The 50 Best Kanye West Songs Ever

46. New God Flow

Release Date: July 21, 2012

Album: Cruel Summer

Writer(s): Kanye West, Terrence Thornton, Herb Rooney, Ronald Bean, Highleigh Crizoe, Dennis Coles, G.I. Townsend, Marcos Valle

Producer(s): West, Boogz & Tapez, Anthony Kilhoffer

Notable Lyric:

“Did Moses not part the water with the cane?

Did strippers not make an ark when I made it rain?

Did Yeezy, not get signed by Hov and Dame?

And ran to Jacob and made the new Jesus chains?”

Another Cruel Summer track, “New God Flow” is much more dense than it initially appears.

Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killa was originally only sampled on the track — specifically from his song “Mighty Healthy” — but he later contributed his own verse to go along with those of Pusha T and Kanye.

That unusual combination of sampled and sampler is a nice addition to the usual eclectic mix of samples and original beats.

Lyrically, all three rappers contribute verses that hint toward the audacious, divine boasts that we would hear a lot more of on the borderline-sacrilegiously titled album Yeezus, released less than a year after Cruel Summer. While Kanye’s headspace has never been too far removed from absolute egotism, here he’s shedding some the of the last bits of humility he seemed to still have as recently as 2008’s 808s & Heartbreak.

Next: 45. Lift Off