Stronger (2007)

"Stronger" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his third studio album, Graduation (2007). The song was written and produced by West, with an extended outro handled by Mike Dean. Daft Punk were credited as co-writers due to their work being sampled; West decided to sample "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" after first hearing the duo's work when touring in 2006, then made the beat and spent months re-writing his verses; Daft Punk voiced their approval of the song, finding West made the sample suitable for his personality as he ventured outside of hip-hop. Edwin Birdsong also received a credit for a master use of "Cola Bottle Baby". After West published a snippet in May 2007, as part of the promotional mixtape Can't Tell Me Nothing (2007), "Stronger" was released to US rhythmic contemporary radio stations as the second single from the album on July 31, 2007, through Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings.

A maximalist hip-hop song also based in electronica and described by West as an emancipation from his previous mistakes, the song addresses the theme of self-empowerment. The lyrics present someone who finds that his patience strengthens him when he is lustful for a girl on the chorus, paraphrasing Nietzsche's aphorism.

dictum: "What does not kill him, makes him stronger." The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, who mostly highlighted the sample of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger". Focus was placed on West's innovation through the combination of electronica and hip-hop, while critical assessments of his rapping were somewhat mixed.

"Stronger" was named to year-end lists for 2007 by multiple publications, including Spin and The Village Voice. The song was awarded Best Rap Solo Performance at the 50th Grammy Awards, alongside winning Best Rap/Hip Hop Dance Track at the 2008 International Dance Music Awards. Later appearing on retrospective lists of numerous outlets, it was ranked number 493 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2024. The song topped the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming West's third number-one single in the United States and ranking as his third biggest hit of all time there as of 2018. The top spot was also achieved in Canada, New Zealand, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, while it reached the top 10 of six other countries and the European Hot 100 Singles chart. The song became West's first single to receive a diamond certification in the US from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2021, five years before being certified fourteen-times platinum by the RIAA. It was also awarded octuple and triple platinum certifications in Australia and the UK by the Australian Recording Industry Association and British Phonographic Industry, respectively.

The accompanying music video, inspired by anime film Akira (1988), juxtaposed shots of Tokyo with West rapping, and won Best Hip-Hop Video at the 2007 BET Hip Hop Awards. West performed "Stronger" live on his Glow in the Dark Tour (2007–08), with Daft Punk at the Grammys, and at several festivals, including Wireless and Glastonbury. The song has been featured in several pieces of media, such as the film The Hangover Part II (2011) and the series Girls. Retrospectively, the song has been credited for influencing hip-hop artists to move towards electronica elements and also the revival of disco-infused music in the late 2000s.

Background and development

"Stronger" was conceived as a challenge to compete with producer Timbaland and singer Justin Timberlake, as West's fiancée at the time was a huge fan of their 2006 hit single "SexyBack", to his chagrin. West was struggling to produce the drums on the record and initially went to producers Pharrell Williams and Swizz Beatz for assistance, but the song was not sounding the way he intended. Before its release, West first shared a snippet of "Stronger" on his mixtape Can't Tell Me Nothing in May 2007. The song was playlisted by BBC Radio 1, appearing on DJ Tim Westwood's "Top Five Heavy Hits" for July 31, 2007. The song's cover art was released through West's website with a video teaser on June 29, 2007. It was designed by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, who handled the artwork of singles and the creative direction for Graduation. The cover artwork features a cartoon version of West's mascot "Dropout Bear", wearing the rapper's white sunglasses.