“True Love” by Kanye West & XXXTentacion

There’s two things that need to be acknowledged about Kanye West. One is that his personal life is very much part of the public domain, if you will. Secondly, he tends to talk about his real-life situation, especially with his family, a lot in song.

So in the name of not beating a dead horse, so to speak, there’s really no need to delve too deeply into what he’s saying in this song’s only actual verse down to the minutia. And that’s because what it boils down to, most simply put, is that the vocalist is uncomfortable not being fully engaged in his children’s lives. In other words, he doesn’t like how other people are raising them in his absence. That reality was brought about due to the fact that even though Kanye and his estranged wife, Kim Kardashian, have never gone to court or anything like that, still the situation is such that now he only has limited access to his seeds.

Chorus of “True Love”

Meanwhile, the chorus is highlighted by XXXTentacion putting forth that “true love shouldn’t be this complicated”. Being that Kanye and Kim were still together when XXX was alive, that’s one of the reasons we know he isn’t speaking to their specific situation only. Secondly is due to another line found in the chorus, where the same vocalist expresses his previous belief that he and his significant other would grow old together.

The Bridge

Then there is Kanye’s bridge, where he admits that even though he has no desire to beef with his ex, circumstances currently surrounding their relationship is making it “harder” for him to live up to that standard. 

Thesis Sentiment of “True Love

So putting all of this together, the thesis sentiment of this track reads something like this. When falling in love, no one actually expects to break up later, since said feeling is usually characterized by a mutual desire to be with the other person into perpetuity. But the reality of the world is that a lot of times, things don’t end up like that.

Facts about “True Love”

This track is from “Donda 2”, the exclusive album Kanye made available earlier in 2022. “True Love” was officially released as its third single on 27 May 2022. It is a product of Columbia and the late XXXTentacion’s label, Bad Vibes Forever.

Shortly after appearing on “Donda 2”, the song was also featured on a documentary/album about the late XXXTentacion called Look At Me.

This is one of two tracks featured on “Donda 2” in which XXXTentacion’s vocals are included, the other being titled “Selfish”.

There is a previous XXXTentacion/Yeezy collaboration called “One Minute“, which came out in late 2018, some six months after the former artist was murdered. However, it should be noted that John Cunningham, who co-wrote and co-produced “True Love”, has stated that XXXTentacion’s contribution was a song they began working on in 2018 but weren’t able to complete.

What makes the aforementioned “Donda 2” exclusive is that it was released solely through a device Kanye has a stake in called the Stem Player. One of said devices selling points is that it allows users to isolate some of the tracks that make up the songs contained therein. And relatedly, there were different (drum) versions of “True Love” made available circa the release of the album.

The other artists who wrote and produced this track are Mike Dean, Kanye West and Ojivolta (Raul Cubina & Mike Williams). XXXTentacion is also credited as a co-writer.