10 Amazing Songs Written In 30 Minutes Or Less

Speaking of Kanye, he has an entry of his own on this list. His first solo top ten hit in the United States came with 2004’s All Falls Down, a politically conscious rap that masterfully combines a number of societal issues surrounding the African-American community with West’s personal insecurities and shortcomings.

It was a part of his debut album, The College Dropout, and listed as track four, it continues the themes explored throughout that record. It also features a guest appearance from singer Syleena Johnson.

Whatever you think of Kanye now, it is undeniable that he was in great form for a long time, and All Falls Down is one of the earliest fruits of that hot streak. So, when he says that he wrote it in just fifteen minutes, it makes it even more incredible.

"It wasn’t until I hung out with Dead Prez and understood how to make, you know, raps with a message sound cool that I was able to just write All Falls Down in 15 minutes,” he said in a 2013 interview with The New York Times.

There were some complications when it came to releasing the song, as the original version had an interpolation of Mystery of Iniquity by Lauryn Hill from her live album MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, and Ye was unable to get legal clearance to include it. That’s where Syleena Johnson came in to re-record Hill’s vocal parts and finalise the track that eventually ended up on the record.