Champions (Paid in Full)

Last updated
"Champions"
Song by Dame Dash, Kanye West, Beanie Sigel, Cam'ron, Young Chris and Twista
from the album Paid in Full
Released November 26, 2002
Recorded 2001-2002
Genre Hip hop
Length6:12
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Dash
  • West

"Champions" is a collaborative song by hip hop artists Dame Dash, Kanye West, Beanie Sigel, Cam'ron, Young Chris and Twista. It is listed as the first track on the second disc of the Paid in Full soundtrack.

Contents

Background

On the original track list of West's debut studio album The College Dropout (2004), "Champions" was listed as a bonus track. [1] Throughout the entirety of the track, highly famous 1977 Queen single "We Are the Champions" is sampled and the exact same chorus is used. [2]

Commercial performance

In March 2003, around four months after the featuring soundtrack album had been released, the song peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart and spent a total of nine weeks on it. [3]

Legacy

When Complex listed the 77 best rock samples in rap history in October 2012, around ten years after "Champions" had been released, the Queen sample within it was placed at number 41. [4] Jesse of HipHopDX voiced the opinion towards West being one of the lead artists on 2016 GOOD Music single "Champions" that: 'It makes little sense for Kanye to title another song "Champions," especially one that can’t live up to the Queen sampled Roc-A-Fella posse cut or track two on Graduation.'. [5] In May 2018, Revolt listed the track as one of 6 songs that prove Queen and hip-hop are a match made in heaven. [6]

Charts

Chart (2003)Peak
position
US Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles ( Billboard ) [7] 9

References

  1. ↑ "Kanye's Early 'College Dropout' Tracklist Will Blow Your Mind". DJBooth. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Paid in Full/Dream Team". Billboard . Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Kanye West Champions Chart History". Billboard . Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  4. ↑ "The 77 Best Rock Samples in Rap History". Complex . Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Ranking The Verses on Kanye West's "Champions (Round and Round)"". HipHopDX . Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  6. ↑ "6 songs that prove Queen and hip-hop are a match made in heaven". REVOLT - UNAPOLOGETICALLY HIP HOP . Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Chart Search". Billboard . Retrieved June 24, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.