"Impossible"
Single by Kanye West featuring Twista, Keyshia Cole and BJ
B-side"Impossible" (Instrumental) / "Drive Slow" (Strings Mix)
ReleasedMay 5, 2006
RecordedMarch 2006, Sony Scoring Stage, Culver City
GenreHip hop
Length3:23
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Kanye West
Kanye West singles chronology
"Touch the Sky"
(2006) 		"Impossible"
(2006) 		"Drive Slow"
(2006)
Twista singles chronology
"Spit Your Game"
(2006) 		"Impossible"
(2006) 		"Don't Get It Twisted"
(2006)

"Impossible" is a song by American hip-hop recording artist Kanye West, featuring Twista, Keyshia Cole and BJ. The song was made for the film Mission: Impossible III and used as its official theme song, but was not featured on its soundtrack album.[1] It appeared on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Bubbling Under Hot 100 charts in 2006.

Background

While the rest of the music for the film Mission: Impossible III was recorded over the course of eight days at the Sony Scoring Stage in Culver City, California.[2], 'Impossible' was originally an outtake from Twista's fourth album Kamikaze, which West found to be the perfect offering to be used in "Mission: Impossible III", when franchise star Tom Cruise asked for a contribution.[3]

Cruise was said to be delighted at West contributing to the soundtrack, describing himself as being "a fan of Kanye's work".[4]

Composition

Vocals from "It's Impossible" by New Birth are sampled throughout the track.[5] West claimed the track took "50 hours" to produce.[6]

Critical reception

"Impossible" was placed on a list of '20 Horrible Songs Made By Great Rappers' that Al Shipley of Complex published in 2013.[7] Jonathan Ringen of Rolling Stone rated the song two out of five stars and elaborated by writing: "It doesn't quite work: The skittering beat never settles into a groove, and the rhymes never explain what, exactly, is supposed to be so impossible."[8]

Track listing

CD single[9]

  1. "Impossible" (Radio) – 3:23
  2. "Impossible" (Extended Radio) – 5:12
  3. "Impossible" (Instrumental) – 5:09

12" single[10]

A-side
  1. "Impossible" (Radio) - 3:25
  2. "Impossible" (Extended Version) - 3:25
B-side
  1. "Impossible" (Instrumental) - 5:09
  2. "Drive Slow" (feat. Paul Wall and GLC) (Strings Mix) - 5:41

Digital download[11]

  1. "Impossible" (Radio Edit) - 3:22

Commercial performance

The track spent a total of 16 weeks on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and managed to reach its peak position of 54 on June 24, 2006, over a month after being released as a single.[12] It reached number 27 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart on May 27, 2006.[13]

Charts

Chart (2006) Peak
position
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[14] 3
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[15] 54
US Pop 100 (Billboard)[16] 83

References

  1. ^ Abrams, J.J. (February 8, 2006). "Kanye West's Mission Impossible". IGN. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  2. ^ Burlingame, Jon (May 7, 2006). "Michael Giacchino's Mission: Make the Old Music New". The New York Times. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  3. ^ "Kanye Says M:i:III Track Took 50 Hours". MTV. MTV. Retrieved Aug 1, 2023.
  4. ^ mark (July 2, 2006). "Tom Cruise Heaps Praise Upon Kanye West". Gawker. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  5. ^ "Kanye West feat. Twista, Keyshia Cole and BJ's 'Impossible' sample of The New Birth's 'It's Impossible'". WhoSampled. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  6. ^ "Kanye Says M:i:III Track Took 50 Hours". MTV. MTV. Retrieved Aug 1, 2023.
  7. ^ Shipley, Al (June 26, 2013). "Kanye West f/ Twista & Keyshia Cole "Impossible" - 20 Horrible Songs Made By Great Rappers". Complex. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  8. ^ Ringen, Jonathan (May 18, 2006). ""Impossible"". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 24, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  9. ^ "Kanye West Feat., Twista Feat., Keyshia Cole – Impossible (CDr) at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  10. ^ "Kanye West – Impossible / Drive Slow (Strings Mix) (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  11. ^ "Impossible - Single by Kanye West featuring Twista, Keyshia Cole and BJ on Apple Music". iTunes. January 2006. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  12. ^ "Kanye West – Impossible – Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  13. ^ "Kanye West – Impossible – Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  14. ^ "Kanye West Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  15. ^ "Kanye West Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  16. ^ "Kanye West – Awards (Billboard Singles)". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on July 2, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
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