America.