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"Impossible"
Single by Kanye West featuring Twista, Keyshia Cole and BJ
B-side"Impossible" (Instrumental) / "Drive Slow" (Strings Mix)
ReleasedMay 5, 2006
RecordedMarch 2006, Sony Scoring Stage, Culver City
Genre Hip hop
Length3:23
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Kanye West
Kanye West singles chronology
" Touch the Sky"
(2006) 		"Impossible"
(2006) 		" Drive Slow"
(2006)
Twista singles chronology
" Spit Your Game"
(2006) 		"Impossible"
(2006) 		" Don't Get It Twisted"
(2006)

"Impossible" is a song by American hip-hop recording artist Kanye West, featuring Twista, Keyshia Cole and BJ. The song was made for the film Mission: Impossible III and used as its official theme song, but was not featured on its soundtrack album. [1] It appeared on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Bubbling Under Hot 100 charts in 2006.

Background

While the rest of the music for the film Mission: Impossible III was recorded over the course of eight days at the Sony Scoring Stage in Culver City, California. [2], 'Impossible' was originally an outtake from Twista's fourth album Kamikaze, which West found to be the perfect offering to be used in "Mission: Impossible III", when franchise star Tom Cruise asked for a contribution. [3]

Cruise was said to be delighted at West contributing to the soundtrack, describing himself as being "a fan of Kanye's work". [4]

Composition

Vocals from "It's Impossible" by New Birth are sampled throughout the track. [5] West claimed the track took "50 hours" to produce. [6]

Critical reception

"Impossible" was placed on a list of '20 Horrible Songs Made By Great Rappers' that Al Shipley of Complex published in 2013. [7] Jonathan Ringen of Rolling Stone rated the song two out of five stars and elaborated by writing: "It doesn't quite work: The skittering beat never settles into a groove, and the rhymes never explain what, exactly, is supposed to be so impossible." [8]

Track listing

CD single [9]

  1. "Impossible" (Radio) – 3:23
  2. "Impossible" (Extended Radio) – 5:12
  3. "Impossible" (Instrumental) – 5:09

12" single [10]

A-side
  1. "Impossible" (Radio) - 3:25
  2. "Impossible" (Extended Version) - 3:25
B-side
  1. "Impossible" (Instrumental) - 5:09
  2. " Drive Slow" (feat. Paul Wall and GLC) (Strings Mix) - 5:41

Digital download [11]

  1. "Impossible" (Radio Edit) - 3:22

Commercial performance

The track spent a total of 16 weeks on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and managed to reach its peak position of 54 on June 24, 2006, over a month after being released as a single. [12] It reached number 27 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart on May 27, 2006. [13]

Charts

Chart (2006) Peak
position
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles ( Billboard) [14] 3
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard) [15] 54
US Pop 100 ( Billboard) [16] 83

References

  1. ^ Abrams, J.J. (February 8, 2006). "Kanye West's Mission Impossible". IGN. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  2. ^ Burlingame, Jon (May 7, 2006). "Michael Giacchino's Mission: Make the Old Music New". The New York Times. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  3. ^ "Kanye Says M:i:III Track Took 50 Hours". MTV. MTV. Retrieved Aug 1, 2023.
  4. ^ mark (July 2, 2006). "Tom Cruise Heaps Praise Upon Kanye West". Gawker. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  5. ^ "Kanye West feat. Twista, Keyshia Cole and BJ's 'Impossible' sample of The New Birth's 'It's Impossible'". WhoSampled. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  6. ^ "Kanye Says M:i:III Track Took 50 Hours". MTV. MTV. Retrieved Aug 1, 2023.
  7. ^ Shipley, Al (June 26, 2013). "Kanye West f/ Twista & Keyshia Cole "Impossible" - 20 Horrible Songs Made By Great Rappers". Complex. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  8. ^ Ringen, Jonathan (May 18, 2006). ""Impossible"". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 24, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  9. ^ "Kanye West Feat., Twista Feat., Keyshia Cole – Impossible (CDr) at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  10. ^ "Kanye West – Impossible / Drive Slow (Strings Mix) (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  11. ^ "Impossible - Single by Kanye West featuring Twista, Keyshia Cole and BJ on Apple Music". iTunes. January 2006. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  12. ^ "Kanye West – Impossible – Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  13. ^ "Kanye West – Impossible – Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  14. ^ "Kanye West Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  15. ^ "Kanye West Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  16. ^ "Kanye West – Awards (Billboard Singles)". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on July 2, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
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