Kanye West is seen on February 12, 2017 in New York City.
Kanye West’s divisive new album Ye may be much shorter than his past records— and it may have had a far stranger rollout—but in one key aspect, it reflects West’s typical M.O.: get a whole bunch of talented people together in a room and see what happens. Below is an alphabetical list of all the people credited with making the record. Most participated directly, and some only via samples.
070 Shake
Role: Featured artist
Songs: “Ghost Town” and “Violent Crimes”
070 Shake is a young singer and rapper from New Jersey. She was discovered by YesJulz—really—and signed to G.O.O.D. Music in 2016. Her latest release is the EP Glitter.
James Mbarack Achieng
Role: Lyrics and composition
Song: “Yikes”
Achieng was a music teacher at the Kenya Conservatoire of music, and a member of Mbarak Achieng and the Black Savage Band, who first recorded the 1976 track “Kothboro,” sampled on “Yikes.” Achieng gets songwriting credit because he came up with the music. A different version of "Kothboro" by Ayub Ogada (see above) provides the melody.
Benny Blanco
Role: Lyrics and composition, producer
Songs: “I Thought About Killing You” (lyrics and composition); “Ghost Town” (producer)
Blanco is a pop producer and songwriter who got his first big break working alongside Dr. Luke on hits like “Teenage Dream” and “TiK ToK.” Since going it alone, he’s been involved with dozens of smash hits by Maroon 5, Ed Sheeran, and lots more. Also, Kanye West changed his life.
Blanco was so grateful for being a part of the record that he penned Kanye a long, heartfelt public thank you note.
Mike Dean
Role: Producer, lyrics and composition
Songs: “I Thought About Killing You,” “Yikes,” “No Mistakes,” “All Mine,” “Wouldn’t Leave,” “Ghost Town”
Dean has been involved in Kanye’s albums since Graduation. But long before he was a crucial part of Ye’s camp, he helped build the sound of Houston rap with his seminal 1990s work with Rap-A-Lot Records. He was the guiding musical force behind classics by the Odd Squad, 5th Ward Boyz, Scarface, and countless others.
Reverend W.A. Donaldson
Role: Lyrics and composition
Song: “Wouldn’t Leave”
Donaldson’s name that should be familiar to Ye obsessives. He presided over a spirited “Baptizing Scene” that was captured on folklorist Alan Lomax’s 1960 compilation Sounds of the South. It’s a favorite sample of Ye’s—it also appears on “Niggas in Paris.” Beyond that, not much is known about Donaldson.
Francis & The Lights/Francis Starlite
Role: Lyrics and composition, producer
Songs: “I Thought About Killing You” (lyrics and composition); “All Mine” (lyrics and composition, producer); “Ghost Town” (producer)
Signed to G.O.O.D. Music in 2017, Francis & The Lights are a pop group led by Francis Starlite. They’ve worked with Drake, Chance the Rapper, Frank Ocean, Ed Sheeran, and Cashmere Cat.
Edwin Hawkins
Role: Lyrics and composition
Song: “No Mistakes”
Hawkins, who died this past January, was a gospel musician best known for his Grammy-winning version of “Oh Happy Day” with the Edwin Hawkins Singers. His 1971 song “Children Get Together” is sampled.
Jeremih
Role: Featured artist
Song: “Wouldn’t Leave”
The R&B star Jeremih has long provided the soundtrack for Yeezy’s life, so it only makes sense he would show up on an album.
Kid Cudi
Role: Featured artist
Songs: “No Mistakes” and “Ghost Town”
Cudi, of course, has his own Kanye collab, the duo project Kids See Ghost, coming out in just a few days. You can catch up on the long, complicated relationship between Kid Cudi and Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Music here.
Shirley Ann Lee
Role: Lyrics and composition
Song: “Ghost Town”
Gospel singer Shirley Ann Lee’s “Someday” opens up “Ghost Town.” She was born in Toledo, Ohio and started singing gospel professionally while still an adolescent. Despite a long career, only six tracks, all on the Revival label, were released during her heyday. However, you can hear her in all her glory on a 2012 compilation.
Trade Martin
Role: Lyrics and composition
Song: “Ghost Town”
Martin is a NYC-based musician, songwriter, and producer who worked on everything from arranging for 1960s girl groups to composing film scores. In 2010, he had a brief moment of infamy when he wrote the Islamophobic rant “We’ve Got to Stop the Mosque at Ground Zero.” Martin wrote the song “Take Me for a Little While,” which is both sampled (in a version by rockers Vanilla Fudge) and interpolated (by Cudi) in “Ghost Town.”
Nicki Minaj
Role: Featured artist
Song: “Violent Crimes”
Nicki’s writing contribution can be heard in the form of a voicemail where she coaches Ye how to spit a lyric: “I want a daughter like Nicki—Aw man, I promise/I’m gonna turn her to a monster, but no ménages.” Her new album is (supposedly) coming August 10.
Ayub Ogada
Role: Lyrics and composition
Song: “Yikes”
Ogada is a Kenyan musician and actor who was discovered in the late 1980s busking in London. He sings and plays the nyatiti, an eight-string lute-like instrument. His version of “Kothboro,” from his 1993 debut album En Mana Kuoyo, also has elements that appear in “Yikes.” The popular song is on the soundtrack of the movie The Constant Gardener.
Partynextdoor
Role: Featured artist
Song: “Wouldn’t Leave”
Partynextdoor’s status as a Drake-affiliated artist hasn’t kept him from being a part of Ye. In fact, he’s been teasing this collaboration since summer 2017.
Che Pope
Role: Lyrics and composition, producer
Song: “No Mistakes”
Pope got his start producing alongside Wyclef Jean and the Fugees, and has been a key part of G.O.O.D. Music since 2012. He produced “Bound 2,” executive produced Cruel Summer, and co-EP’d Yeezus.
Slick Rick
Role: Lyrics and composition
Song: “No Mistakes”
Legendary rapper Slick Rick’s 1988 classic “Hey Young World” is sampled on “No Mistakes.” If you don’t know the album from which the track comes, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, please correct that forthwith.
Ty Dolla Sign
Role: Featured artist
Songs: “All Mine,” “Wouldn’t Leave,” “Violent Crimes”
If you’re reading Complex, you surely know who Ty is. The singer/songwriter/rapper/producer previously co-wrote Yeezy’s “Fade.”
Valee
Role: Featured artist
Song: “All Mine”
Valee is a 29-year-old new G.O.O.D. Music signee who, like West, is from Chicago.
Charlie Wilson
Role: Featured artist
Song: “No Mistakes”
The singer, pre-Kanye, was best known for providing lead vocals for the Gap Band. He has worked with Snoop Dogg since 1996, and was all over MBDTF and “Bound 2.”
