Song

To the World

Artist: Ye

Album: Kanye West Presents Good Music: Cruel Summer

2012 (release year; edition unverified)

R. Kelly’s melodic hook and Kanye’s confrontational entrance open the compilation with collective defiance and an immediately combative mood.

Song-level links; exact audio editions and playback are not verified. Link checks & sources

Sources & recording details

Explanation & sources

An editorial reading of the song, informed by the sources below; it is not a statement of the artist’s intent. Reviewed 11/8/2026.

Music review: Kanye West’s Cruel Summer
Gulf News / Los Angeles Times · Opening paragraph
Track discussion

Listen

Song links to the listed streaming catalogs. A particular mix, master or archive edition is not verified. Availability may vary by country and account.

Listening link checks

Spotify: To The World · Kanye West, R. Kelly, Teyana Taylor · Kanye West Presents Good Music Cruel Summer. Catalog source (opens in a new tab). Song and album identity checked; playback not tested.
Apple Music: To the World · Kanye West, R. Kelly & Teyana Taylor · Kanye West Presents: Good Music - Cruel Summer. Catalog source (opens in a new tab). Song and album identity checked; playback not tested.

Lyrics & annotations

Read To the World on Genius

Song-level reference, not a verified match to a particular recording or edition. Lyrics are hosted on Genius.

Song page checked November 8, 2026.

Recordings

These are indexed catalog entries. Distinct metadata does not establish an audible revision or audio equivalence. Audio is not hosted.

Kanye West Presents Good Music: Cruel Summer (US CD, B001729102)
Catalog duration: 3:51
Position 1 of 12 in Kanye West Presents Good Music: Cruel Summer (US CD, B001729102)
Recording sources & evidence
Catalog title: To the World (Cruel Summer US CD B001729102)
Track as listed on the MusicBrainz US CD with its displayed length. A matching title does not establish identity with another edition's recording.
Sources & evidence
- MusicBrainz: Kanye West Presents Good Music: Cruel Summer (US CD release 922144cc)MusicBrainz
View field-level evidence (4 claims)
- Song identity · field trackId
  Archive summary: Track 1 is a recording of To the World.
  Claim confidence: documented
  Source location: Track 1: To the World
  Extracted: 11/8/2026
  MusicBrainz: Kanye West Presents Good Music: Cruel Summer (US CD release 922144cc) →
- Kind
  Archive summary: Album recording on an official release.
  Claim confidence: documented
  Source location: Track 1: To the World
  Extracted: 11/8/2026
  MusicBrainz: Kanye West Presents Good Music: Cruel Summer (US CD release 922144cc) →
- Duration · field durationSeconds
  Archive summary: Displayed length 3:51.
  Claim confidence: documented
  Source location: Track 1: To the World
  Extracted: 11/8/2026
  MusicBrainz: Kanye West Presents Good Music: Cruel Summer (US CD release 922144cc) →
- Release membership · field releaseIds
  Archive summary: Listed at track 1.
  Claim confidence: documented
  Source location: Track 1: To the World
  Extracted: 11/8/2026
  MusicBrainz: Kanye West Presents Good Music: Cruel Summer (US CD release 922144cc) →
Archive detail
Record ID: rv-cruel-summer-to-the-world-us-cd-b001729102
Evidence is assessed claim by claim. An association or a source confidence label does not establish a recording credit.
About the archive & method

Credits

Recording-specific Ye role: artist, producer (documented)
Evidence applies to the cited recording only, not every track or the whole catalog.

Related people

Imported associations may describe a feature or another contribution. Exact roles and recordings have not been independently reverified.

R. Kelly

Date & editorial context

Date context: 9/18/2012 (edition unverified) · linked release
Inherited from the linked release, not independently verified as this track's first release date. Imported catalog-date claim with a linked reference. The exact territory, edition and date have not been independently reverified for this release record.
Editorial era: Yeezus · 2012–2013
Editorial grouping, not a sourced historical boundary.

Sources & evidence

View field-level evidence (6 claims)

Title
Archive summary: To the World
Claim confidence: confirmed
Apple Music: Cruel Summer →
Release status · field status
Archive summary: released
Claim confidence: confirmed
Apple Music: Cruel Summer →
Release membership · field releaseIds
Archive summary: rel-cruel-summer-2012
Claim confidence: confirmed
Apple Music: Cruel Summer →
Catalog artist attribution · field primaryArtistIds
Archive summary: p_ye
Imported catalog artist attribution. The artist identity, display name and recording credit have not been independently reverified.
Recorded claim, not reverified
Apple Music: Cruel Summer →
Person association · field featureArtistIds
Archive summary: Featured artists: p-r-kelly
Imported person association. It may describe a feature or another contribution. The exact role and recording have not been independently reverified.
Recorded claim, not reverified
Apple Music: Cruel Summer →
Ye role on this recording · field yeRoles
Archive summary: In exact edited catalog 0060253716443, this recording credits Kanye West as MainArtist and Producer (including CoProducer or AdditionalProducer). Only the normalized archive roles shown are asserted.
Claim confidence: documented
Source location: Track 1: To The World (Album Version (Edited))
Extracted: 11/3/2026
Qobuz: Kanye West Presents Good Music Cruel Summer (edited catalog 0060253716443) →

Archive detail

Record ID: trk-cruel-summer-to-the-world

Evidence is assessed claim by claim. An association or a source confidence label does not establish a recording credit.

About the archive & method