One of the most incredible performances I've ever seen and still, 11 years on, an incredibly bombastic song.’ Despite the audience being tiny, he performed ‘‘Jesus Walks’’ as he does every song, every time - with overwhelming passion. There were about 100 people there – including Big Brother Hov – and so I stood right at the very front enjoying this incredible personal audience with Ye. I got to see Kanye perform a whole set at midnight on a beach in the Bahamas around 2005. And it was a single! With hindsight it shows the incredible self-confidence Kanye possesses as a producer and songwriter.

‘What an utterly bombastic move for a debut album. Hattie Collins, Music Editor at i-D magazine says. ‘The first time I saw him perform this on TV, I got goosebumps. Epic and affecting, 'All of the Lights' is Peak Ye.' Nick LevineĪlloysious Massaquoi from Scottish alt hip hop trio Young Fathers says. West's tale of a man who abuses his wife and gets separated from his daughter is sharp, hard-hitting and full of specifics, but it's actually a devastatingly clever allegory for fame, failure, and fucking up. Who else would get Alicia Keys, John Legend, The-Dream, Drake, Fergie, Kid Cudi, Elton John, Charlie Wilson, La Roux's Elly Jackson and Rihanna all on the same song? Who else would even think to try? In theory, all this star power should be distracting, but Yeezy's songwriting is so strong that his narrative still shines through. 'The gaggle of backing vocalists West assembled for this track is incredible. Even before I worked with him and his team, that song was my favourite.’ It’s not only incredibly anthemic, but also a huge labour of love for Kanye, because so much effort went into making that one particular track. ‘There are so many different sections and vocals in it – I heard they made something like 150 different versions of the song before they came to the final cut.

Mind-altering Scottish producer Hudson Mohawke says. And while none of Donda’s 27 tracks made the cut, the 25 songs below make a strong case that maybe Kanye was onto something when he called himself the greatest – just don’t tell him we said that. With the new album now out, we dove back into our ranking of the best Kanye songs, culled from our roster of music writers, beloved musicians and one Kanye-loving footballer for a rundown of the rapper/producer’s greatest singles. The self-professed musical Picasso who created the hits on this list of the best Kanye West songs dominated the news cycle in advance of his eagerly anticipated Donda, holding a series of head-scratching listening parties, rubbing elbows with disgraced shock-rockers and endlessly tinkering on what he promised would be his magnum opus. It’s Kanye West’s world… we’re just living in it.

Top 100 hip hop songs