The New Workout Plan

"The New Workout Plan" is a song from Kanye West's debut album, The College Dropout. Released in late 2004, the single peaked at #59 on the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The music video was released in 2004, with cameos from John Legend, Miri Ben-Ari, Anna Nicole Smith, Fonzworth Bentley, Tracee Ellis Ross, Vida Guerra and GLC. "Work Out" by J. Cole samples the song.

"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)
GenreHip hop, comedy 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 video
"The New Workout Plan (Long Version)" on YouTube
"The New Workout Plan (Short Version)" on YouTube

Composition

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

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

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

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

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 single "Work Out", but despite sampling the original, Cole revealed himself to not be a fan of it.[12]

Track listing

CD single[13]

  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

Information taken from The College Dropout liner notes.[14]

  • Songwriter: Kanye West
  • Record producer: Kanye West
  • Recorder: Keith Slattery, Andrew Dawson, Eugene A. Toale
  • Mix engineer: Manny Marroquin
  • Background vocals: John Legend, Sumeke Rainey
  • Guitar: Eric "E-Bass" Johnson
  • Piano: Ervin "EP" Pope
  • Violin: Miri Ben-Ari

Charts
Chart (2004) Peak
position
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[15] 59

Remix
"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.[16]

gollark: See, multiline strings are nice.
gollark: Like how you're forced to use for loops because you can't write or have `map`.
gollark: I mean, it sort of has "one way" a lot, but it's a really bad way.
gollark: Unless it doesn't.
gollark: (by word count)

References
  1. Xu, Derek (2018-11-02). "Album Review: The College Dropout – Derek Xu". Medium. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  2. Ghoneim, Tareck (2005-01-05). "Kanye West - The New Workout Plan - Single Review". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  3. Cantor, Paul (2014-10-02). "Kanye West's 'The College Dropout' at 10: Classic Track-by-Track Review". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  4. "Kanye West VEVO". YouTube. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  5. Delgado, Sergio (2016-08-31). "From Kanye West to Madonna: The Best Workout Music Videos". Furthermore. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  6. Gracie, Blanca (2014-02-10). "Kanye West's "The New Workout Plan": Revisit His Hilariously Brilliant 'College Dropout' Single". Idolator. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  7. Scott, Sydney (2017-08-17). "Video Superstars: 14 Memorable Music Video Cameos". Essence. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  8. Khal (2017-02-07). "Remember That Time Anna Nicole Smith Was In Kanye West's "The New Workout Plan" Video?". Complex. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  9. "Kanye West The New Workout Plan Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-12-06.
  10. Wickman, Forrest (2016-02-14). "Kanye West's new album The Life of Pablo: A track-by-track breakdown". Slate. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  11. Isaacsohn, Austin (2018-02-18). "Two years later, is The Life of Pablo any better?". Medium. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  12. Ahmed, Insanul (2013-06-10). "25 Things You Didn't Know About J. Cole". Complex. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  13. "The New Workout Plan by Kanye West". Amazon.co.uk. Amazon Music. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  14. The College Dropout (Media notes). Kanye West. Roc-A-Fella Records. 2004. 986 173-9.CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. "Kanye West Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  16. Moss, Cory (2004-04-17). "Run-In With A Bentley Uncovers Some Kanye West Remix Plans". MTV. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
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