Kanye West and Paul McCartney team up for new song "Only One"
Kanye West is starting the new year with a new song.
The rapper released "Only One," a collaboration with Paul McCartney, on his website and iTunes on Wednesday.
The ballad, featuring McCartney on keyboard, is sung from the perspective of West's late mother, Donda West.
"My mom was singing to me, and through me to my daughter," West said in a statement (via Rolling Stone), also noting that the name "Kanye" means "Only one."
West and McCartney began work on the track early last year in Los Angeles, a press release said, as part of "a simple brainstorming session between the two: With McCartney improvising on the keyboards and Kanye vocally sketching and shaping ideas in a stream-of-consciousness riff."
And there could be more collaborations coming from the duo -- a spokesperson for West called "Only One" the first "publicly available recording from what has become a prolific musical collaboration between these two legendary artists," according to Rolling Stone.
West's wife, Kim Kardashian, also noted that "Only One" is her favorite song by her husband.
People always ask me what my favorite Kanye song is and it's Only One. Kanye feels like his mom sang thru him to our daughter.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) January 1, 2015
I cry every time I hear this song
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) January 1, 2015
You can see the cover artwork for "Only One," along with a photo of the two stars together, below:
ONLY ONE ft. Paul McCartney http://t.co/AolpyJ6ny5 http://t.co/45EiXLvcuf photo @inezandvinoodh pic.twitter.com/0Ci8OcApDq
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) January 1, 2015