--- description: Kanye used the track to showcase the range of talent on his G.O.O.D. Music label, featuring artists like Big Sean and the newly signed Brooklyn rapper Desiigner. title: Kanye West Drops First Song From New Album 'Cruel Winter' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Kanye West Just Released the First Single Off His New Album _Cruel Winter_  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 3, 2016 3:45 PM CUT  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 3, 2016 3:45 PM CUT While we’re still waiting on [Frank Ocean to drop his new album](http://time.com/4355521/frank-ocean-new-album-friday-june-3/ "undefined"), [Kanye West](http://time.com/3822841/kanye-west-2015-time-100/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") has taken it upon himself to bless us with [some new music this summer](http://time.com/4321566/song-of-the-summer-justin-timberlake-cant-stop-the-feeling/ "undefined"). The rapper dropped a 6-minute track on Friday morning — the first single off his upcoming album, _Cruel Winter_ — loaded with collaborators ranging from Gucci Mane to Big Sean. Yeezy debuted the still unnamed track on Big Boy’s 92.3 and told the radio host that the song has been in the works for over a year. > [](https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/738736692631330816) “I had the basic beat for a year and a half. It sounded right for this project,” West said. “This is the hook we should have for the first single.” Kanye used the track to showcase the range of talent on his G.O.O.D. Music label, featuring artists like Big Sean and the newly signed Brooklyn rapper Desiigner. Gucci Mane, Yo Gotti, Quavo, 2 Chainz, and Travi$ Scott also lend their bars to the song. West also revealed to Big Boy that the track will be significantly longer on the album. Listen to the full track below. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4356393/kanye-west-new-album-cruel-winter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4356393/kanye-west-new-album-cruel-winter/"},"headline":"Kanye West Just Released the First Single Off His New Album Cruel Winter","datePublished":"2016-06-03T15:45:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:32:57.311Z","description":"Yeezy season","url":"https://time.com/4356393/kanye-west-new-album-cruel-winter/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Entertainment","Music","Kanye West"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4356393/kanye-west-new-album-cruel-winter/","name":"Kanye West Just Released the First Single Off His New Album Cruel Winter"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Kanye West on Why He Doesn't Care About His Legacy","description":"“Every time I say something that’s extremely truthful out loud, it literally breaks the internet. So what are we getting all of the rest of the time?” asks West, the rapper and designer.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/hQZVDnKU/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-04-16T01:37:56.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hQZVDnKU.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4356393/kanye-west-new-album-cruel-winter/","duration":"PT3M58S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4356393/kanye-west-new-album-cruel-winter/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```