GOOD Music

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Lore & Background

Kanye West first announced plans for a GOOD Music album in October 2011 via his Twitter account. The title Cruel Summer was revealed in part with a film of the same name, written by Elon Rutberg and produced by Alex Rosenberg, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival. The album was originally slated for release on August 7, 2012, but underwent several delays. Pusha T recorded over 20 verses for the album, including a scrapped song with Big Sean and Common called 'Trash Bags.' Azealia Banks also recorded with West in 2012, but her contributions were not included. The album's artwork was designed by DONDA, West's creative agency. A sequel titled Cruel Winter began development in 2016, and a single ('Champions') was released as promotion, but the album was ultimately unfinished and never released. Plans to turn the album into a series of four albums—including Cruel Autumn and Cruel Spring—were mentioned in an interview Complex held with Cyhi the Prince, but those records never came into fruition. As of 2026, none of the artists featured on Cruel Summer are still with the label.

In Their Own Story

Cruel Summer debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 205,000 copies in its first week. It also entered at number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. In its second week, the album dropped to seventh, selling 55,000 copies. As of November 4, 2012, the album had sold 389,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In 2021, the album was certified Platinum for over 1 million album-equivalent units by the RIAA. The album's four singles—'Mercy,' 'Cold,' 'New God Flow,' and 'Clique'—saw mixed success on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. 'Mercy' peaked at number 13, 'Cold' at number 89, 'New God Flow' at number 89, and 'Clique' at number 12. The album received a 'fairly lukewarm response' from critics, with a Metacritic score of 68 out of 100 from 28 critic scores. Critics like Christopher R. Weingarten of Spin called it 'not a cohesive crew album,' while Jon Caramanica of The New York Times found GOOD Music's other rappers to be 'a mixed bag.' Rolling Stone named it the 24th best record of 2012 in a year-end list.

Reader's Guide

GOOD Music was founded by Kanye West in 2004. The label's first compilation album, Cruel Summer, was released on September 14, 2012, by GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings. The album featured West, then-signees Pusha T, Big Sean, Teyana Taylor, Kid Cudi, John Legend, Common, D'banj, and Malik Yusef, plus affiliates Jay-Z, 2 Chainz, Travis Scott, and Cyhi the Prynce. Production was handled by Very GOOD Beats members including West, Hit-Boy, Hudson Mohawke, Travis Scott, and Lifted. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 205,000 first-week sales. As of 2020, Cruel Summer is tied with Shady XV as the second-best performing record label compilation album on Billboard's year-end Compilation albums chart, behind Eminem Presents: The Re-Up (3) in 2007, since records began in 2006. A sequel, Cruel Winter, began development in 2016 but was never released. As of 2026, none of the artists featured on Cruel Summer remain with the label.

Did You Know?

• Cruel Summer was preceded by a short film of the same name that debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, written by Elon Rutberg and produced by Alex Rosenberg.
• Pusha T recorded over 20 verses for the album, including a scrapped track called 'Trash Bags' with Big Sean and Common.
• The album's artwork was designed by DONDA, Kanye West's creative agency.
• As of 2020, Cruel Summer is tied with Shady XV as the second-best performing record label compilation album on Billboard's year-end Compilation albums chart since records began in 2006.
• A sequel titled Cruel Winter began development in 2016, and a single ('Champions') was released, but the album was never finished or released.