24

"24" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his tenth studio album, Donda (2021). The song features additional vocals from Kenyan-American rapper KayCyy and the Sunday Service Choir. The rappers wrote it alongside Brian Miller, Ojivolta, and Warryn Campbell. The song is titled after the jersey number of Kobe Bryant, for whom it was recorded shortly after his death in January 2020. While the song did experience different reiterations over time, West had written its melody a day before Bryant died. A gospel song that includes church organ stabs, it is a tribute to Bryant. Music critics generally commended West's vocal performance on "24" and some welcomed the song's gospel style, while a few critics highlighted the Sunday Service Choir's contributions. In the United States, it reached number 43 on the US Billboard Hot 100, alongside peaking at number 14 on both the Christian Songs and Gospel Songs charts. The song also scored top-50 positions in Australia, Canada, and Iceland, as well as charting at number 40 on the Billboard Global 200. An accompanying music video debuted on September 16, 2021, which was directed by Nick Knight. In the video, West ascends from a listening event for the album at Mercedes-Benz Stadium into clouds, where he floats around while accompanied by a backdrop. At a concert on Halloween 2021, the Sunday Service Choir performed the song. Background and recording After postponing the release date of his scrapped album Yandhi twice, West started hosting choir sessions in early 2019, enlisting Jason White with arranging a choir and Nikki Grier to help with re-writing lyrics to create gospel renditions of songs in his discography. American singer-songwriter Ant Clemons recalled that the sessions eventually "morphed" into West's group the Sunday Service Choir, who toured around the world with West. West recorded with the Sunday Service Choir for their debut studio album Jesus Is Born (2019), which is credited solely to the group. Shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic started, West's musical input mostly involved him assembling and directing live performances of the Sunday Service Choir. West contributing vocals to the performances became a rarity, as did him releasing his own music. He worked with the group on their EP Emmanuel, which was released in December 2020.