Otis

About this song

"Otis" is the second single from Watch the Throne. Kanye West built the track by flipping a portion of a classic Otis Redding song into a full instrumental, after his mentor No I.D. gave him a producing challenge. The song opens with a slowed-down refrain from Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness" before the piano sample is chopped and reworked and the heavy bass and drums come in. It debuted at #47 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaked at #12, and has been certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA. It was recorded at the Mercer Hotel in June 2011, previewed there in July, and premiered by Funkmaster Flex on Hot 97 on July 20 before its online release the next day.

Fun facts

• Samples “Try a Little Tenderness by Otis Redding” and “Don't Tell a Lie About Me and I Won't Tell the Truth on You by James Brown”.
• Sampled in 19 other songs, like “Funkmaster Flex Premieres Otis on Hot 97 by Funkmaster Flex”.
• Covered 3 times, including “N-Otis by Kool Moe Dee (Ft. Grandmaster Caz)”.
• Written by JAŸ-Z, Kanye West, Daddy-O, Harry Woods, James Brown and James Campbell.
• Produced by Kanye West.