Kanye West's first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist was "Gold Digger." Released in 2005 as the third single from his second studio album, Late Registration, the song features singer Jamie Foxx and reworks a melody associated with Ray Charles's "I Got a Woman."
The track became West's breakthrough as a Hot 100 chart leader. It spent ten weeks at number one in the United States and became one of the defining rap-pop crossover hits of the mid-2000s. Foxx's sung contribution, including his performance inspired by Ray Charles, helped give the record a strong soul and mainstream appeal.
The wording matters because West had appeared on or contributed to other successful songs, and some of his later solo hits also reached the top. "Stronger," "Heartless," and "Love Lockdown" were all major Kanye releases, but they came after "Gold Digger" as chart milestones. The song also earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Song and remains one of West's most recognizable singles.