Runaway (Kanye West song)

Production: revised production

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===Production=== ===Production=== When speaking with ''[[Complex Networks|Complex]]'', producer [[Emile Haynie]] recalled that the recording session took place late at night while he and West were hanging out. West asked if he had any beats, and Haynie began playing some for him. Haynie said he did not think he had anything strong at the time, given the high level of production on West's album. Although he had been focused on building songs from scratch, he decided to share some ideas and instrumental sketches with West when asked. When speaking with ''[[Complex Networks|Complex]]'', producer [[Emile Haynie]] recounted the recording session, "It was late one night, and we were hanging out, and Kanye asked me if I had any [[Beat (music)|beats]], and I started playing him some beats. Pretty low, no big deal, we were just chilling playing some beats. I didn't know if I had anything that great, because his album's production was coming out so fucking next level. I had some beats, but I was already in the process of working on songs from scratch, but I was like, 'Yeah I got some stuff, I'll play you some ideas.'" Haynie continued <blockquote>"I had a beat, and I played it, and it was the foundation of 'Runaway'. It was pretty different from the production now, but something about it, the chord progression or the way I put together the chords must've rung out to him. It was pretty amazing to watch. He heard the beat once, then asked the guy to play it one more time, and then was just like, 'Okay, put it in [[Pro Tools]].' And when he said that, the room was like, 'Oh shit.' Jeff Bhasker and Kanye West really went in on the production. I was upstairs doing [[Kid Cudi|Cudi]]'s [[Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager|thing]], and I just kept hearing the song just get better and better and better. Kanye is a super producer in the truest sense of the word. He turned it into the this epic song. He probably had listened to the beat for four minutes, and got in the booth, and almost verbatim to what's on the song today, just did it. I don't know if he wrote it in his head in those four minutes, but he just got in the booth and was like, 'Yeah I always find, yeah I always find somethin' wrong.' And almost the whole song just came out. Something about the chords and the way the music worked, I don't know, it just hit him and worked out perfectly. The lyrics and the concept were what they were, and that's when the Kanye West genius producer mode came in to play. He totally reproduced the record, and kept working on it and working on it, along with Jeff Bhasker, who played the piano line and played a lot of the keys on it. He's one of my favorite producers too. It's just a beautiful record. It's a masterpiece. He always is like, 'Thank you for 'Runaway'. Thank you for sparking that.' He's very cool about that. He's very appreciative. I'm like, 'Dude, you're the one who made it this amazing record! Thank you for making my beat, that was pretty good, into this amazing song! [Laughs].'"<ref name="emile">{{Cite web |title=Emile Tells All: The Stories Behind His Classic Records |url=https://www.complex.com/music/2011/10/emile-tells-all-the-stories-behind-his-classic-records/kanye-west-pusha-t-runaway |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231080422/https://www.complex.com/music/2011/10/emile-tells-all-the-stories-behind-his-classic-records/kanye-west-pusha-t-runaway |archive-date=December 31, 2021 |access-date=December 31, 2021 |website=[[Complex Networks]]}}</ref></blockquote>
Haynie further explained that the original beat he played became the foundation for "Runaway", though it sounded quite different from the final production. He said the chord progression and overall structure of the beat catched West's attention immediately. West listened to it once, asked to hear it again, and told Haynie to load it into [[Pro Tools]], a reaction the latter said made everyone in the room realize something significant was happening. He described how West and [[Jeff Bhasker]] heavily developed the production while he was working on ''[[Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager]]'' (2010) for [[Kid Cudi]] in the studio, noticing the steady evolvement of "Runaway". Haynie emphasized that West quickly transformed the idea after briefly hearing it, delivering vocal ideas almost immediately that closely resembled the final lyrics. He credited West's ability to reshape the song into a larger, more ambitious composition, with Bhasker contributing key piano and keyboard elements during the process. Haynie called the finished song a "masterpiece" and said West has since expressed gratitude for providing the initial spark, though Haynie himself credited West with turning the idea into a fully realized work.<ref name="emile">{{Cite web |title=Emile Tells All: The Stories Behind His Classic Records |url=https://www.complex.com/music/2011/10/emile-tells-all-the-stories-behind-his-classic-records/kanye-west-pusha-t-runaway |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231080422/https://www.complex.com/music/2011/10/emile-tells-all-the-stories-behind-his-classic-records/kanye-west-pusha-t-runaway |archive-date=December 31, 2021 |access-date=December 31, 2021 |website=[[Complex Networks]]}}</ref>

===Cover art=== ===Cover art=== The original cover art for "Runaway" is a photograph by contemporary visual artist [[George Condo]] of a ballerina.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Castina |date=October 21, 2010 |title=Kanye West "Runaway" Cover Art Unveiled |url=http://hiphop.popcrunch.com/kanye-west-runaway-cover-art-unveiled/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100929185126/http://hiphop.popcrunch.com/kanye-west-runaway-cover-art-unveiled/ |archive-date=September 29, 2010 |access-date=October 24, 2010 |publisher=Popcrunch}}</ref> Condo produced two different promotional artworks, and also produced the cover artwork for ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' and several of its singles.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kaufman |first=Gil |date=September 18, 2010 |title=Who Is Kanye West Cover Artist George Condo? |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1650244/20101018/west_kanye.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101020215032/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1650244/20101018/west_kanye.jhtml |archive-date=October 20, 2010 |access-date=October 24, 2010 |work=[[MTV News]]}}</ref> On October 1, 2010, West released a newer cover art for "Runaway" which is a painting also by Condo of a ballerina. On October 4, 2010, the song was released onto the [[iTunes Store]] as the album's second single.<ref name="iTunes">{{Cite web |title=Runaway (feat. Pusha T) - Single |url=https://itunes.apple.com/album/runaway-feat-pusha-t-single/id394911963 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110071408/https://itunes.apple.com/album/runaway-feat-pusha-t-single/id394911963 |archive-date=November 10, 2012 |access-date=October 24, 2010 |publisher=[[iTunes Store]]}}</ref> The website uses the original photograph cover art.<ref name="iTunes" /> The original cover art for "Runaway" is a photograph by contemporary visual artist [[George Condo]] of a ballerina.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Castina |date=October 21, 2010 |title=Kanye West "Runaway" Cover Art Unveiled |url=http://hiphop.popcrunch.com/kanye-west-runaway-cover-art-unveiled/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100929185126/http://hiphop.popcrunch.com/kanye-west-runaway-cover-art-unveiled/ |archive-date=September 29, 2010 |access-date=October 24, 2010 |publisher=Popcrunch}}</ref> Condo produced two different promotional artworks, and also produced the cover artwork for ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' and several of its singles.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kaufman |first=Gil |date=September 18, 2010 |title=Who Is Kanye West Cover Artist George Condo? |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1650244/20101018/west_kanye.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101020215032/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1650244/20101018/west_kanye.jhtml |archive-date=October 20, 2010 |access-date=October 24, 2010 |work=[[MTV News]]}}</ref> On October 1, 2010, West released a newer cover art for "Runaway" which is a painting also by Condo of a ballerina. On October 4, the song was released onto the [[iTunes Store]] as the album's second single,<ref name="iTunes">{{Cite web |title=Runaway (feat. Pusha T) - Single |url=https://itunes.apple.com/album/runaway-feat-pusha-t-single/id394911963 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110071408/https://itunes.apple.com/album/runaway-feat-pusha-t-single/id394911963 |archive-date=November 10, 2012 |access-date=October 24, 2010 |publisher=[[iTunes Store]]}}</ref> using the original photograph cover art.<ref name="iTunes" />

==Composition== ==Composition==