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H.A.M.

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"H•A•M"
SinglebyJay-ZandKanye West
from the albumWatch the Throne
ReleasedJanuary 11, 2011(2011-01-11)
Recorded2010
Genre
Length4:38
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Jay-Zsingles chronology
"Monster"
(2010)
"H•A•M"
(2011)
"Otis"
(2011)
Kanye Westsingles chronology
"Christmas in Harlem"
(2010)
"H•A•M"
(2011)
"E.T."
(2011)

"H•A•M"is a song by American rappersJay-ZandKanye West.It was released as the first single from their collaborative studio albumWatch the Throneon January 11, 2011. It was produced by Lexus "Lex Luger" Lewis and Kanye West.[1]The song has served as the opening track to the duo'sWatch the Throne Tour.Various rap artists have remixed it, such asAce HoodandBusta Rhymes.The song was featured in the 2012 filmProject X.[2]It peaked at No. 23 onBillboard Hot 100.

Background

[edit]

Lex Lugertold Mixtape Daily how the song came about:

"H.A.M." really came about in New York City. Me and Kanye, we had did 'See Me Now.' I played him a lot of beats, but he liked the ones that I didn't expect him to like. I left, like, eight beats with him; he called me, like, two weeks later and he said he wanted, for sure, two. That was one of the ones.... I sent him the track out. He did what he did to it, still I didn't hear the song. I couldn't hear it until everyone else heard it. Working with Kanye was crazy. I can't really explain it. He's a perfectionist. He has to have everything perfect and out the ordinary, 10 times greater than everything. He's a crazy guy, but he's fire. "[3]

In an interview withHuffPostopera singer Aude Cardona explained how she came to be featured on the song, stating that she received a random call from West's manager, who told her that West needed an opera singer for his album with Jay-Z. Elsewhere, she said that she recorded in the Mercer Hotel for seven hours, and a lot of what she did was her own improvisation, as opposed to the male singer on the song.[4]

Reception

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Fellow rapper and producerSwizz Beatzcommented positively on the song, saying, "I think that those being both of my friends, and knowing that people can team up on such a high caliber level – as musicians, as rappers, as friends, as peers – I think it's super positive, and I think that if more of the industry did moves like this it would be a better place for everybody."[5]"H•A•M" received mixed reviews from critics. The song received a three out of five star review fromJody RosenofRolling Stone.[6]Kevin O'Donnell ofSpinpraised the song by saying, "Kanye's latest,My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,was the most epic album of 2010 – and the rapper's ambitions haven't eased up one bit here. The track morphs into the weirdest sounding opera ever, with a female singing window-shattering trills over a gospel piano progression and the song's hard-hitting beat. "[7]

In an interview with Miami radio station99 Jamz,Jay-Z spoke about the song;

"H.A.M." is super intense, you don't want to hear that every day. It's difficult to hear that. Inside a whole body work, it's different. Like when we perform "H.A.M." live it's a whole different experience, it reacts like it was this massive hit record. Because that's the setting or it. The setting for it is a concert, not inside your home. "[8]

Remixes

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Busta Rhymesmade a remix to the song.Roscoe Dashalso did a freestyle to it for the intro to his "Dash Effect" Mixtape.[9]Also freestyles have been made byLupe Fiasco,[10]Lil' Kim,[11]Chingy,40 Cal,Papoose,Emilio Rojas,Ace Hood,Lil Wyte(who renamed it "Porter House" ) andXV(who renamed the song "Heroes Amongst Men" ).[12]Odd FuturemembersTyler, The Creator,Earl Sweatshirt,andDomo Genesisalso remixed the song and freestyled it onHot 97.

Chart performance

[edit]

On January 19, 2011, "H•A•M" made its debut on the USBillboardHot 100at number 23 and on the USBillboardHot Digital Songsat number 10, with digital sales of 125,000 units.[13]

Credits and personnel

[edit]
  • Produced byLex Luger
  • Co-produced byKanye West
  • Additional production byMike Dean
  • Recorded by Noah Goldstein (assisted by Matt Arnold) atReal World Studiosand(The Mercer) Hotel
  • Mixed by Mike Dean at (The Mercer) Hotel
  • Cello: Christopher "Hitchcock" Chorney
  • Cello arrangement: Mike Dean
  • Additional vocals: Aude Cardona and Jacob Lewis Smith
  • Creative direction: Ricardo Tisci

Charts

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Weekly charts

[edit]
Chart (2011) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[14] 78
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[15] 56
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[16] 47
Denmark (Tracklisten)[17] 35
Ireland (IRMA)[18] 40
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[19] 53
Scotland(OCC)[20] 32
Russia (Tophit)[21] 292
South Korea International Singles (Gaon)[22] 7
UK Singles(OCC)[23] 30
USBillboardHot 100[24] 23
USHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs(Billboard)[25] 24
USHot Rap Songs(Billboard)[26] 14

Year-end charts

[edit]
Chart (2011) Position
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[27] 96

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[28] Gold 500,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Radio and release history

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Country Date Format Label Ref.
United States January 11, 2011 Digital download [29]
Ukraine January 12, 2011 Roc-A-Fella Records [30]
Australia January 17, 2011 Contemporary hit radio
[31]
Alternative radio
United States January 25, 2011 Urban contemporary radio Def Jam Recordings [32]

References

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  1. ^"Jay-Z & Kanye West. The letters H•A•M stand for Hard As a Motherfucker. – H.A.M."Real Talk NY. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-03-05.Retrieved2011-01-15.
  2. ^Kevin Jagernauth (3 March 2012)."Here's All The Music That Pumped Up 'Project X' Including The xx, Four Tet, Kanye West, LCD Soundsystem & More".Indie Wire.Archived fromthe originalon 5 January 2023.Retrieved20 November2019.
  3. ^Jayson Rodriguez (21 January 2011)."Jay-Z, Kanye West's 'HAM' Beatsmith Lex Luger Looks Ahead".MTV.Archived fromthe originalon 5 September 2018.Retrieved31 December2019.
  4. ^Amy Lee (19 August 2011)."'Watch The Throne' Does Opera: Meet Aude Cardona ".Huffington Post.Archived fromthe originalon 26 July 2016.Retrieved11 January2020.
  5. ^Mawuse Ziegbe (Jan 12, 2011)."Swizz Beatz Says Jay-Z And Kanye West's 'H.A.M. Is 'Super Positive'".MTV.Archived fromthe originalon January 15, 2011.
  6. ^Jody Rosen (January 11, 2011)."Kanye West and Jay-Z".Rolling Stone.Archived fromthe originalon April 5, 2018.
  7. ^O'Donnell, Kevin (January 11, 2011)."HEAR IT: Kanye and Jay-Z Leak First Collabo Song".Spin.
  8. ^Erika Ramirez (15 August 2011)."Jay-Z Talks 'Watch the Throne' & Calls Beyonce 'The Second Coming'".Billboard.Archivedfrom the original on 2 April 2016.Retrieved4 February2020.
  9. ^"New Music – HAM Busta Rhymes Remix".Rap Radar. January 18, 2011.
  10. ^"Audio: Lupe Fiasco – H.A.M. Freestyle (On Westwood)".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-07-23.Retrieved2011-02-17.
  11. ^"New Music – Lil Kim HAM Remix".Rap Radar. January 27, 2011.
  12. ^Langley, JT (Jan 27, 2011)."Listen Up:" H.A.M. (Heroes Amongst Men) "by XV".Ology. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-01-30.Retrieved2011-02-09.
  13. ^Trust, Gary (January 19, 2011)."Britney Spears' 'Hold It Against Me' Debuts Atop Hot 100".Billboard.
  14. ^"The ARIA Report: Issue 1091 (Week Commencing 24 January 2011)"(PDF).Australian Recording Industry Association.p. 2. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2011-01-20.RetrievedFebruary 6,2012.
  15. ^"Kanye West & Jay-Z – H•A•M – Austriancharts.at"(in German).Ö3 Austria Top 40.Hung Medien.RetrievedMay 20,2013.
  16. ^"Kanye West Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)".Billboard.Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  17. ^"danishcharts.dk – Kanye West & Jay-Z – H•A•M".Tracklisten.Hung Medien.RetrievedMay 20,2013.
  18. ^"Chart Track: Week 03, 2011 ".Irish Singles Chart.Retrieved 2011-01-21.
  19. ^"Dutchcharts.nl – Kanye West & Jay-Z – H•A•M"(in Dutch).Mega Single Top 100.Hung Medien.RetrievedMay 20,2013.
  20. ^"Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100".Official Charts Company.Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  21. ^"Kanye West & Jay-Z – H • A • M"(in Russian).Tophit.RetrievedJune 5,2019.
  22. ^"South Korea Gaon International Chart (2011.01.16 – 2011.01.22)".Gaon Chart.Archived fromthe originalon March 16, 2013.RetrievedMay 20,2013.
  23. ^"Official Singles Chart Top 100".Official Charts Company.Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  24. ^"Kanye West Chart History (Hot 100)".Billboard.Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  25. ^"Kanye West Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)".Billboard.Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  26. ^"Kanye West Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)".Billboard.Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  27. ^"R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - 2011 Year End Charts".Billboard.Retrieved2019-01-30.
  28. ^"American single certifications – Jay-Z & Kanye West – H A M".Recording Industry Association of America.
  29. ^"H•A•M – Single by Jay Z & Kanye West".iTunes Store.Apple.Archived fromthe originalon June 5, 2011.RetrievedMay 20,2013.
  30. ^"H•A•M (Edited Version) – Single by Jay Z & Kanye West".iTunes Store.Apple.RetrievedAugust 29,2013.
  31. ^"Kanye West & Jay-Z – H*A*M – Issue 819".The Music Network(819). Surry Hills. January 17, 2011.RetrievedMay 20,2013.
  32. ^"Urban/UAC Future Releases".All Access Music Group. Archived fromthe originalon January 25, 2011.RetrievedMay 20,2013.