Top 5 Songs From Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Friday Series

Today was dominated by excitement for the return of G.O.O.D. Fridays, or at least, a new Kanye West song, per Kim Kardashian's tweet. She didn't say outright that the G.O.O.D. Friday series would be returning full force, but that's obviously what we gathered from it. Yeezy did not disappoint, coming through with "Real Friends/No More Parties In L.A.," featuring both Kendrick Lamar and Ty Dolla $ign, and reminding us all why we fuck with Ye so much-- he just tells it like it is. 

In addition to putting the new record on repeat, we returned to some of the classic G.O.O.D. Friday releases, song which likely defined your 2010 listening experience. It's safe to say the entire G.O.O.D. Friday series was absolute fire, and likely deserves a spot on this list, however we cut it down to our top five.

What was your favorite from the OG G.O.O.D. Fridays series?

G.O.O.D. Fridays were filled with big records— big in sound, and big in features. It was leading up to Ye’s self-proclaimed (and generally agreed upon by everyone) “perfect” album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and thus a lot of these G.O.O.D. Friday releases foreshadowed the sound that he implemented on MBDTF— and perhaps unsurprisingly, quite a few landed on the final album. “Monster” became most notable for Nicki Minaj’s verse— she was in the early stages of her career, still toying around with crazy alter egos and crazy flows. She’s toned things down as of late, but you can hear the hunger in her rhymes here. Even so, Ye came correct with his lines— often exaggerating and slurring his flow, sometimes not even bothering to finish a word completely. “Have you ever had sex with a pharaoh? / Put the pussy in a sarcophagus / Now she claiming that I bruised her esophagus / Head of the class and she just won a swallowship.” Gold.

Almost everything released during the first G.O.O.D. Fridays run contained the lavish, over-the-top production, sometimes a far cry from the soulful-sampled production that defined Kanye's come-up. Here we get orchestral-like production, with rich strings and a screeching sample, but overall, it's still more calm than its predecessor, “Monster.” Along with “Monster,” though, the song would end up in mastered-form on MBDTF. Kanye’s unique pronunciation of “fucking ridiculous” (which sounds more like “fuck-en rid-ek-u-less”) became one of the more unique factors of this record, while verses from then-new signees Pusha T and CyHi The Prynce introduced the rappers to a larger audience. While Pusha T has since grown into a fully-realized career on G.O.O.D. Music, CyHi The Prynce, unfortunately, seems to remain in the same spot he was during these releases. 

This is one that didn’t wind up on MBDTF, although it fits the scheme. The string-heavy beat is accompanied by Kid Cudi’s soulful-tinged hook, and a verse from Lloyd Banks acts a pleasant surprise. True to form, Kanye pulls a lot from pop culture in his verse, referencing famous girl after famous girl, and all the things he’d do to her. This record is the perfect combination of luxury and women— or rather, it's the exact point where luxury meets women. There’s this paradox in Cudder’s hook, in that, any of these men could have any chick they want, but for some reason they keep gravitating towards one lady in particular (and for whatever reason, there’s a reluctance there). As the song continues, the beat is stripped down to pair with Cudi’s verse, with hints of a rock influence (namely the electric guitar) towards the end. Who knew that Cudi would eventually dive head first into that rock influence?

There couldn’t be a list without this record. Another massive one, albeit with less features than most of the G.O.O.D. Friday releases. The record was first released as the lead single for MBDTF, and later, when the series was launched, it was remixed with appearances from Hov and Swizz. This record is uplifting, but there's this sense of urgency. A chorus of chanting and energetic clapping creates a tribal feel— it’s the kind of record that gets you in a mindset of productivity, it’ll get you on your feet and go do something with your life— start a business, go to school, or at least, stop smoking weed. Yup. I remember seeing Kanye perform this during a surprise appearance at Jay Z & Eminem’s “The Home & Home Tour” in 2010, and the response from the audience was insane, and that’s saying something, given how the line-up at that show.

This was one of the most oh-so-soulful records that made it into the G.O.O.D. Friday series, and later, was repurposed as a bonus track on Watch The Throne. It’s that classic Kanye shit, no frills, with assistance from Pete Rock. Whereas quite a few records that dropped on G.O.O.D. Fridays were fun-loving, banger-type records, “The Joy” is a smooth, laid-back offering-- despite soul defining this song, it still has a modern touch. Curtis Mayfield provides some additional vocals, and the sprinkling of background voices gives it a jazz house-feel. To quote Yeezus himself, "this beat deserves Hennessy, a bad bitch and a bag of weed; the Holy Trinity."