Mercy (Kanye West song)

"Mercy"
Single by Kanye West featuring Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz
from the album Cruel Summer
Released	April 3, 2012 (2012-04-03)
Recorded	2011–12
Genre	Hip hop trap
Length	5:32
Label	GOOD Music Def Jam
Songwriter(s)	Kanye West Sean Anderson Terrence Thornton Tauheed Epps Michael Williams II Ross Birchard Mike Dean Stepan Taft James Thomas Denzie Beagle Winston Riley Reggie Williams
Producer(s)	Lifted Mike Dean (add.) Mike Will Made It (add.) Kanye West (add.) Hudson Mohawke (add.)
Kanye West singles chronology
"No Church in the Wild" (2012) "Mercy" (2012) "Cold" (2012)
Big Sean singles chronology
"Dance (A$$)" (2011) "Mercy" (2012) "Till I Die" (2012)
Pusha T singles chronology
"What Do You Take Me For?" (2011) "Mercy" (2012) "Exodus 23:1" (2012)
2 Chainz singles chronology
"Mercy" (2012) "Beez in the Trap" (2012)
GOOD Music singles chronology
"Mercy" (2012) "Cold" (2012)
Music video
"Mercy" on YouTube

"Mercy" (stylized as "Mercy.1" on the album) is a song by American rapper Kanye West featuring fellow American rappers Big Sean, Pusha T, and 2 Chainz. The song was released April 3, 2012 through GOOD Music and Def Jam as the lead single from the compilation album Cruel Summer (2012). The song's production was handled by Lifted, with additional production from West, Mike Dean, and Mike Will Made It, and additional instrumentation from Hudson Mohawke. The song heavily samples the dancehall song "Dust a Sound Boy" by Super Beagle. The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics who praised the bombastic production, the varying quality of the verses, and the wordplay of the individual rappers. The song was featured on the soundtrack for NBA 2K13.

The song peaked at number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and hit number one on both the US Billboard Hot Rap Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. The song has since been certified sextuple platinum for six million digital sales in the US as of August 2016.^[1] A music video directed by Australian director Nabil Elderkin was released on June 6, 2012. The highly stylized video shows a long take of all four rappers featured on the song, along with other GOOD Music recording artists such as Cyhi the Prynce, Kid Cudi, Mr. Hudson and Teyana Taylor in cameos. The video features the rappers giving their verses and dancing around, with deliberate editing to make it appear as if they are disappearing and reappearing behind walls. The video received positive reviews from critics.

West performed his portion of the song at the 2012 Watch the Throne Tour, and 2 Chainz, Pusha and Big Sean performed the track during Sean's setlist at the 2012 Summer Jam festival. The song was performed by all four artists at the 2012 BET Awards, with West substituting his verse from "Mercy" with his verses from "Cold" and "New God Flow". Complex and Spin named "Mercy" the best song of 2012. The song received two nominations for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance at the 55th Grammy Awards.