"Touch the Sky" is a song by American hip hop artist Kanye West. It was released in early 2006 as the fourth single from his second album, Late Registration. The song features Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco on his radio debut and was produced by Just Blaze, standing as the only song on the entire album not to feature production by West. Blaze uses a slowed down horn sample from the Curtis Mayfield song "Move On Up."

Music video [link]

The music video for "Touch the Sky" was directed by Chris Milk and filmed as a '70s style short movie about daredevil Evel Kanyevel (played by Kanye West) and his attempt to fly a small rocket across the Grand Canyon. It is done as a homage to Evel Knievel's unsuccessful jump across the Snake River Canyon in 1974.

The video features Pamela Anderson, Nia Long, Tracee Ellis Ross, and the Booker T. Washington High School Marching Band of Houston, Texas, which performs with Lupe Fiasco at a pep rally. Members of Fall Out Boy were supposed to appear in the video as reporters but were unable, as they were in Europe when the video was being filmed.^[1] The production cost for the music video was approximately $1 million, which is the 25th most expensive music video of all time.^{[citation needed]}

Lawsuit [link]

In December 2006, Evel Knievel filed a lawsuit against Kanye West for trademark infringement.^[2] Specifically, Knievel's lawsuit cites the similarities between West's star-adorned, blue and white costume in the video and the costume in which the stuntman wore when attempting his 1974 Snake River Canyon jump. West's attorneys argued that the music video amounted to satire and therefore was covered under the First Amendment. Just days before his death in November 2007, Knievel amicably settled the suit after being paid a visit from West, saying, "I thought he was a wonderful guy and quite a gentleman."^[3]

Remix and Cover [link]

There is an official remix that was leaked on mixtapes and features The LOX (Jadakiss, Sheek Louch and Styles P), J-Hood, and Lupe Fiasco. There is also a cover of the song performed by rap student Denzil Furtado.^[4]

Charts [link]

Personnel [link]

Information taken from Late Registration liner notes.^[7]

• Songwriters: Kanye West, Wasalu Jaco, Justin Smith, Curtis Mayfield
• Producer: Just Blaze
• Recorders: Anthony Kilhoffer, Andrew Dawson
• Mix engineer: Mike Dean
• Assistant engineers: Richard Reitz, Matt Green, Nate Connelly, Mike Mo

References [link]

External links [link]

• Music video for "Touch the Sky" on YouTube