Champions (Paid in Full song)
{{Short description|2002 song by several hip hop artists}}
{{Hatnote|Not to be confused with "Champion", another Kanye West song, from the album Graduation (2007), or "Champions", a song by West's label GOOD Music.}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Champions (Paid in Full song)}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Champions
| cover =
| alt =
| type =
| artist = Damon Dash, Kanye West, Beanie Sigel, Cam'ron, Young Chris and Twista
| album = Paid In Full/Dream Team and The College Dropout (intended)
| released = November 26, 2002
| format =
| recorded = 2002
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = {{hlist|East Coast hip-hop|chipmunk soul}}
| length = 6:12
| label = {{hlist|Roc-A-Fella|Def Jam}}
| writer = {{hlist|Dame Dash|Kanye West|Dwight Grant|Cameron Giles|Christopher Ries|Carl Mitchell}}
| producer = {{hlist|Dash|West}}
}}
"Champions" is a collaborative song by hip hop artists Damon 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. The song includes a sped-up sample of "We Are the Champions" by Queen. It was originally scheduled to be a bonus track on West's album The College Dropout (2004).
Background and composition
On the original track listing of West's debut studio album The College Dropout (2004), "Champions" was listed as a bonus track.{{cite web|last1=Garrison|first1=Lucas|url=https://djbooth.net/features/2016-01-25-kanye-west-college-dropout-early-tracklist|title=Kanye's Early 'College Dropout' Tracklist Will Blow Your Mind|website=DJBooth|date=January 25, 2016|access-date=October 12, 2018}} Dash introduces West's verse with the line: "I bet niggas didn't know you could rap huh?" because back in 2002, when the soundtrack album was released, West was only recognized for his talent as a producer and not viewed as a credible rapper.{{cite web|last1=Ahmed|first1=Insanul|url=https://www.complex.com/music/2014/02/kanye-west-college-dropout-making-of/|title=The Making of Kanye West's "The College Dropout"|website=Complex|date=February 10, 2014|access-date=December 12, 2018}} Throughout the entirety of the track, a sped up sample of highly famous 1977 Queen single "We Are the Champions" is used and the rappers state themselves as being of importance.{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/73297/paid-in-fulldream-team|title=Paid in Full/Dream Team|website=Billboard|date=December 7, 2002|access-date=October 12, 2018}}{{cite web|last1=Crawford|first=Byron|url=https://medium.com/@byroncrawford/dame-dash-owes-everyone-money-e7add9f4ba04|title=Dame Dash Owes Everyone Money – Byron Crawford|website=Medium|date=September 10, 2014|access-date=December 17, 2018}} Dash revealed that he asked West to flip the track's beat after Just Blaze wouldn't do so and West reacted quickly to this, which gathered the approval of Dash.
Critical reception
Billboard viewed the track as being one of the Paid in Full soundtrack's highlights. Its presence on the soundtrack album was looked at by Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic as being one of "some promising ideas here" and an example of where "some of the beats are on point".{{cite web|last1=Birchmeier|first1=Jason|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/paid-in-full-universal-soundtrack-mw0000224448|title=Paid in Full [Universal] [Soundtrack] - Original Soundtrack|website=AllMusic|access-date=December 17, 2018}} 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."{{cite web|url=https://hiphopdx.com/editorials/id.3343/title.do-rappers-still-compete-for-the-best-verse-exhibit-a-kanye-wests-champions|title=Ranking The Verses on Kanye West's "Champions (Round and Round)"|website=HipHopDX|date=June 9, 2016|access-date=October 23, 2018}}
Commercial performance
In March 2003, around four months after the 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/Kanye-West/chart-history/bubbling-under-r-b-hip-hop-songs/song/429503|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903154131/https://www.billboard.com/music/Kanye-West/chart-history/bubbling-under-r-b-hip-hop-songs/song/429503|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 3, 2018|title=Kanye West Champions Chart History|work=Billboard|access-date=September 3, 2018}}
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (2003)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| scope="row"| US Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles (Billboard){{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/Kanye-West/chart-history/bubbling-under-r-b-hip-hop-songs|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827223243/https://www.billboard.com/music/Kanye-West/chart-history/bubbling-under-r-b-hip-hop-songs|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 27, 2018|title=Kanye West Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)|work=Billboard|access-date=December 12, 2018}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 9 |
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Kanye West songs}}
{{Beanie Sigel}}
{{Cam'ron}}
{{Twista}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Song recordings produced by Kanye West
Category:Songs written by Beanie Sigel
Category:Songs written by Cam'ron
Category:Songs written by Kanye West
Category:Songs written by Twista