Kanye West’s 2005 hit “Gold Digger” features vocals from actor and singer Jamie Foxx. Foxx supplies the memorable sung hook and interpolates material associated with Ray Charles, while West delivers the rap verses.
The song was released as the second single from West’s album Late Registration. Its central musical idea draws on Ray Charles’s 1954 recording “I Got a Woman,” particularly its vocal and melodic elements. Foxx’s involvement was especially fitting because he had portrayed Charles in the 2004 biographical film Ray, although West had begun developing the track before that film was made.
West originally conceived an early version for rapper Shawnna, but the song ultimately became his own recording. Producer Jon Brion helped shape the finished arrangement, adding live-instrument textures to West’s sample-based production style.
“Gold Digger” became one of West’s biggest commercial successes. It topped charts in several countries, won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance, and is often remembered for combining a vintage soul reference with a sharply comic rap narrative.