"The People" is a song by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 rapper Common

Common (rapper)

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

, released as the lead single of his seventh studio album Finding Forever. It made its first appearance on 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...

's Can't Tell Me Nothing

Can't Tell Me Nothing (mixtape)

Can't Tell Me Nothing: The Official Mixtape is a mixtape by American hip-hop artist Kanye West. It was made freely available over the internet on May 27, 2007 in anticipation of the release of his third studio album, Graduation.-Background:...

 mixtape. The song features production by West and contains background vocals provided by soul

Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 singer Dwele

Dwele

Andwele Gardner , better known by his stage name Dwele is a soul singer, songwriter and record producer from Detroit, Michigan.-Biography:...

. The original version of the song had Common singing the hook by himself, but this was later replaced with Dwele singing the hook. It contains samples of "We Almost Lost Detroit" by Gil Scott-Heron

Gil Scott-Heron

Gilbert "Gil" Scott-Heron was an American soul and jazz poet, musician, and author known primarily for his work as a spoken word performer in the 1970s and '80s...

 as well as vocal samples of "Long Red

Long Red

"Long Red" is a song recorded by the band Mountain from their album Mountain Live: The Road Goes Ever On. It is notable as one of the most sample drum breaks in the history of hip hop music.-Samples:...

" by Mountain

Mountain (band)

Mountain is an American hard rock band that formed in Long Island, New York in 1969. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Leslie West, bassist Felix Pappalardi and drummer N. D. Smart, the band broke up in 1972 before reuniting in 1974 and remaining active until today...

 (the latter of which was sampled on Wouldn't Get Far

Wouldn't Get Far

"Wouldn't Get Far" is the third single from The Game's second album Doctor's Advocate.-Production:The song is produced by and features a verse from Kanye West. It contains a sample from Creative Source's "I'd Find You Anywhere" , and a sample from "Long Red " by Mountain...

 featuring West). This action was part of West intention to pay tribute to the late J Dilla

J Dilla

James Dewitt Yancey , better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer who emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michigan...

 through the production style expressed within the album.

Though it performed moderately on the charts, "The People" became one of the most critically acclaimed songs of the year. The song was listed at number twenty-nine on Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

s the 100 Best Songs of 2007. It also received a nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance

Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance

The Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance was awarded from 1991 to 2011, alongside the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance....

 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,...

.

Music video

The music video for "The People" was directed by NEON and filmed in Common's hometown of Chicago, Illinois. The video premiered on June 22 on Y! Music and features stills of Common rapping in the middle of a field on the outskirts of the city, interspersed with scenes of various locations throughout the metropolis.

A-side

1. "The People (Radio Edit) – 3:32
2. "The People (LP Version) – 3:32
3. "The People (Instrumental) – 3:22

B-side

1. "The Game
   The Game (Common song)
   "The Game" is the second single from rapper Common's 2007 album Finding Forever. It was released to iTunes as a digital download on May 22, 2007. It is produced by Kanye West, who samples "Tezeta" by Ethiopian jazz musician Seyfu Yohannes for the track's beat. It utilizes O.C.'s "Half Good, Half...
   
   " (Radio Edit) – 3:37
2. "The Game" (LP Version) – 3:35
3. "The Game" (Instrumental) – 3:35

CD single

1. "The People" (Radio Edit) – 3:33
2. "The People" (LP Version) – 3:33
3. "The People" (Instrumental) – 3:23

Personnel

Information taken from Finding Forever liner notes.

• Songwriters: Lonnie Lynn, Kanye West, Gil Scott-Heron
• Producer: Kanye West
• Recorder: Andrew Dawson
• Mix engineer: Mike Dean
• Callowhill electric bass: Derrick Hodge
• Keyboards: Omar Edwards
• Background vocals: Dwele

Chart positions

Chart (2007)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...  Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100...	11
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...	55