Back to Me (¥$ song)
{{Short description|2024 song by Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Back to Me
| type = song
| artist = ¥$ featuring Freddie Gibbs
| album = Vultures 1
| released = February 10, 2024
| recorded = 2023–2024
| genre =
| length = 4:55
| label = YZY
| writer = {{hlist|Ye|Tyrone Griffin, Jr.|Aswad Asif|Charles Njapa|Daniel Kin Chien|Frederick Tipton|James Hau|Nicholas Balding|Sasha Hashemi|Zachary Frenes}}
| producer = {{hlist|Ye|Ty Dolla Sign|88-Keys|AyoAA|Wax Motif}}
}}
"Back to Me" (stylized in uppercase) is a song by the American hip-hop supergroup ¥$, composed of rapper Kanye West and singer Ty Dolla Sign, featuring American rapper Freddie Gibbs. It was produced by the supergroup, alongside 88-Keys, AyoAA and Wax Motif, with additional writing by Nicholas Balding, Sasha Hashemi, and Zachary Frenes. The song contains samples of "Rock Box" by Run-DMC and the film Dogma (1999).
Composition
The song features a "crisp" drum break and "ethereal" vocal samples.{{cite web |last1=Nevares |first1=Gabriel Bras |title=Freddie Gibbs Praised By Fans For Kanye West & Ty Dolla Sign's "Vultures 1" Feature |url=https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/762595-freddie-gibbs-vultures-kanye-west-hip-hop-news |website=HotNewHipHop |access-date=22 February 2024 |date=February 10, 2024}} It additionally uses a sample and interpolation of the character Jay's lines from the film Dogma (1999): "I fell in love with you, we fell in love with you! Guys like us just don't fall out of the fucking sky, you know?" and "Beautiful, naked, big-titty womеn just don't fall out the sky, you know?"{{Cite magazine |last=Glaysher |first=Scott |date=February 11, 2024 |title=Kanye West Can't Shake Legacy Damage As 'Vultures 1' Struggles To Move The Needle |url=https://hiphopdx.com/reviews/kanye-west-ty-dolla-sign-vultures-1-album-review |access-date=February 22, 2024 |magazine=HipHopDX |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212093718/https://hiphopdx.com/reviews/kanye-west-ty-dolla-sign-vultures-1-album-review |archive-date=February 12, 2024 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |last1=A. |first1=Aron |title=Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign "Vultures 1" Review |url=https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/764147-kanye-west-ty-dolla-sign-vultures-1-review-hip-hop-news |website=HotNewHipHop |access-date=22 February 2024 |date=February 15, 2024}} Steven J. Horowitz of Variety stated that "The rolling drums and bleating bass line of 'Back to Me' recall the patter of 'Runaway{{'"}}.{{cite web |last1=Horowitz |first1=Steven J. |title=Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign's 'Vultures 1' Is a Musical Return to Form, but a Lyrical Minefield: Album Review |url=https://variety.com/2024/music/album-reviews/kanye-west-ty-dolla-signs-vultures-1-album-review-1235910248/ |website=Variety |access-date=22 February 2024 |date=February 14, 2024}}
Critical reception
The song received generally positive reviews, with particular praise towards Freddie Gibbs' performance. Gabriel Bras Nevares of HotNewHipHop described Gibbs in the song as "displaying why he's one of the best spitters in the game right now" and additionally remarked about the song: "Say what you will about Ye, his collaborators, and the ugly parts of this rollout, release, and platform, but talking strictly about the music, the effort here is undeniable." In a negative review of Vultures 1, Alexis Petridis of The Guardian stated that the standard of Kanye West's lyrics is "thrown into stark relief by a exceptionally snappy guest verse from Indiana MC Freddie Gibbs on Back to Me".{{Cite news |last=Petridis |first=Alexis |author-link=Alexis Petridis |date=February 12, 2024 |title=Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign: Vultures 1 review – weak lyrics from a witless edgelord |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/feb/12/kanye-west-ty-dolla-ign-vultures-1-review-weak-lyrics-from-a-witless-edgelord |access-date=February 22, 2024 |newspaper=The Guardian |language=en-GB}} Jayson Buford of Rolling Stone commented, "Freddie Gibbs, another eccentric loudmouth, shows up on 'Back to Me' and although the production on that song sounds like the ending to an HBO series, Gibbs's verse is strong."{{cite magazine|last=Buford|first=Jayson|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/kanye-vultures-review-1234967380/|title=With Vultures, Kanye Is Back at Square One|magazine=Rolling Stone|url-access=limited|date=February 13, 2024|access-date=February 22, 2024}} HotNewHipHop{{'}}s Aron A. wrote that "Freddie Gibbs delivers the verse of the album, if not the year so far on 'Back To Me.' He swiftly turns Ye's cheeky interpolation of Jay's 'beautiful big t*tty women just don't fall out the sky you know' into a katana-sharp verse that's equally playful and gruff with bars like, 'Turn a bird bitch to my X like I was Elon.'" AllMusic's Fred Thomas commented, "A robust verse from Freddie Gibbs comes close to salvaging the otherwise uncalled-for filler of 'Back to Me'".{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Fred |date=February 10, 2024 |title=Ty Dolla $ign / Kanye West / ¥$ – Vultures 1 Album Reviews, Songs & More |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/vultures-1-mw0004167494 |access-date=February 22, 2024 |publisher=AllMusic |language=en}} Reviewing Vultures 1 for HipHopDX, Scott Glaysher commented the song is "where things get a little strange, not necessarily for Kanye, but by listeners' standards" and in regard to the use of the line from Dogma, "Ye and Ty Dolla's creative output gets a little mundane when they simply repeat the actor's soundbite with some programmed drums underneath." He described Freddie Gibbs' verse as "fierce, the sheer energy".
Charts
References
{{Reflist}}{{¥$}}{{Kanye West songs}}
{{Ty Dolla Sign}}
{{Freddie Gibbs}}
Category:Song recordings produced by Kanye West
Category:Song recordings produced by Digital Nas
Category:Song recordings produced by Mike Dean (record producer)
Category:Songs written by Kanye West
Category:Songs written by Ty Dolla Sign
Category:Songs written by 88-Keys
Category:Songs written by Digital Nas