The single broke a record for the most digital downloads in a week, selling over 80,000 digital downloads, and was also the fastest selling digital download of all time; both records have since been broken. It was 2005's second-longest running number one on the Billboard Hot 100 at ten weeks, behind Mariah Carey's “We Belong Together“. “Gold Digger“ was nominated for Record of the Year at the 2006 Grammy Awards (losing to Green Day's “Boulevard of Broken Dreams“) and won the award for Best Rap Solo Performance. The song lists at number 49 on Billboard magazine's All-Time Top 100. The song was voted number 20 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop.
Upon its release, many surmised that West conceived “Gold Digger“ after watching Jamie Foxx's Oscar-winning portrayal of Ray Charles in the biographical film Ray. However, he had actually recorded the song long before the movie was even developed. West originally produced and recorded the song in Ludacris's home in Atlanta, Georgia for Shawnna's 2004 debut album Worth Tha Weight and had written the chorus from a female first-person viewpoint. However, for reasons unknown, Shawnna passed on the beat. Not wanting to let it go to waste, West decided to write the two verses for the song himself, this time from a male's point-of-view. About a year later, right before "Gold Digger" was set to be released, West decided to add a third verse and in a week the new song was recorded and mastered at Sony Music Studios in New York. The idea of employing Jamie Foxx specifically to sing an interpolation of Ray Charles' "I Got a Woman" in place of its initial sample did in fact arise from West seeing Ray with his friend John Mayer. Foxx's vocals were recorded over many takes; one version, he sang from start to finish, but the track was retracted as his performance didn't coincide well with the song's instrumentation. After recording another version, Jamie decided to re-record it once more as he felt it contained too many explicit lyrics. Once the track was in place, it was layered with additional instruments provided by Brion and individually selected by West. By the end of their very first studio session together, the pair had completed the basic tracks for final version of "Gold Digger".
"Gold Digger" contains an interpolation of "I Got a Woman" by Ray Charles and a bouncy beat formed from handclaps as well as scratches DJ A-Trak. The song also contains a frequent vocal sample from the song "Bumpin' Bus Stop" by Thunder and Lightning. Towards the end, the song employs vintage 1970s synthesizers which emit a honking sound in cadence to Kanye's voice. West delivers a tongue-in-cheek lyrical narrative within "Gold Digger" in which he critically depicts the disastrous life of a man married to a woman who manipulates him for financial gain. However, another story arises within the third verse, which illustrates a once destitute black male who earns a fortune and decides to leave a loyal, unselfish girlfriend for a white girl.
The song's music video was directed by Hype Williams, who also directed West's previous video, "Diamonds from Sierra Leone". Shot in a widescreen letterbox format, using stylized art direction with few props, the video features performances shots of West interspersed with footage of Williams' trademark female video models depicted as "pin-up" cover models from fictional vintage magazines. The titles of the magazines the women appear on the cover of reflect the correlating verses in the song. Foxx is also present, lip-synching both his own parts and the Ray Charles vocal sample. John Legend makes a brief cameo. At the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, "Gold Digger" received nominations for both Best Male Video and Best Hip Hop Video, but did not win either of these awards.
Gold Digger
Kanye West & Jamie Foxx Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yea she's a trifling friend indeed
Oh she's a gold digger way over town
That digs on me
Now I ain't saying she a gold digger
But she ain't messing with no broke niggas
Now I ain't saying she a gold digger
Get down girl go head get down
Get down girl go head get down
Get down girl go head get down
Get down girl go head
Cutie the bomb
Met her at a beauty salon
With a baby Louis Vuitton
Under her underarm
She said I can tell you ROC
I can tell by ya charm
Far as girls you got a flock
I can tell by ya charm and ya arm
But I'm looking for the one
Have you seen her
My psychic told me she have a ass like Serena
Trina, Jennifer Lopez, four kids
An I gotta take all they bad ass to show-biz
OK get ya kids but then they got their friends
I pulled up in the Benz, they all got up In
We all went to Den and then I had to pay
If you fucking with this girl then you betta be payed
You know why
It take too much to touch her
From what I heard she got a baby by Busta
My best friend say she use to fuck wit Usher
I don't care what none of y'all say I still love her
Now I ain't saying she a gold digger
But she ain't messing with no broke niggas
Now I ain't saying she a gold digger
But she ain't messing wit no broke niggas
Get down girl go head get down
Get down girl go head get down
Get down girl go head get down
Get down girl go head
Eighteen years, eighteen years
She got one of yo kids got you for 18 years
I know somebody paying child support for one of his kids
His baby momma's car and crib is bigger than his
You will see him on TV Any Given Sunday
Win the Superbowl and drive off in a Hyundai
She was spose to buy ya shorty TYCO with ya money
She went to the doctor got lypo with ya money
She walking around looking like Micheal with ya money
Should of got that insured got GEICO for ya money
If you ain't no punk holla We Want Prenup
We want prenup!, yeah
It's something that you need to have
'Cause when she leave yo ass she gone leave with half
Eighteen years, eighteen years
And on her eighteenth birthday he found out it wasn't his
Now I ain't saying she a gold digger
But she ain't messing with no broke niggas
Now I ain't saying she a gold digger
But she ain't messing wit no broke niggas
Get down girl go head get down
Get down girl go head get down
Get down girl go head get down
Get down girl go head
Now I ain't saying you a gold digger you got needs
You don't want ya dude to smoke but he can't buy weed
You got out to eat and he can't pay y'all can't leave
There's dishes in the back, he gotta roll up his sleeves
But why y'all washing watch him
He gone make it into a Benz out of that Datson
He got that ambition baby look in his eyes
This week he mopping floors next week it's the fries
So, stick by his side
I know his dude's balling but yea that's nice
And they gone keep calling and trying
But you stay right girl
But when you get on he leave yo ass for a white girl
Get down girl go head get down
Get down girl go head get down
Get down girl go head get down
Get down girl go head
In "Gold Digger," Kanye West talks about a woman that he's into, but he knows that she's only interested in him because he's successful and wealthy. He talks about how she's dishonest and only wants his money, but he's still drawn to her. The chorus repeats the phrase, "She ain't messing with no broke niggas," which means that the woman he's talking about only wants men with money. Kanye seems conflicted about his feelings towards this woman - on the one hand, he's frustrated that she only cares about his money, but on the other hand, he's attracted to her and wants her to stick around.
The song paints a vivid picture of a gold digger - a woman who is only interested in men for their money. Kanye's lyrics describe the woman's lavish lifestyle, including her expensive car and designer clothes. He also mentions how she's using her looks and charm to manipulate him into giving her money. Overall, "Gold Digger" is a catchy song full of clever wordplay, and it's a song that many people can relate to.
Line by Line Meaning
She take my money when I'm in need
This girl takes my money when I'm in trouble.
Yea she's a trifling friend indeed
Yes, she is a disloyal friend indeed.
Oh she's a gold digger way over town
She's a gold digger who lives far away.
That digs on me
But she's digging on me.
Now I ain't saying she a gold digger
I don't want to say that she's a gold digger.
But she ain't messing with no broke niggas
But she won't date anyone who's financially unstable.
Get down girl go head get down
Get down and dance, girl.
Cutie the bomb
This girl is really attractive.
Met her at a beauty salon
I met her at a beauty parlor.
With a baby Louis Vuitton
She had a baby bag made by Louis Vuitton.
Under her underarm
She was holding the baby bag under her arm.
She said I can tell you ROC
She said she can tell that I'm wealthy and connected.
I can tell by ya charm
She can sense I'm charming.
Far as girls you got a flock
I have a lot of girls.
I can tell by ya charm and ya arm
She can tell from my charm and the jewelry I wear.
But I'm looking for the one
But I'm still looking for that special one.
Have you seen her
Have you seen that special one?
My psychic told me she have a ass like Serena
My psychic told me she has a butt like Serena Williams.
Trina, Jennifer Lopez, four kids
She looks like Trina or Jennifer Lopez and has four kids.
An I gotta take all they bad ass to show-biz
I have to take all of them to show business.
OK get ya kids but then they got their friends
Okay, bring your kids but they have to bring their friends.
I pulled up in the Benz, they all got up In
I drove up in my Mercedes-Benz and they all got in.
We all went to Den and then I had to pay
We all went to Den and I ended up paying.
If you fucking with this girl then you betta be payed
If you're going to date this girl, you better be rich.
You know why
You know why I said that.
It take too much to touch her
She's not easy to get to.
From what I heard she got a baby by Busta
I heard she had a baby with Busta Rhymes.
My best friend say she use to fuck wit Usher
My best friend said she used to have sex with Usher.
I don't care what none of y'all say I still love her
I don't care what anyone says, I still love her.
Eighteen years, eighteen years
I have to pay child support for eighteen years.
She got one of yo kids got you for 18 years
She had one of my kids and I have to pay for eighteen years.
I know somebody paying child support for one of his kids
I know someone else who's paying child support for one of his kids.
His baby momma's car and crib is bigger than his
His baby mama has a bigger car and a better crib than him.
You will see him on TV Any Given Sunday
You can see him on TV on any given Sunday.
Win the Superbowl and drive off in a Hyundai
He won the Superbowl but drives a Hyundai.
She was spose to buy ya shorty TYCO with ya money
She was supposed to buy something for my child with my money.
She went to the doctor got lypo with ya money
She went to the doctor and got liposuction with my money.
She walking around looking like Micheal with ya money
She's walking around looking like Michael Jackson with my money.
Should of got that insured got GEICO for ya money
I should have gotten that insured, I could have used GEICO.
If you ain't no punk holla We Want Prenup
If you're not a coward, say 'We want a prenuptial agreement!'
We want prenup!, yeah
We want a prenuptial agreement, yeah!
It's something that you need to have
It's something that you need to have to protect yourself.
'Cause when she leave yo ass she gone leave with half
Because when she leaves you, she's going to take half of your money.
And on her eighteenth birthday he found out it wasn't his
On her eighteenth birthday, he found out that the child wasn't his.
Now I ain't saying you a gold digger you got needs
I'm not saying you're a gold digger, but you have needs.
You don't want ya dude to smoke but he can't buy weed
You don't want your man to smoke, but he can't afford to buy weed.
You got out to eat and he can't pay y'all can't leave
You went out to eat and he can't pay, so you can't leave.
There's dishes in the back, he gotta roll up his sleeves
There are dishes in the back, so he has to roll up his sleeves and start washing.
But why y'all washing watch him
But while you're doing dishes, watch him.
He gone make it into a Benz out of that Datson
He's going to turn that old Datson into a Benz.
He got that ambition baby look in his eyes
He's ambitious and has that look in his eyes.
This week he mopping floors next week it's the fries
This week he's mopping floors, but next week it's frying burgers.
So, stick by his side
So, stay by his side.
I know his dude's balling but yea that's nice
I know his friends are playing basketball, but that's not impressive.
And they gone keep calling and trying
And they're going to keep calling and trying to get your attention.
But you stay right girl
But you stay loyal, girl.
But when you get on he leave yo ass for a white girl
But when you become successful, he'll leave you for a white girl.
Get down girl go head get down
Get down and dance, girl.
Get down girl go head get down
Get down and dance, girl.
Get down girl go head get down
Get down and dance, girl.
Get down girl go head
Get down and dance, girl.
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: RENALD RICHARD, RAY CHARLES, KANYE WEST
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@vivienballard391
I am not implying that she is only interested in the financial stability of men; however, it must be said that she avoids relations with impoverished men.
@kalceii9698
XD
@Heyguysitsme554
Lmaoooo
@malachite-6172
what the hell🤣
@ronkledonkanusmoncher564
Now I, being Kanye west, do not wish to create a false narrative that I have somehow hinted at the woman in question being solely interested in her own personal financial gain, but I do wish to elaborate that she does not affiliate with any persons that may be listed as below the poverty line.
@Shadowtopia69
So, thou art implying such a thing after all, sir?
@beast0nerd
“When she leave you ass she gonna leave with half”
Bill Gates: 😭
@reverse_meta9264
No prenup, ouch
@robertholguin7010
As my kids say...Fo Sho!!!
@beverlybalius9303
Lol