“Love Lockdown” by Kanye West
Kanye West is first and foremost a rapper, or at least it was in that genre of music whereas he established himself. And rap is an art form which, generally speaking, affords the practitioner more wording than say conventional singing. But it is the latter approach Yeezy took with this particular tune. And that may explain why for instance it is never made abundantly clear within the song what exactly the titular phrase, “love lockdown”, actually means, as simple as it may sound.
But in terms of what’s transpiring overall, the situation is pretty clear. The singer is – or was – in a deep-romantic relationship with the addressee. And basically, their union is causing him so much emotional and mental discomfort that he decides it would be best for both parties if he moved on. This is not an easy decision for him, with the song’s three verses being based on the resultant psychological dilemma. But again he feels like life is naturally, so to speak, drawing him away from the woman he loves. Moreover, he knows that in his heart he is not loving her the way he feels she deserves. And being that he is experienced in the field of romance, he is also able recognize this as a scenario where it would be better for him to quit as opposed to dragging on the relationship.
Conclusion
And with the above being noted, it has been plausibly put forth that this song is based on West’s real life. And in that regard he would be addressing one Alexis Phifer. This was his long-time girlfriend who he actually became engaged to in 2006. However, their relationship fell apart in 2008. This was shortly before “Love Lockdown” came out – a song which Kanye reportedly put together in less than 10 days.
Album
This track is from Kanye West’s fourth standard album, which is entitled “808s & Heartbreak”. Yeezy wrote and produced the tune himself, alongside Jeff Bhasker. And the additional co-writers are as follows:
- M. Yusef
- Starshell
- Esthero
Release Date of “Love Lockdown”
Yeezy actually premiered this song via the MTV VMAs of 2008, which were held on 7 September of that year. He then uploaded the song to his blog on 10 September, at the time deeming it his personal favorite amongst his entire catalog. However, public reaction to the original version of “Love Lockdown” was less than favorable. This was largely due to its unconventional sound (for a Kanye West song) as well as his reliance on the ever-controversial Auto-Tune. And keep in mind that whereas Kanye’s versatility as a musician would ultimately be appreciated, this was the first of his song which did not include any actual rapping.
And whereas he remained adamant in his usage of Auto-Tune, he did re-record the song in response to the blowback. And finally “Love Lockdown” was officially released, via Def Jam Records and Roc-A-Fella Records, on 18 September 2008. It came out as the lead single from “808s & Heartbreak”.
Success
And the tune did go on to be quite a notable success for Kanye. For instance, the track scored a number 1 on the UK R&B Chart. It also made it to number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. And on the noted Hot 100 in the US, it managed to reach number 3. It ultimately went quadruple-platinum in America.
Additionally “Love Lockdown” earned Kanye West an International Dance Music Award (2009). Moreover it was nominated for a BET Award and a Teen Choice Award, both in 2009.
Music Video
Meanwhile the music video to the song was first made public via The Ellen DeGeneres Show dated 7 October 2008. It was inspired by a 1991 Christian Bale film entitled “American Psycho” and was filmed largely in Kanye West’s apartment. The said clip, whose direction was handled by Simon Henwood, was nominated for multiple MTV Video Music Awards in 2009. Furthermore, the highly-respected Time magazine deemed the clip the 2008 Video of the Year.
