And just when you think the Kanye archives have run dry, something like this pops up. Here’s some vaulted footage of Kanye West and John Legend performing what would eventually become his biggest hit to date, “Gold Digger,” at the second annual Dynamic Producer Conference in 2003.
Really, the only thing that’s the same here are the lyrics, which shows you just how long it takes Kanye to fine tune and eventually release a record (“Gold Digger” didn’t drop until 2005). A true perfectionist.
Also, the beat for “Gold Digger” may or may not have existed at this point, as I know Shawnna passed on it for her Worth Tha Weight album, so Yeezy just kept it for himself. Shouts to P&P on the find.