"Blame Game" is a song by American hip-hop recording artist Kanye West from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). The song features recording artist John Legend and was produced by West, Justin Franks, and Mike Dean. The song features a hip hop skit provided by comedian Chris Rock. It uses the piano composition "Avril 14th" by Aphex Twin. Lyrically, the song contains West's thoughts on past break-ups and explores themes of unrequited love, heartbreak, and spousal abuse. Midway through the song, Rock delivers an extended monologue as the new boyfriend of West's past lover.
Critics were generally complimentary and praised Legend's vocal delivery. The appearance by Rock was widely noted as a surprising element of the song and received mixed criticism, though some critics described it as a highlight. It charted on the South Korean Gaon Chart at position 81. West and Legend performed "Blame Game" together on Vevo Presents GOOD Music at SXSW. The song was featured in West's 2010 short film Runaway. West planned to produce a music video for the song featuring Amber Rose but she declined the offer of appearing and West scrapped the video.
Background
"Blame Game" was recorded in Oahu, Hawaii, where most of the sessions for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy took place. West opted to work with more familiar songwriters to maintain artistic privacy and keep a low profile after several of his publicized controversies. West recorded the song with vocalist John Legend, a frequent collaborator of his since West's 2004 debut album The College Dropout. During an appearance on Ustream, West announced that Legend was set to appear on a song from his currently upcoming album, titled "Blame Game". During the announcement, West cited "Blame Game" as his favorite song from the album, which was at the time unfinished. The song developed from Legend and West's brainstorming, which also led to several other tracks, including "All of the Lights".
West asked comedian Chris Rock to appear on the song. Rock, a fan of West's, mused that he was more than happy to collaborate with West, and said, "you'd be amazed at how many people want to work with you if you just ask, if you just make a call." He had previously collaborated on other hip hop songs, such as with rappers Ludacris, Ol' Dirty Bastard, and Ice Cube on the track "You Ain't Gotta Lie (Ta Kick It)". Rock described his collaboration with West as exciting in nature, commenting that he was always open to working on unusual ventures. In an interview with The New York Times, Rock went into detail about the composition of the song:
I did that quicker than I read scripts that they offer me money to do ... I thank [Kanye] so much it probably freaks him out. Especially at this late date, to get on something, the album of the moment, that stuff is priceless, you can’t put a price tag on that. I felt invigorated by it. I’ve still got my fastball.
The song is partly inspired by West's relationship with model Amber Rose. West originally met Rose in 2008, and they subsequently developed a romantic relationship, before having a dramatic break-up in 2010; Rose cited allegations of adultery. Rose also said that West had written the song about their relationship, commenting that West "talked reckless about me on his album".
"Blame Game" uses the composition "Avril 14th" by Aphex Twin (Richard D James). According to James, after he was sent an early version of "Blame Game" with a heavily timestretched sample of "Avril 14th", he offered to rerecord the piece at a different tempo; West's team replied with "It's not yours, it's ours, and we're not even asking you any more", and tried to avoid paying for its use. The final "Blame Game" may have used a rerecorded version of "Avril 14th" rather than a sample, and James received credit.
Composition
"Blame Game" is built on the piano composition "Avril 14th" by Aphex Twin. The song begins with a minute long introduction sung by Legend. "Blame Game" has a lush, cello-driven production with predominant piano. After Legend's introduction, West raps his verses in a highly melodic manner, almost singing his lines. West's forceful delivery expresses hurt and contempt. The song's soulful sound juxtaposes West's angry lyrics: "been a long time since I spoke to you in a bathroom, ripping you up, fuckin' and chokin' you". He subsequently raps less antagonistically and repeatedly confesses "I can't love you this much".