"Classic" is Grammy nominated collaboration song between Kanye West

Kanye West

Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...

, Nas

Nas

Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...

, Rakim

Rakim

William Michael Griffin Jr. , known by his stage names Rakim , Rakim Allah, R.A.K.I.M., and The Master, is an American rapper. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and most skilled emcees of all time. Eric B...

 and KRS-One

KRS-One

Lawrence Krisna Parker , better known by his stage names KRS-One , and Teacha, is an American rapper...

 that is produced by Rick Rubin

Rick Rubin

Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...

. The song was released as a single on February 20, 2007 by Nike Records. It was performed live at the Nike

Nike, Inc.

Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...

 Air Force Ones

Air Force 1 (shoe)

The Air Force 1 athletic shoe is a product of Nike, Inc. created by designer Bruce Kilgore. This was the first basketball shoe to use the Nike Air technology. This shoe is offered in low, mid and high top.-Overview:...

 25th anniversary party shown on MTV2

MTV2

MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...

. Its remix

Remix

A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....

, "Better Than I've Ever Been DJ Premier Remix", is produced by DJ Premier

DJ Premier

Christopher Edward Martin , better known by his stage name DJ Premier , is an American record producer and DJ, and was the instrumental half of the hip hop duo Gang Starr, together with emcee Guru...

, and it features Rakim

Rakim

William Michael Griffin Jr. , known by his stage names Rakim , Rakim Allah, R.A.K.I.M., and The Master, is an American rapper. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and most skilled emcees of all time. Eric B...

 along with the aforementioned rappers. It features DJ Premier's signature scratches

Scratching

Scratching is a DJ or turntablist technique used to produce distinctive sounds by moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable while optionally manipulating the crossfader on a DJ mixer. While scratching is most commonly associated with hip hop music, since the late 1980s, it has been used...

 from prior songs such as Nas' "One Love

One Love (Nas song)

"One Love" is a song by American hip hop rapper Nas, released October 25, 1994 on Columbia Records. It was issued as the fifth and final radio single in promotion of his debut studio album Illmatic . The song was produced by Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest, who also contributed vocals for the chorus...

" and "It Ain't Hard to Tell

It Ain't Hard to Tell

"It Ain't Hard to Tell" is Nas' second single and last track from his debut album Illmatic. Produced by Large Professor, the song samples Michael Jackson's 1983 hit single "Human Nature", "N.T." by Kool & the Gang, "Why Can't People Be Colors Too?" by The Whatnauts, "Long Red" by Mountain & "Slow...

". The song was nominated for Best Rap Collaboration at the 50th Grammy Awards

50th Grammy Awards

The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on February 10, 2008. Kanye West received the most nominations, with eight. Amy Winehouse was the big winner, winning a total of five awards. Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters won Album of the Year,...

 in 2008. Common

Common (rapper)

Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. , better known by his stage name Common , is an American hip-hop artist and actor....

 was featured on the remix, scratched on the DJ Premier version.

Proceeds from the song's sales will go towards youth leadership programs through the Force4Change Fund.

Track listing

1. "Better Than I've Ever Been" (Explicit)
2. "Better Than I've Ever Been" (Instrumental)
3. "Better Than I've Ever Been" (Explicit Acapella)
4. "Classic" (DJ Premier Remix) (featuring Nas, KRS-One and Rakim) (Edited Version)
5. "Classic" (DJ Premier Remix) (Instrumental)

Samples

The original beat by Rick Rubin

Rick Rubin

Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...

 samples the song "Give Me the Night", performed by George Benson

George Benson

George Benson is a ten Grammy Award winning American musician, whose production career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist....

, off his Give Me the Night album.

DJ Premier's remix contains samples from "Dance the Kung-Fu" by Carl Douglas

Carl Douglas

Carl Douglas is a former Jamaican-born, UK-based, singer, best known for his song "Kung Fu Fighting", which hit number one in both the UK Singles Chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. The R.I.A.A. awarded gold disc status on 27 November, and it won a Grammy Award for Best Selling Single...

.