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"God Breathed"
"God Breathed"
Song by Kanye West
from the album Donda
Released	August 29, 2021
Genre	Hip hop; gospel;
Length	5:33
Label	GOOD; Def Jam;
Songwriter(s)	Kanye West; Tavoris Hollins, Jr.; Evan Mast; Mark Williams; Raul Cubina; Aaron Butts; Federico Vindver; Brian Miller; Richard McGuire; Malik Yusef; Dennis Young; Salvatore Principato; Scott Hartley;
Producer(s)	Kanye West; E*vax; Ojivolta; Arrow; Vindver; Allday;

"God Breathed" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, released on his tenth studio album Donda on August 29, 2021. The song features vocals from American rapper Vory.

Background and recording

The background vocals on the track are solely performed by baritone singer Justin Austin. West had invited the singer to recording sessions for Donda in Mexico, but was unable to make it due to singing Le roi Arthus (King Arthur) at Bard SummerScape,^[1] an eight-week opera festival held during the months June to August. Instead of going to Mexico, they figured out a way to record remotely. For the song, West requested "primitive music" and "Gothic chords" from the singer, which he recalled that he was "shredding my voice, trying to get the right sound".^[1] Austin recorded for "a bunch of different songs", with only "God Breathed" being used for the album.^[1] Recording engineer Josh Berg recalled that the song originally came out of "thin air", with the song originally just being "hand on the table or his chair and just singing the song", recalling many iterations until the song found its home with the choir.^[1] The track title was first revealed on an early track listing posted by West to Twitter on July 21, 2020, as "I Know God Breathed on This".^[2]

American rapper Vory, who features on the track, talked about working with West in an interview with XXL. Vory mentioned the faith the rapper has put in him musically, explaining that they are understanding of one another while saying their "vibe is crazy". Vory detailed that even West's childhood friends recognize the vibe, saying of them collaborating, "You would think y'all have known each other for years.".^[3] He also stated that West advised him to gain a proper fanbase by putting careful thought into creating a discography, rather than gathering popularity via gimmicks or internet skills, recalling that West said "Bro, it's more powerful that way. You're gaining a real fan base that way".^[3] In another interview with GQ, Vory called the relationship mutually beneficial, stating "Ye can understand where I can fix certain things. I can understand where he should take other things".^[4] Vory was originally set to feature for five songs on Donda, but when the track listing for the album was being finalized they picked the strongest three as Vory recalled West saying "Wait, man. This is crazy. We got a mini-EP on my album already!".^[4] On the album, alongside "God Breathed", Vory features on "No Child Left Behind" and "Jonah".^[4]

Composition

The track has been compared to West's 2013 album Yeezus with "chopped up screams", "eardrum-rattling bass", industrial noise, and melancholic gospel vocals throughout the track.^[5]^[6]

It samples the track "Bellhead" by Liquid Liquid.^[7]

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.^[8]

Aaron "Arrow" Sunday - production, songwriter
E*vax - production, songwriter
Kanye West - production, songwriter
Raul Cubina - production, songwriter^[a]
Mark Williams - production, songwriter^[a]
Allday - co-production, songwriter
Federico Vindver - co-production, songwriter
Tavoris Javon Hollins - featured vocals, songwriter
Justin Austin - additional vocals
Malik Yusef - songwriter
Dennis Young - songwriter ^[b]
Salvator Principato - songwriter ^[b]
Richard McGuire - songwriter ^[b]
Scott Hartley - songwriter ^[b]
Irko - mixing, mastering
Mike Dean - mixing
Stef Moro - mix assistance
Alejandro Rodriguez-Dawsøn - recording
Chris Connors - recording
Enzo Rarri - recording
Jeff Ryon - recording
Josh Berg - recording
Mikalai Skrobat - recording
Randy Urbanski - recording
Roark Bailey - recording
Shane Fitzgibbon - recording
Chris Connors - vocal editing
Louis Bell - vocal editing
Todd Bergman - vocal editing
Will Heaky - vocal editing

Charts

Chart performance for "God Breathed"
Chart (2021)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)^[9]	20
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)^[10]	33
Denmark (Tracklisten)^[11]	40
France (SNEP)^[12]	91
Global 200 (Billboard)^[13]	28
Italy (FIMI)^[14]	87
South Africa (TOSAC)^[15]	11
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[16]	59
US Billboard Hot 100^[17]	30
US Christian Songs (Billboard)^[18]	11
US Gospel Songs (Billboard)^[19]	11
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)^[20]	17
US Rolling Stone Top 100^[21]	14