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The New Workout Plan

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"The New Workout Plan"
Single by Kanye West
from the album The College Dropout
ReleasedAugust 31, 2004
Recorded2003 at Quad Recordings
Sony Music Studios
(New York City)
GenreComedy hip hop
Length5:22
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Kanye West
Kanye West singles chronology
"All Falls Down"
(2004) 		"The New Workout Plan"
(2004) 		"Jesus Walks"
(2004)
Music videos

"The New Workout Plan" is a song from Kanye West's debut album, The College Dropout. Released as the album's fifth single on August 31, 2004, it peaked at number 59 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song was written and produced by West, with additional songwriting from John Legend, Miri Ben-Ari, Sumeke Rainey, and Bosko Cante. The music video was released the same year, with cameos from Legend, Ben-Ari, Anna Nicole Smith, Fonzworth Bentley, Tracee Ellis Ross, Vida Guerra and GLC.

The talk box harmonizing heard towards the end of the song was sampled by J. Cole for his 2011 single "Work Out".

Composition

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The lyrics of "The New Workout Plan" are voiced from the point of view of different girls reacting to a fake workout video. West explains unusual "testimonials" from women who have successfully undergone the workout plan and have been able to attain a lavish lifestyle thanks to being in shape.

Critical reception

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The song was subject to generally favorable reviews from music critics. Derek Xu of Medium looked at it as being "a satirical anthem, just like "We Don't Care"".[1] Tareck Ghoneim of Contactmusic.com had praise for West's performance: "[he shows] excellent wordplay that is original, humorous and the touch of irony makes for very clever use of lyrics".[2] Paul Cantor of Billboard acknowledged that "Some critics argue that "The New Workout Plan" doesn't fit in with the rest of [The College Dropout]", but praised it as what "should be commended as much for its conceptual ingenuity as its arrangement".[3]

Music video

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The official music video was directed by Little X, both short and long versions of the video for the song were officially released in 2004.[4][5] The video features West in a faux 1980s-era workout video as he instructs women how to transform themselves into housewives.[6][5] Cameo appearances are included from John Legend, Miri Ben-Ari, Anna Nicole Smith, Fonzworth Bentley, Tracee Ellis Ross, Vida Guerra and GLC.[7] Anna Nicole Smith's cameo sees her playing the role of Ella-May and having a star like her frequently featured in a video of West's went against the idea of so many at the time that he'd fail as a rapper.[8]

Chart performance

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The track peaked at #59 on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart on November 9, 2004, which was around two months after its release as a single and it spent a total of 21 weeks on the chart.[9]

Legacy

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Forrest Wickman of Slate looked at "Highlights" from West's seventh studio album The Life of Pablo (2016) as ending "with another new workout plan", whilst Austin Isaacsohn of Medium wrote of the album two years after its release "Kanye has taken a beating over the years, man. Listen to "The New Workout Plan" off [The College] Dropout, then listen to "Wolves"."[10][11] Raleigh-based rapper J. Cole sampled "The New Workout Plan" in his 2011 hit single "Work Out", but despite sampling the original, Cole revealed himself to not be a fan of the song personally.[12][13]

Track listing

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CD single[14]

  1. "The New Workout Plan" (Album Version) (Explicit) – 5:22
  2. "Heavy Hitters" (Dirty) – 3:57
  3. "Workout Plan" (Video) (Short Version) – 5:12

Personnel

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Information taken from The College Dropout liner notes.[15]

Charts

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Chart performance for "The New Workout Plan"
Chart (2004) Peak
position
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[16] 59

Certifications

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Certifications for "The New Workout Plan"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[17] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States September 20, 2004 (2004-09-20) Rhythmic contemporary · urban contemporary radio Roc-A-Fella, IDJMG [18]
November 1, 2004 (2004-11-01) Contemporary hit radio [19]

Remix

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"The New Workout Plan (Remix)"
Song by Kanye West featuring Fonzworth Bentley, Luke and Twista
ReleasedMarch 22, 2005
Recorded2004
GenreHip hop
Length4:01
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Lil Jon

The official remix for the song was produced by Lil Jon and features a new verse by West and guest appearances from Twista, Luke, and Fonzworth Bentley. The remix was later included on The College Dropout Video Anthology.[20]

References

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  1. ^ Xu, Derek (November 2, 2018). "Album Review: The College Dropout – Derek Xu". Medium. Archived from the original on January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  2. ^ Ghoneim, Tareck (January 5, 2005). "Kanye West - The New Workout Plan - Single Review". Contactmusic.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  3. ^ Cantor, Paul (October 2, 2014). "Kanye West's 'The College Dropout' at 10: Classic Track-by-Track Review". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 24, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  4. ^ "Kanye West VEVO". YouTube. Archived from the original on January 2, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Delgado, Sergio (August 31, 2016). "From Kanye West to Madonna: The Best Workout Music Videos". Furthermore. Archived from the original on January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  6. ^ Gracie, Blanca (February 10, 2014). "Kanye West's "The New Workout Plan": Revisit His Hilariously Brilliant 'College Dropout' Single". Idolator. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  7. ^ Scott, Sydney (August 17, 2017). "Video Superstars: 14 Memorable Music Video Cameos". Essence. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  8. ^ Khal (February 7, 2017). "Remember That Time Anna Nicole Smith Was In Kanye West's "The New Workout Plan" Video?". Complex. Archived from the original on February 23, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  9. ^ "Kanye West The New Workout Plan Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  10. ^ Wickman, Forrest (February 14, 2016). "Kanye West's new album The Life of Pablo: A track-by-track breakdown". Slate. Archived from the original on January 2, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  11. ^ Isaacsohn, Austin (February 18, 2018). "Two years later, is The Life of Pablo any better?". Medium. Archived from the original on January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  12. ^ Ahmed, Insanul (June 10, 2013). "25 Things You Didn't Know About J. Cole". Complex. Archived from the original on November 23, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  13. ^ Cole explains #LetNasDown, June 7, 2013, archived from the original on November 30, 2021, retrieved November 30, 2021
  14. ^ "The New Workout Plan by Kanye West". Amazon.co.uk. Amazon Music. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  15. ^ The College Dropout (Media notes). Kanye West. Roc-A-Fella Records. 2004. 986 173-9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ "Kanye West Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  17. ^ "American single certifications – Kanye West – The New Workout Plan". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  18. ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1573. September 17, 2004. p. 31. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  19. ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1579. October 29, 2004. p. 19. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 8, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  20. ^ Moss, Cory (April 17, 2004). "Run-In With A Bentley Uncovers Some Kanye West Remix Plans". MTV. Archived from the original on December 29, 2008. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
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