Swagga Like Us

"Swagga Like Us" is a song by American rappers Jay-Z and T.I. featuring fellow American rappers Lil Wayne and Kanye West, the latter of whom also produced the song, constructing primarily around a vocal sample of "Paper Planes" by British musician M.I.A. It was released on September 6, 2008, in the United States as the fifth single from T.I.'s sixth album Paper Trail (2008). The track was also initially slated for inclusion on Jay-Z's eleventh album The Blueprint 3 (2009), however it ultimately failed to make the final track listing. "Swagga like Us" received mostly mixed reviews from music critics: whilst many complimented T.I.'s performance and the production, most denounced the other three rappers' performances as lyrically uninspired and overly brash, with Wayne and West also singled out for criticism for the perceived overuse of Auto-Tune in their vocals. Commercially, however, the song was a success despite a premature leak to the internet: it debuted and peaked at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100, and also charted modestly in a few overseas territories. It was nominated for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 51st Grammy Awards, winning the latter: the four rappers, alongside M.I.A. herself, also performed "Swagga Like Us" and the original "Paper Planes" during the ceremony. Background Kanye West had originally wanted to work with British artist M.I.A. on his second studio album Late Registration (2005), but her busy schedule prevented this from happening. However, his interest in her music grew further after he heard her 2007 song "Paper Planes", which he decided to use in a hip hop music production—the first he had composed since the death of his mother, Donda West, in 2007 following complications during cosmetic surgery. "Swagga Like Us" was heavily remixed by various artists. Hip hop duo Clipse included their remix on their mixtape Road to Till the Casket Drops. Diddy recorded a remix titled "Swagger Like Puff" featuring Cassie singing the chorus, which managed to peak at number seventeen on the Deutsche Black Charts. Trey Songz has also recorded a remix under the title "Swagga Like Songz". On November 10, 2008, Chamillionaire released his own remix of the song for his mixtape Mixtape Messiah 5, titled "Swagga Like Koop".