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Who Gon Stop Me

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"Who Gon Stop Me"
Song by Jay-Z and Kanye West
from the album Watch the Throne
ReleasedAugust 8, 2011
Genre
Length4:17
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Sham "Sak Pase" Joseph
  • West
  • Dean (add.)

"Who Gon Stop Me" is a song by American hip hop recording artists Jay-Z and Kanye West, from their collaborative studio album, Watch the Throne (2011). The song is the ninth song on the official track list for the album.[1] Music critics praised the song.

The song samples dubstep producer Flux Pavilion's song "I Can't Stop" throughout. It charted in the United States, South Korea and Canada.

Background and composition

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Jay-Z and West are both American rappers who have collaborated on several tracks together, such as the singles "Swagga Like Us" (2008), "Run This Town" (2009), and "Monster" (2010).[2][3] In 2010, the rappers began production and recording together for a collaborative record titled Watch the Throne.[3] In July 2011, Puerto Rican rapper Verse Simmonds said that he started working with his production partner Sham "Sak Pase" Joseph immediately on Watch the Throne after being recruited by Def Jam's artists and repertoire Vice President Bu Thiam. The duo dedicated a week to recording with influence taken from British electronic dance music for "Who Gon Stop Me" and Simmonds felt that their dubstep work would become "the next new flavor that everybody gotta be on", while maintaining a hip hop feel.[4] Joseph and Simmonds came up with the song's lyrical concept after they started its creation; the beat was crafted by the producer and the rapper wrote the chorus. Simmonds placed himself in the mindset of Jay-Z and West to write the hook, apparently receiving comparisons to how the rappers sound when he recorded his reference track.[4]

"Who Gon Stop Me" was produced by Joseph with West, while Mike Dean contributed additional production. The producers co-wrote the song with Jay-Z, Simmonds, and Joshua Kierkegaard.[5] In March 2012, English dubstep producer Flux Pavilion told HipHopDX that he was not able to truly identify the feeling of being recognized outside of his genre, particularly by artists of Jay-Z and West's fame, after the song's sample of "I Can't Stop". Flux Pavilion saw the recognition as "absolutely magical" after he crafted the beat in his bedroom and questioned if the rappers were aware of this, feeling happiness about "I Can't Stop" as one of his favourite recordings despite doubting just how good it was.[6] The producer appreciated "Who Gon Stop Me" for differentiating from his recording and believed it would not be Jay-Z and West's track if they had only rapped over his beat, instead of adding their own work.[6] A sample of Pavilion's "I Can't Stop", taken from his EP Lines in Wax and his mix album Circus One with Doctor P, is utilized for the hook and gnarled synths of the song.[7]

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Complex listed the track among their 25 pregame jams for NBA players.[8] The song was featured in the 2013 film The Great Gatsby.[9]

Critical reception

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Several sources complimented West's vocals on the song.

"Who Gon Stop Me" received general acclaim from music critics. Spin gave the song a positive review and described the hook in the song "This is something like a holocaust / Millions of our people lost," by adding that "He's making the point that inner-city violence, by the dictionary definition of the word ("a mass slaughter of people"), is a holocaust, but is never framed as such".[10] Rolling Stone, similar to Spin, also stated that the song was an experimental track that featured a dubstep bass line and that it is flattering to West's vocal talents.[11] Billboard described "Who Gon Stop Me" by saying "The Throne throws the middle finger to haters and hardships of the past. "Til I die/ I'mma f***in ball," West raps. Perfect song for wildin'."[12] The Hollywood Reporter stated that the album also had a "dubstep-like" beat and described West and Jay-Z's verses by saying "It's unclear what Kanye's referring to by "our people." Jay-Z admits that he still likes Picasso, but now he also likes Rothko and Rilke. "[13] The Guardian described the song as using "Romping, ravey synths, a big stomp without much give."[14]

Commercial performance

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Due to the hype around Watch the Throne, "Who Gon Stop Me" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 44, without actually being released as a single.[15] The reason for the song's relatively high debut on the Billboard Hot 100 is because of the song's high digital performance. On the week of August 27, 2011, "Who Gon Stop Me" debuted on the Billboard Digital Songs chart at number 19, which was the second highest debut of the week only under Drake's single "Headlines" and the song also debuted at number 6 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart.[16][17] In its second week on the Hot 100 it dropped to number 79, and by the third week it exited the chart entirely.[18] The song is the only non-single from Watch the Throne that managed to chart in the Top 50 on the Billboard Hot 100.[15] The song performed similarly in Canada, debuting at number 60 on the Canadian Hot 100 the week of the album's release.[19]

On April 10, 2015, the song was certified Gold in the US.[20]

Credits and personnel

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Charts

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Chart (2011–13) Peak
Position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[19] 60
South Korea (Gaon Chart)[21] 116
US Billboard Hot 100[15] 44
US R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[17] 6
US Hot R&B Songs (Billboard)[22] 21

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[23] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "'Watch the Throne' Expanded Track Listing". The Comet. 2011-07-20. Archived from the original on 2011-12-24. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
  2. ^ Birchmeier, Jason (2010). "Kanye West biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Dombal, Ryan (October 25, 2010). "Kanye West and Jay-Z Planning Joint Album". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Markman, Rob (July 21, 2011). "Jay-Z, Kanye West Try Dubstep On Watch The Throne". MTV. Archived from the original on July 19, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  5. ^ Jay-Z; Kanye West (2011). Watch the Throne (PDF digital booklet). Roc-A-Fella Records.
  6. ^ a b Paine, Jake (April 19, 2012). "Flux Pavilion Speaks On His Role In Jay-Z & Kanye West's 'I Can't Stop'". HipHopDX. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  7. ^ Al Horner (2016-08-14). "A guide to the samples on Jay Z and Kanye West's Watch The Throne". FACT Magazine. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  8. ^ Brandon Knight (2014-12-04). "25 Bangin' Pregame Jams for Your Favorite NBA Players". Complex. Retrieved 2018-12-22.
  9. ^ "The Great Gatsby (2013) soundtracks". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  10. ^ "Track by Track: 'Watch the Throne' Pt. 2". SPIN.com. 2011-08-23. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
  11. ^ Matthew Perpetua (2011-08-09). "Kanye West and Jay-Z's 'Watch the Throne': A Track-by-Track Breakdown | Music News". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
  12. ^ "Jay-Z and Kanye West's 'Watch the Throne': Track-by-Track Review – The Juice". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
  13. ^ "Jay-Z and Kanye West's 'Watch the Throne': Track-by-Track". The Hollywood Reporter. 2011-10-08. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
  14. ^ Matos, Michaelangelo (2011-08-02). "Jay-Z and Kanye West: Watch the Throne – track-by-track review | Music | guardian.co.uk". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
  15. ^ a b c "Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
  16. ^ "Digital Songs Sales Chart – August 27, 2011". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  17. ^ a b "R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Songs Sales Chart – August 27, 2011". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  18. ^ "Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
  19. ^ a b "Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
  20. ^ "Gold & Platinum - Jay-Z & Kanye West - Who Gon Stop Me". RIAA. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  21. ^ "South Korea Gaon International Chart (Week: August 13, 2011 to August 20, 2011)". Gaon Chart. Archived from the original on November 5, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  22. ^ "Kanye West Chart History (Hot R&B Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  23. ^ "American single certifications – Jay-Z & Kanye West – Who Gon Stop Me". Recording Industry Association of America.
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