RZA stated that West embodied the mentality of the Wu-Tang Clan, and praised his skills as a producer. One of the reasons for Raekwon's desire to give West advice was because the frontman of the Wu-Tang Clan, RZA, spoke positively of West. According to the rapper, a lot of artists in the music industry refuse to be honest and give genuine advice because they don't want to help their competition, comparing the mentality to a group of crabs in a barrel. Raekwon initially had no interest in working with West musically, and originally only went to Hawaii to share some insight with him. It was announced that Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan would also be featured on the song, who West had invited to Hawaii. He just kind of told me what he was trying to say, I threw out some words, we rearranged words, and we came out with a bunch of different options before we come up with the hook." In an interview with MTV Cudi commented, "that's always our collab formula, and that's just how 'Gorgeous' came about. I was like, ‘Yeah, man, I want to get on this joint.’” Ĭudi commented that the way the song was recorded was similar to the way prior collaborations between the two were recorded West will bounce ideas off of other writers and gauge their reaction before going forward with any of his own ideas. I want to be on this.’ I came up to him, and I was like, ‘Man, are you working on this record? Are you working on this beat?’ He goes, ‘Yeah … do you got an idea for it?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I might.’ I didn’t. This is that 'This Can’t Be Life' Kanye beat. “Gorgeous was one of those records that, as soon as I heard the beat, I was like, ‘Man, this is the one. On the recording of the song, Cudi mused While a majority of the artists who worked on the album passed their time playing games of basketball, Cudi smoked marijuana and worked-out on a treadmill in preparation of the recording of his lines. He asked immediately to be featured on the track. One day when Cudi was hanging around the studio, he overheard the composition of "Gorgeous", which he was overwhelmed by. As a friend of West, Cudi was invited to Hawaii to listen to recording sessions of the album. The two had previously collaborated on West's fourth album 808s & Heartbreak, an album that served as a big influence on Cudi. The song features rapper and occasional singer Kid Cudi, a performer West once described as his favorite artist. Following several media controversies, West decided to record his next album in a reclusive manner only working with artists he considered himself familiar with. The majority of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was recorded in Oahu, Hawaii, including "Gorgeous". "Gorgeous" was also utilized in West's short film Runaway.Īccording to RZA, West embodied the mentality of the Wu-Tang Clan and advised Raekwon to collaborate with him. Cudi and West performed the song live at SXSW, and West performed the track at the Lollapalooza musical festival. Despite not being released as a single, the song appeared on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. Several critics cited West's verses as a highlight of the track, complimenting his lyricism and delivery.īefore its release, West premiered an a cappella version of the song in the form of a freestyle rap on Funkmaster Flex's Hot 97 radio show. "Gorgeous" received mostly positive reviews from music critics, who generally praised the intricacy of the production, the quality of the guest features and the rock music inspired aesthetic of the song. It contains elements of Enoch Light and the Glittering Guitars' cover version of The Turtles' song " You Showed Me". The song was written by West, Cudi, Raekwon, No I.D., Mike Dean and Rhymefest, and was produced by West, No I.D. The track features a hook provided by Kid Cudi, a recording artist formerly signed to West's label GOOD Music, and a rap verse provided by the Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon. " Gorgeous" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kanye West from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010).