I Wonder (Kanye West song)

delivering a live gig at Madison Square Garden in 2005|left|272px|West set out to compose his version of "City of Blinding Lights" by U2 (pictured) after witnessing them perform it on their Vertigo Tour (2005–06). "I Wonder" was written and produced solely by West. The experimental production of the song created a sound different from that of West's past work, incorporating influences from rock and electronic music. After witnessing Irish rock band U2 perform "City of Blinding Lights" as he joined them on their Vertigo Tour from 2005 to 2006, he sought out to compose rap songs that could operate similarly in live venues. He set out to create his variation of the single with "I Wonder", focusing on delivering his message in a slower flow with few words and sloganeering to be chanted in unison. Having also been accompanied by the Rolling Stones on tour and inspired by both the touring acts, West found that complex lyrics did not consistently generate reactions. He jokingly said that "this 50-year-old white lady" would be waiting for the band to appear as he delivered his "super raps". Prior to the release of Graduation, West spoke of wanting to write songs that listeners could connect with. Throughout the album, West reconditioned his lines to be more simple, direct, and autobiographical in order to make them more accessible to listeners and appeal to the widest audience possible. The song's swelling, anthemic energy was the result of West's influences from the touring bands; West wished to attain a "stadium status" for his music. In a 2007 interview with Concrete Loop, West explained that he made a conscious effort not to overexert his rapping on Graduation, imparting that he felt he did so too often in the past. He instead "zoned out", entering the studio and feeling his words came from God as he focused on the beat of "I Wonder". ==Recording==

The song features a sample of the 1972 recording "My Song" by British singer Labi Siffre, which led to him receiving a songwriting credit. In an interview, West stated that one of his primary objectives on Graduation was for his drums to "bang harder in stadiums". The rhythm section of "I Wonder" is structured on a combination of West's drum kit and pounding breakbeats. West spent around 10 recording sessions working on the drum track across weeks. Speaking of the song retrospectively, fellow rapper Cyhi the Prynce described West as "very musical". The track's keyboards were played by West collaborator Jon Brion, who delivered a full string section. ==Composition and lyrics==

Musically, "I Wonder" is a hip hop and R&B ballad, The song contains a soulful, piano-led sample from "My Song" by Siffre. Vocals from the sample are used for the hook, posing the question: "And I wonder if you know what it means to find your dreams?" The sample is combined with razorblade crossover synths throughout, The orchestration consists of violin, viola, cello, bass, "I Wonder" features experimental production, with a stop-and-start arrangement accompanied by a melodic cadence and anthemic energy. Through sparse vocals and a staccato delivery, Momentarily, West stops rapping and allows the instrumentation to wander indistinctly. The song features a lengthy introduction, which includes twinkling keyboards. The beat crashes, dominated by the strings until the song's conclusion. On the contrary, West acknowledges that he has achieved his own dreams as he raps about becoming involved with the contents of a blouse. He touches on a difficult relationship in the first verse, utilizing a staggered delivery. On the third and final verse, West returns to his usual cadence once the relationship seemingly ends. He also offers a call-out to the women present, questioning how many have "no spouse" and rhyming the lyrics with "blouse." However, Greg Kot of Chicago Tribune detected that the song has undertones of self-doubt: "And I wonder if you know what it all means?" Jesal Padania for RapReviews declared that the song's lyricism loosely shows West's miscommunication with many people, while its "buzz-lines and Shakespearian open text" attract listeners: "Do you even remember what the issue is?" ==Release and promotion==

|West at the Methodist Central Hall, Westminster on August 20, 2007, where he first performed "I Wonder" in secret. "I Wonder" was first previewed when the digital radio station BBC Radio 1Xtra hosted an "Audience With Kanye West" event at the BBC Radio Music Theatre in London on August 13, 2007. West guided a specially selected audience through Graduation, playing the album on his MacBook Air laptop via a speaker system. West first performed "I Wonder" live during a secret show with Barbadian singer Rihanna at the Methodist Central Hall in the City of Westminster on August 20, 2007. The show was held to 500 fans and invited guests, who were mostly competition winners and music industry insiders. Initially, the guests were greeted with graduation outfits and Mortar Boards in reference to the album's title. He mentioned that the song served as his version of U2's "City of Blinding Lights" and how he simplified his lyrics to generate reactions from audiences. The rapper reportedly considered the track as an option for the record's fourth single following release, although he instead subsequently chose to release "Flashing Lights" in November 2007, another favorite that he saw as the album's "coolest" number. ==Reception==

in 2007|Numerous reviewers complimented West's vocals on the song, with the primary focus on his delivery and some also around his flow. "I Wonder" was met with widespread acclaim from contemporary music critics, many of whom lauded the composition. In 2017, CraveOnline ranked "I Wonder" as one of West's 15 best songs and the staff felt surprised in the level of inspiration and motivation from "such a chopped off, aggressive flow," assuring it would "give you goose bumps". Sharing similar sentiments, Pitchforks Mark Pytlik and AllMusic's Andy Kellman both cited the song as one of the immediate highlights of the third album, with both lauding the sample of "My Song". At Contactmusic.com, Ben Davis noted that the song allows the sample to "sound positively alien". Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Ann Powers was intrigued by West's performance, saying that he approaches the soulful sample "like a punching bag" and the staccato delivery undermines his "Don Juan come-ons". Calling "I Wonder" a "stomping synth-soul track", the Chicago Reader writer Miles Raymer voiced his appreciation for West's songwriting progression that he blends with the sample. Likewise, Rajveer Kathwadia for RWD Magazine chose it as his favorite track on the album and called West's musicality on the track the true measurement of his talent that takes center stage, as well as stating that he had improved as a rapper. He also believed that West's "disjointed flow" and sexual lyrics failed to match his production. In a negative review, Nick Marx from Tiny Mix Tapes offered that "critics of Kanye's staggered half-rhymes will find ample fodder here," while identifying the synths resembling the Neptunes as the lowest point. Jake Boyer of Highsnobiety declared West's showcases of his lyricism as failing to create "the memorable slow-ballad" that "I Wonder" heavily attempts to be, finalizing that "things just aren't clicking into place" with the track and faulting its placement on the album in between two of the strongest pop-leaning singles. On June 15, 2018, "I Wonder" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for reaching 500,000 certified units in the United States, becoming the first non-single from Graduation to receive a certification. The track later received a triple platinum certification from the RIAA for amassing 3,000,000 units in the US on December 4, 2023. On December 22, it was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shelving 400,000 units in the United Kingdom. Elsewhere in Europe, the track reached number 88 on the Lithuania Top 100 during 2023. ==Video clip==

Prior to the release of Graduation, a special video clip was created for the track. It was displayed for the first time during the album's session at the New World Stages on August 28, 2007. Lee was also the editor of the music video for "Flashing Lights" and was able to edit all seven clips in the span of three days. West presented his session inside the auditorium with a light show across a stage that featured theatrical smoke machines, laser beams, stage spotlights, and other special effects. ==Live performances==

2015|right|West performed "I Wonder" at the Glastonbury Festival, marking a rare song performance from him in 2015. West performed "I Wonder" twice at his Methodist Central Hall secret show in August 2007, sponsored by Vodafone and Sony Mobile's series of one-off gigs across the UK. The first performance opened the show and West arrived late, wearing grey tracksuit bottoms, a black jacket, sun shades, and white trainers. One of the initiatives funded by the concert was the Loops Dreams Teacher Training Institute, which encourages the incorporation of hip hop into the Chicago Public Schools curriculum. For the performance, West wore an untucked white shirt, a purple cardigan, jeans, and sun shades. West abruptly paused mid-performance after a minute and exited stage as he left his band there, returning three minutes later to perform a string of tracks from his first two studio albums. He eventually restarted "I Wonder" and played a few chords on an upright piano at one point, an arrangement that Kot considered to feel under-rehearsed and "not as fully realized as [the] recorded version." In the narrative, West appears as a traveler who crashes onto an unknown planet after talking with his robotic on-board computer, Jane. He then begins performing. The song was performed by West during his 90-minute headlining set for the annual dance music festival Global Gathering at Long Marston Airfield near Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, on July 25, 2008. West was accompanied by lighting and smoke effects, alongside backup singers. On October 20, 2013, West performed the song at the KeyArena for his kickoff show of The Yeezus Tour, although he stopped rapping a few times. West delivered a performance of "I Wonder" in a low tempo for his headlining set at the 2015 Glastonbury Festival, considered a rare song for him to perform at this time. On January 6, 2019, West's then-wife Kim Kardashian shared rehearsal footage of his gospel group the Sunday Service Choir performing the song to her Instagram Stories. Later that day, the group performed a rendition of the song as the fifth number of their first concert, beginning from around six minutes in. ==Appearances in media==

pictured in 2016|140px|GOOD Music signee Big Sean performed a cover of "I Wonder" for BBC Radio 1Xtra Live Lounge. A remix of "I Wonder" by Scottie B was included as the 18th track of Sky High, a mixtape consisting of remixes of tracks that West originally produced and that was compiled by DJ Benzi with the rapper's associate Plain Pat. The project was commissioned by West and his team in the lead-up to his fourth studio album 808s & Heartbreak, with each remix experiencing at least five reiterations before release. Most of the tracks were club-friendly, dance themed numbers. In October 2009, Nabil Elderkin published his book Glow in the Dark, which focuses on West's tour of the same name, with a bonus CD including a live instrumental of the track. Entertainer Donald Glover, under his stage name of Childish Gambino, interpolated "I Wonder" on the track "We Ain't Them" from his 2012 mixtape Royalty. On February 6, 2017, fellow rapper Big Sean, who was mentored and signed to GOOD Music by West, covered the song on BBC Radio 1Xtra's Live Lounge for the 10-year anniversary of Graduation and the lead-up to his fourth album, I Decided. Big Sean was backed by a live-band and appropriated certain lyrics for his life, including rapping that his name "would help light up the Detroit skyline". ==Legacy==

supporting Macklemore & Ryan Lewis at a concert in 2016|The song directly inspired Raury to pursue a career as a musician. "I Wonder" has become a cult classic amongst listeners. The musical composition has also left an impact on other recording artists and musicians. In a 2015 interview with The Guardian, while making a list of songs that influenced him most, singer-songwriter Raury described "I Wonder" as the song that helped him begin his career. Raury elaborated that Graduation was one of the first albums he ever purchased when forming an interest in music, despite not knowing who West was at the time. "I Wonder" inspired Raury to write his first verse to the song at 14 years old, which convinced Justice Baiden to be his manager as he continuously rapped over the instrument, with its impact remaining across his career. In a 2017 piece for the 10th anniversary of Graduation, Billboards Carl Lamarre acknowledged that West outselling fellow rapper 50 Cent's Curtis moved hip hop away from gangsta rap. Lamarre explained that West helped the genre shift towards vulnerability and experimentation, citing "I Wonder" as an example. Billboard spoke to rappers on the anniversary, including Kyle, who recalled that the song "put me in a vibe" that wasn't possible to replicate when heavily drunk. After Drake and West's benefit concert for Larry Hoover's jail funds in September 2022, the musician captioned an Instagram post with lyrics from the song. ==Credits and personnel==

Information taken from Graduation liner notes. Recording • Recorded at Henson Recording Studios (Hollywood, CA), Sony Music Studios (NYC) and The Record Plant (Hollywood) • Mixed at Legacy Recording Studios (NYC) Personnel • Kanye West songwriter, producer • Labi Siffre songwriter • Andrew Dawson recording, mix engineer • Greg Koller recording • Anthony Kilhoffer recording • Bram Tobey assistant mix engineer • Jason Agel assistant mix engineer • Nate Hertweck assistant mix engineer • Dale Parsons assistant mix engineer • Omar Edwards piano & synths • Jon Brion keyboards • Emma Kummrow violin • Igor Szwec violin • Gloria Justen violin • Olga Konopelsky violin • Luigi Mazzocchi violin • Charles Parker violin • Peter Nocella viola • Alexandra Leem viola • Jennie Lorenzo cello • Tim Ressler bass • Larry Gold string arranger, conductor ==Charts==