Pure Souls
"Pure Souls" is a hip-hop song by American recording artist Kanye West from his tenth studio album Donda, released on August 29, 2021. Featuring additional vocals from rapper Roddy Ricch and uncredited contributions from singer Shenseea, the track combines West's introspective verses on fame's isolating effects with a gospel choir outro emphasizing redemption and divine guidance.[1][2] The song's production, handled primarily by West alongside Digital Nas and Ozan Yildirim, incorporates layered choir arrangements and soulful instrumentation reflective of Donda's overarching Sunday Service-inspired aesthetic, which draws from West's public embrace of Christianity following his 2019 album Jesus Is King.[3] Lyrically, West recounts pre-fame struggles and spiritual awakening, rapping lines like "Life change when you famous / I remember, back before the chains, we was nameless," while Ricch's verse adds reflections on perseverance amid industry pressures.[3] Upon release, "Pure Souls" debuted and peaked at number 52 on the Billboard Hot 100, benefiting from the album's massive streaming debut of over 309,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, the largest for a 2021 release.[2] Notable for its extended runtime exceeding seven minutes, including a lengthy choral fade-out, the track exemplifies Donda's experimental structure amid West's tumultuous rollout, marked by multiple delays and stadium listening events that drew crowds exceeding 50,000 attendees.[3] While not a major single, "Pure Souls" has garnered fan acclaim for its emotional depth and Ricch's standout performance, positioning it as a highlight in discussions of the album's thematic coherence around loss, faith, and celebrity.[4] No significant controversies directly attached to the song itself, though West's broader personal and political statements during the Donda era amplified media scrutiny of his work.[5]Background and Context
Development in Donda
"Pure Souls" emerged during the protracted recording sessions for Kanye West's album Donda, which spanned from May to August 2021 and centered at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, where West resided in a minimalist on-site setup resembling a small bedroom to immerse himself in the creative process.[6] The track's development reflected the album's iterative nature, with West collaborating remotely and on-site amid frequent disruptions, including impromptu travel that collaborator Roddy Ricch described as contributing to an unpredictable workflow—one moment in the studio, the next adjusting to West's jet-setting schedule.[7] The song was co-produced by West alongside 88-Keys, Bastian Volkel, BoogzDaBeast, Fyaman, Ojivolta, Shuko, and Sucuki, incorporating gospel-influenced elements that aligned with Donda's overarching spiritual motifs.[8] It debuted in demo form at the first Donda listening party on July 22, 2021, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where live performances featured West and Roddy Ricch, allowing real-time refinement based on audience response.[9] By the subsequent event on August 5, 2021, West revised his verse, excising a line referencing a "forty-fourth" figure—interpreted by observers as alluding to Barack Obama—to streamline the narrative toward themes of personal redemption and faith.[10] Further tweaks continued through the August 26 listening party at Soldier Field in Chicago, solidifying "Pure Souls" as track 21 on the final album released August 29, 2021, via GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings.[10] The mixing phase, handled by engineer Irko under tight deadlines of under 30 days for the full album, included experimental spatial decisions for the track, such as panning pipe organs to stereo channels while centering the 808 bass for enhanced depth.[11] These adjustments underscored West's hands-on evolution of the piece amid Donda's broader delays and public unveilings.Inspirations and Themes
"Pure Souls" embodies Kanye West's ongoing exploration of Christian faith as a bulwark against the corrupting influences of celebrity and materialism, with the central motif of refusing to "sell my soul" symbolizing a deliberate rejection of moral compromise for success. This theme aligns with West's public declarations during the Donda era, where he positioned his music as testimony to spiritual rebirth following personal crises, including family strife and professional excess.[12] The track's insistence on soul purity reflects a broader redemptive arc, portraying faith not as abstract piety but as active resistance to sin, reinforced by Roddy Ricch's anthemic repetition of vows to uphold integrity.[13] Redemption emerges as a core theme, intertwined with self-examination of past transgressions and a turn toward divine purpose, as West grapples with the tension between his elevated status—"shining like a light pole"—and the humility demanded by belief.[14] Lyrics evoke biblical echoes of purity and salvation, such as invocations of Jesus preserving the soul, echoing scriptural calls to guard one's heart amid worldly trials, though West adapts these to his narrative of evolving from indulgence to restraint.[15] This personal symbolism extends to relational reconciliation, with undertones of salvaging a fractured marriage through spiritual resolve, highlighting faith's role in mending human bonds.[12] Contrasting voices, like Shenseea's closing assertion that "the truth is only what you get away with," introduce ironic tension, challenging the song's purity ideal by nodding to pragmatic relativism in fame's arena, yet ultimately subordinate to the dominant gospel-infused affirmation of absolute moral standards.[16] These elements draw from West's inspirations in evangelical traditions and autobiographical reflection, continuing motifs from prior works like Jesus Is King, where over 85 biblical allusions underscore a sustained pivot toward scriptural realism over secular narratives.[17]Musical Composition and Production
Structure and Style
"Pure Souls" employs a standard verse-chorus structure typical of contemporary hip-hop tracks, spanning approximately 5 minutes and 58 seconds in duration. The song begins with an intro featuring overlapping vocals from Roddy Ricch and Kanye West, establishing themes of fame's transformative effects, followed by Ricch's chorus that repeats the hook "The truth is only what you get away with, huh?" to underscore notions of selective truth in public life. [3] Kanye West delivers two verses, the first reflecting on pre-fame struggles and industry temptations, while the second addresses personal conflicts and resilience, interspersed with Ricch's recurring chorus for rhythmic emphasis. The track concludes with an outro by Shenseea, incorporating ad-libs that add a melodic, dancehall-inflected layer to the fading instrumentation. [3] Musically, "Pure Souls" fuses hip-hop and R&B elements with prominent gospel influences, driven by church organ melodies that evoke spiritual exaltation and provide a foundational texture. [18] The production, led by Mike Dean alongside co-producers Ojivolta, Bastian Völkel, Shuko, and Sucuki, features a bouncy bassline and choir-like vocal swells in the chorus transitions, enhancing the track's anthemic quality while maintaining a mid-tempo groove suited to Ricch's melodic delivery. [19] Written in F major, the chord progressions exhibit above-average complexity relative to typical pop and hip-hop songs, incorporating progressions like Gm-A7-Bb-F for dynamic tension and release. [20] This stylistic blend aligns with the broader Donda album's devotional aesthetic, prioritizing emotional introspection over dense layering, though some critics noted the mix's raw, stadium-ready sparseness. [18]Instrumentation and Sound Design
"Pure Souls" features a gospel-infused sonic palette, centered on pipe organs panned across stereo channels to evoke a cavernous, ecclesiastical resonance, an experimental mixing decision by engineer Irko that contrasted with traditional centering.[11] The track's rhythmic backbone relies on a prominent 808 bass drum positioned mono in the mix's core, delivering subsonic pulses typical of West's production aesthetic.[11] These elements combine for a sparse, hymn-like foundation that underscores the song's spiritual themes. Piano chords underpin melodic progressions, adding introspective warmth amid the organ's grandeur, while choral vocals swell in layered harmonies to amplify the track's redemptive tone.[21] Production credits include contributions from Mike Dean, Ojivolta, Bastian Völkel, and BoogzDaBeast, who shaped the beat's hard-hitting yet ethereal quality through minimalistic arrangement.[1][22] Kanye's lead vocals adopt a raw, dry delivery devoid of reverb or delay, heightening intimacy against the expansive backdrop, whereas guest verses from Roddy Ricch and Shenseea's outro receive distinct processing for contrast.[11] The sound design prioritizes atmospheric depth over density, with Irko's rushed 30-day mix—starting from Dean's rough—yielding intentional imperfections like static in the outro for textural grit.[11] This approach aligns with Donda's broader reliance on organic, voice-as-instrument techniques, blending sacred instrumentation with hip-hop minimalism to create a climactic, soul-stirring arc.[23]Lyrics and Interpretation
Key Verses and Messaging
The track "Pure Souls" features verses from Roddy Ricch and Kanye West, interspersed with a chorus emphasizing truth amid success, and an outro by Shenseea reinforcing divine accountability.[3] Roddy Ricch opens the intro reflecting on fame's transformative effects: "Life change when you famous / I remember, back before the chains, we was nameless / Went through stages just to hop on new stages," highlighting a progression from obscurity to public performance while cautioning against superficiality in entertainers.[3] This sets a tone of introspection on authenticity, culminating in the repeated declaration "And I cannot sell my soul," which underscores resistance to moral compromise for material gain.[3] In Verse 1, Roddy Ricch addresses his upbringing and achievements: "I've been at the top shinin' like a light pole / And I'm just a product of whatever I was raised in / This money sanctified, so I gotta say it again," framing wealth as spiritually redeemed rather than corrupting.[3] Kanye West interjects with references to industry recognition and misunderstanding: "They said I was mad at the Grammys / But I'm lookin' at my Grammy right now," portraying external perceptions as misaligned with personal validation.[3] The chorus, shared by Ricch and West, delivers a skeptical view of veracity in high-stakes environments: "The truth is only what you get away with, huh?"—a phrase repeated to suggest that success often hinges on evasion rather than integrity.[3] Kanye West's bridge shifts to personal renewal: "It ain't how it used to be / This the new me, so get used to me / Lookin' in the mirror, it's the truth for me / Devil get behind me, I'm loose, I'm free," invoking biblical imagery of exorcising temptation and embracing liberation through self-confrontation.[3] Shenseea's outro echoes the chorus motif—"The truth the only thing you get away with"—while adding layers of inevitability under higher scrutiny, implying ultimate judgment beyond earthly consequences.[3] The messaging centers on spiritual resilience against fame's erosive forces, portraying purity of soul as achievable through faith and refusal to barter integrity.[3] Religious elements, such as invocations of Jesus saving the soul and rebuking the devil, frame redemption as a deliberate rejection of past vices, aligning with broader motifs of trials overcome via divine intervention.[3] Authenticity emerges as a core tenet, with lyrics critiquing performative success while affirming sanctified progress from humble origins to elevated status.[3] This narrative resists cynicism by positing truth and spiritual freedom as enduring escapes from entrapment.[3]Spiritual and Personal Symbolism
The lyrics of "Pure Souls" symbolize the soul as an uncompromised essence of moral and spiritual integrity, resistant to the commodification inherent in fame and worldly success. Kanye West articulates this through reflections on his ascent from "nameless" obscurity to celebrity, where "life change when you famous" yet demands vigilance against soul-eroding temptations, as evidenced by the repeated assertion "I cannot sell my soul" from collaborator Roddy Ricch, evoking a Faustian bargain rejected in favor of divine allegiance.[3][24] This motif draws on Christian theology's emphasis on the soul's eternal value, positioning purity not as innate perfection but as a deliberate stance against sin, reinforced by West's plea: "I hope God can forgive me for the days that I was sinning."[3] On a personal level, the track symbolizes West's self-narrated redemption arc, framing his navigation of "trials and tribulations" as a testament to unyielding faith amid personal and professional upheavals, including Grammy controversies and public scrutiny. The "pure souls" archetype represents resilient believers who "stood on my 6 points," interpreted as steadfast principles—potentially alluding to gang affiliations transcended through spiritual loyalty—while maintaining accountability beyond mere evasion of consequences, as in the line "The truth is only what you get away with."[3][12] This personal symbolism aligns with West's broader post-2019 public embrace of evangelical Christianity, where fame's stages become metaphorical crucibles testing soul purity rather than endpoints of material triumph.[15] Shenseea's ad-libs and the choir's gospel-infused chants further symbolize communal spiritual affirmation, portraying "pure souls" as a collective aspiration for redemption, where individual failings yield to collective grace and forgiveness from a higher power.[3] Critics have noted this as anthemic resistance to sin's allure, though West's own history of ethical lapses invites scrutiny of the symbolism's authenticity; nonetheless, the lyrics prioritize introspective resolve over unexamined virtue-signaling.[13]Personnel
Vocals and Features
The vocals on "Pure Souls" are led by Kanye West, who delivers introspective rap verses over the track's gospel-influenced production, emphasizing themes of redemption and spiritual accountability.[3] West's delivery alternates between rhythmic flows and spoken-word cadences, with layered auto-tune effects enhancing the ethereal quality of his performance.[3] The song features American rapper Roddy Ricch, who contributes the primary hook with melodic, sing-rap phrasing that contrasts West's verses and reinforces the chorus's repetitive mantra of perseverance.[3] This marks the first collaboration between West and Ricch, following a brief public exchange in 2020 where Ricch expressed frustration over an unfulfilled feature request on West's "Go2" from the Kids See Ghosts album.[3] Ricch's vocals, processed with reverb for a soaring effect, integrate seamlessly into the track's choir-backed arrangement, as demonstrated in live renditions such as the Donda listening event at Chicago's Soldier Field on February 23, 2022.[25] Jamaican dancehall artist Shenseea provides supporting vocals, singing harmonies that accompany Ricch's chorus and add a tropical, melodic texture to the outro.[26] Her contributions, described as serenading and layered beneath the main elements, were initially uncredited on the album's standard release but later acknowledged in streaming metadata and promotional materials.[27] According to official composition credits, Shenseea is listed among the performing vocalists alongside West and Ricch.[27] The combined vocal ensemble creates a dynamic interplay, blending hip-hop, R&B, and reggae influences for a multifaceted sound.[3]Production Credits
"Pure Souls" was produced primarily by Kanye West in collaboration with a team of co-producers including BoogzDaBeast, Mike Dean, Fyaman, Ojivolta, Shuko, Sucuki, and Bastian Völkel.[28] These credits reflect the track's development as part of Donda, recorded between late 2019 and August 2021 at locations such as Pio Pico in Los Angeles and Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.[28] Recording engineering was handled by Alejandro Rodriguez-Dawsøn, Josh Berg, and Mikalai Skrobat, with final mixing performed by Irko, who oversaw the album's overall sound polish.[28] Certain reporting outlets have additionally attributed production involvement to 88-Keys, though this is not corroborated in primary credit databases.[29]| Role | Personnel |
|---|---|
| Producers | Kanye West, BoogzDaBeast, Mike Dean, Fyaman, Ojivolta, Shuko, Sucuki, Bastian Völkel[28] |
| Recording Engineers | Alejandro Rodriguez-Dawsøn, Josh Berg, Mikalai Skrobat[28] |
| Mixing Engineer | Irko[28] |