Everything We Know About Kanye West's 'SWISH'

Image via Complex Original

Nov. '13: The seeds of SWISH were planted just a few months after Kanye released Yeezus. During a radio promo stop at Power 99's Rise N Grind Morning show in Philadelphia, he debunked Yeezus 2 album title rumors and talked about collecting ideas for a new project. You can catch his words at the 6:16 mark.

Dec. '13: Q-Tip revealed in an interview with Life + Times that he and legendary producer Rick Rubin were locked into helping Kanye on his new album.

June '14: Rick Rubin confirmed he would be working on the follow-up to Yeezus, a project he had a significant hand in creating with Kanye.

July '14: Kanye graced the cover of GQ and talked about working on new music, specifically "All Day," which he announced would be his next single. He even rapped a few bars from the track and also said he had a song chambered that could go off in the club like "Niggas in Paris."

Aug. '14: A Page Six report linked Kanye and Paul McCartney in the studio together. 

Sept. '14: Theophilus London mentioned in an Instagram post that Kanye played his album three times for a group of 20 people at a small gathering while out in Paris for Fashion Week. Theo also said he would be featured on an upcoming single from Kanye.

Dec. '14: In an interview with Rolling Stone, Seth Rogen shared a story about Kanye inviting the actor and his wife into a limo to hear new music from his upcoming album. However, instead of playing full tracks, Kanye rapped over instrumentals for two hours.

Later in December, Kanye would finally release "Only One," the first song intended for his new album.

Jan. '15: Kanye attended the iHeartMedia Music Summit in Burbank, Calif., where he played a new collaboration with Rihanna. A few days later, Rihanna released the song, "FourFiveSeconds," which also featured Paul McCartney. 

Feb. '15: Kanye offered up a special treat for fans at his Yeezy Season 1 show by sharing "Wolves," a gloomy collaboration with Sia and Vic Mensa. A week after this event, Kanye stopped by The Breakfast Club and revealed "Wolves" was inspired by conversations with Drake, whom he wanted to do a joint album with. He also estimated the project was 80 percent done. Then, while out in the UK, he debuted "All Day" with a memorable performance at the Brit Awards. 

March '15: Kanye unveiled the title of his new album, So Help Me God, along with what appeared to be the cover art on Twitter. A day later, he released the official audio for "All Day," and it featured the same artwork, which threw that initial theory out the window.

May '15: Two months after his So Help Me God album title announcement, Kanye took to Twitter once again and revealed his seventh solo release would now be called SWISH. "I might change it again but that’s the name now," he added. Based on his previous use of SWISH, the title was more than likely inspired by his wife Kim Kardashian.

Later in the month, Kanye and SWISH would be tied to an Apple Music exclusive release rumor that hit a dead-end in September.

Aug. '15: While out in Toronto, Kanye West played his new album "on repeat," according to Theophilus London. 

Sept. '15: Kanye debuted "Fade" featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Post Malone during his Yeezy Season 2 show. Later, in an interview with Vanity Fair, the rapper said SWISH could be a year out from release.

Oct. '15: Without any promotion, Kanye quietly uploaded two songs to his official SoundCloud page, one a revamped version of "Say You Will" off 808s & Heartbreak, the other a very Kanye rendition of the Weeknd's "Tell Your Friends." While the tracks weren't "new" from an Internet perspective, his SoundCloud account would become a new landing spot for Kanye to share upcoming releases.

Nov. '15: Kanye called into Real 92.3's Big Boy Neighborhood show in Los Angeles and updated fans on the status of SWISH. "It's like a sonic painting getting better every week," he said, and added that he was taking the album process slow.

Dec. '15: Pusha T, newly appointed G.O.O.D. Music president, offered an update of his own on Kanye's album. "Everything I’ve heard is phenomenal, and it has nothing to do with any of the other records that were released before," he told Rolling Stone.

Lamar Odom, former NBA star and Kanye's brother-in-law, who was then hospitalized, seemed to agree with Pusha's sentiment based on a message relayed from Kim on an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. "We did visit Lamar today, and we played him [Kanye's] new album, and when it was done I said, 'Did you like the music?' And he said, 'I loved it,'" Kim recounted.

Later in the month, Kanye tweeted he was finishing up SWISH and asked everyone to stop hitting him up for favors.

Jan. '16: Kim announced Kanye would be dropping a new song every Friday, and he delivered on that promise with "Real Friends" featuring Ty Dolla $ign along with a preview of "No More Parties in LA" featuring Kendrick Lamar. That same night, Kanye also revealed SWISH would be released on Feb. 11.

In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Khloe Kardashian talked about SWISH and said Kanye made it a point to bring her and the rest of the Kardashian and Jenner sisters in so they could listen and share their input on the album.

The Friday following the release of "Real Friends" didn't go as planned and Kim explained the delay behind Kanye's new song was because he had to fly out to Italy. Kanye would deliver "No More Parties in LA" featuring K.Dot a few days later.

“Only One”

The first official taste of music Kanye shared in the SWISH era was “Only One,” an ode to his daughter, North. It was released on New Year’s Eve 2014 and marked his first collaboration with Paul McCartney, who later revealed Kanye gained inspiration for the song from the Beatles’ “Let It Be.” While not credited, Ty Dolla $ign is also included on this heartwarming track.

“FourFiveSeconds”

Kanye, Rihanna, and McCartney released “FourFiveSeconds” a few weeks after “Only One” came out, and the stripped-down acoustic style delivered a nice change of pace from what fans were used to. Once again, Ty Dolla came through with uncredited vocals. At the time, it was announced “FourFiveSeconds” would be featured on both Kanye and Rihanna’s upcoming albums. The song made a little bit of history, too.

“Wolves”

During his Yeezy Season 1 show, Kanye debuted “Wolves,” a collaboration with Sia and fellow Chicago rapper Vic Mensa that featured production from Sinjin Hawke and Cashmere Cat. It was revealed at the time “Wolves” would be the intro track on his new album. A few days after, Kanye, Sia, and Vic performed it for the first time at SNL 40. An official version of the song has yet to be released, but at least this dude made “Let’s Do ‘Wolves’!” a thing.

“All Day”

“All Day” may not be the most successful single Kanye has released over the last year, but it’s arguably the most talked about. A leaked version hit the web several months before its official release, a rarity in Kanye’s world. Still, this built up anticipation for when “All Day” was debuted as a performance at the 2015 Brit Awards with Allan Kingdom and Theophilus London.

The official audio dropped a week later, and a quick look at the credits revealed nearly 20 people worked on “All Day.” The song received its own video, though it has yet to be properly released.

“I Feel Like That”

“I Feel Like That” was introduced in the Steve McQueen-directed video for “All Day” that was first played at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris and later at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Definitely has an interlude vibe to it.

“Fade”

In a similar approach to how he debuted “Wolves,” Kanye unveiled “Fade” featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Post Malone at his Yeezy Season 2 show. Kanye’s creative director, Virgil Abloh, played the record during a DJ set in London a few months after YS2.

“Facts”

For the second consecutive New Year’s Eve, Kanye released a new song before the ball dropped. “Facts” can pretty much be described as a diss record toward Nike over trap-infused production from Metro Boomin and Southside. This is probably a long shot to make SWISH, though we certainly appreciate the effort put forth.

“Real Friends”

A new round of weekly Friday song drops from Kanye kicked off this month with “Real Friends,” a somber collaboration with Ty Dolla $ign that’s about the lack of individuals the rapper can lean on in his life.

“No More Parties in LA”

"No More Parties in LA" was first previewed alongside the release of “Real Friends,” and while it didn’t come out on the following Friday as scheduled, Kanye still delivered the song in a semi-timely manner a few days after. “No More Parties in LA” marked Kanye’s first official collaboration with Kendrick Lamar. Interestingly enough, the song’s origin dates back to the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy days, when Kanye worked on it with legendary producer Madlib.

Paul McCartney: The legendary Beatles singer appeared on Kanye's "Only One" and a small part of "All Day." It's unclear if either song will make it onto the final version of SWISH. 

Kendrick Lamar: Kendrick received a credit on "All Day," and then he was a featured guest on "No More Parties in LA," which marked the first collaboration between the two rappers.

Ty Dolla $ign​: Kanye and Ty recorded a lot of music—as many as nine songs together—with "Only One," "FourFiveSeconds," "Real Friends," and "Guard Down" having been released thus far. Ty is also featured on "Fade," which hasn't dropped in full yet. 

Rihanna: Kanye and Rihanna have always worked closely together. 'Ye is executive producing her album, and it would be no surprise if she ended up on SWISH. 

Post Malone: Post is also a featured guest on "Fade," which Kanye debuted during the Yeezy Season 2 fashion show. 

Sia: Sia's vocals are used on the song "Wolves," which at one time Kanye said was the intro to his album. The song has yet to be released in full. 

Vic Mensa​: Chicago rapper Vic Mensa is also a featured guest on "Wolves," and he later linked with Kanye for his own single, "U Mad."

Allan Kingdom: Up-and-coming rapper Allan Kingdom was a surprise guest on Kanye's "All Day." He debuted the song with 'Ye during a live performance at the BRIT Awards last February. 

Travi$ Scott: Travi$ is a frequent collaborator with Kanye, though we've yet to hear what they've crafted together for SWISH. The Houston rapper and producer is sure to have a hand in the project, much like he did with 'Ye's last album, Yeezus. 

Madlib: Legendary producer Madlib produced "No More Parties in LA" with Kanye during the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy recording sessions. In 2010, Madlib told LA Weekly that he gave Kanye five beats, though it's unclear if any more collaborations will come from it. 

Metro Boomin: Kanye and Metro linked on his Nike diss song, "Facts," which marked their second collaboration together after "I Won." Metro is one of the hardest working producers in the game, so they could have more in the stash. 

Mike Dean: As Kanye's right-hand man, Mike Dean will be all over SWISH, just like every other Kanye West album. 

Boi-1da: One of Drake's go-to producers, Boi-1da, popped up in the credits for Kanye's "Real Friends," which means there could be more work on the way. 

Cashmere Cat: He was a co-producer behind the long-awaited song "Wolves," which has since found its way into Cashmere Cat's DJ set on tour. 

Sinjin Hawke: Also co-produced on "Wolves."

G.O.O.D Music: With a roster stacked like G.O.O.D Music, there's no telling what Kanye could cook up for SWISH. Pusha T, Big Sean, John Legend, CyHi da Prynce​, and more have all been seen in the studio with Kanye, so there's no telling what the team has in store. As new G.O.O.D Music President Pusha said, the album is "phenomenal." 

Drake: It's crazy to think that Drake and Kanye have never been on a song together with no other artists, but it feels like it may finally happen with SWISH. Not only does it seem that Drake and 'Ye are closer than ever right now, there have been some rumblings about a collab for quite some time. Of course, Kanye mentioned that they might even make a full album together, but one collaboration is a good start. 

Jay Z: It's been far too long since Jay and Kanye cooked up some magic, and with 'Ye back on his soulful kick with the new music, it only seems right to get a quick 16 from Hov. 

A$AP Rocky: Kanye and Rocky last connected on Pusha T's "M.P.A.," but they have since been spotted in the studio together. Do 'Ye and Rocky have some more fire lined up in the chamber? 

Makonnen: It's no secret that Kanye likes to go outside the box with his music, so it wasn't much of a surprise when Makonnen revealed last month that he's already recorded with 'Ye. What did the two cook up? That's anyone's guess. 

Young Thug: News of a Young Thug and Kanye West collaboration surfaced all the way back in 2014, though nothing has come of it as of now. Thugga and 'Ye are the perfect type of crazy to fit together on a song, so we can only hope that they're saving the new music for SWISH. 

King Louie: King Louie, who was a surprise guest on Yeezus, was spotted in the studio with Kanye almost a year ago. It's unclear what they worked on, but there would be no surprise if Louie made another appearance on a Kanye album. 

Justin Timberlake: Soon after Justin Timberlake and Kanye West squashed their beef over "Suit & Tie," rumors of a collaboration between the two began to spread. JT mentioned in an interview with Sway that nothing concrete was set up between them but that they could always toss around ideas. 

Rick Rubin: All the way back in 2013, there were rumors that Q-Tip and Rubin were executive producing Kanye West's next album. A lot happened between now and then, but in a 2014 interview, Rubin told Zane Lowe that he was indeed helping Kanye with an album. What was Rubin's role in SWISH? Hard to say right now. 

Justin Bieber: There was supposed to be some new Justin Bieber, Rick Rubin, and Kanye West on Bieber's new album, but that didn't happen for undisclosed reasons. It seems possible that whatever they worked on might just find a home on SWISH instead of fully going to waste. 

Bruno Mars: After Kanye apologized to Bruno for some prior hating, he revealed that he wanted to work on something for the future. 

Madonna: Back in March, Madonna told Complex that she wrote some songs with Kanye for his new album. As of now, it's unclear exactly what they worked on, but the potential of another Madonna and Kanye collaboration is just too much not to get excited about. 

Justin Vernon: Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon and Kanye West wowed fans with their classic work together on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, so the potential of a new collab is very exciting. And according to Kanye himself, the two have some new songs together, though they're not confirmed to be on SWISH at the moment. 

The Weeknd: The Weeknd and Kanye connected on "Tell Your Friends" off Abel's Beauty Behind the Madness album, but their work together may not have stopped there. As the Weeknd wrote on Twitter back in August, "So much more magic ahead." 

French Montana: Though French received a credit on "All Day," the veteran MC has said on multiple occasions that he has plenty of music with Kanye stashed away. While a new Kanye and Nas song will appear on French's new album, there's a chance that Kanye has something planned on his own.