Gold Digger

Kanye West's "Gold Digger" became one of the defining tracks of 2005, propelled by its irresistible Ray Charles sample and a career-revitalizing turn from Jamie Foxx. The song appears on West's second album, Late Registration, and was released as its second single on July 5, 2005, through Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam. Initially intended for rapper Shawnna's album, West kept the track after crafting the beat in Atlanta alongside producer Jon Brion.

The song made history by selling over 80,000 digital downloads in its first week, a record at the time. Its music video, directed by Hype Williams, features pin-up girls and moving magazine covers, earning nominations at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards and MTV Asia Awards. Critically, "Gold Digger" won Best Rap Solo Performance at the 48th Grammy Awards and was nominated for Record of the Year. It topped charts in the US, Australia, and New Zealand, and was later ranked the 70th biggest Hot 100 hit of all time on Billboard's 60th anniversary. The song has since been certified octuple platinum in the US and quadruple platinum in Australia and the UK. Despite its success, West later admitted he made the song primarily for financial gain and didn't personally like it.[edit]