Lost in The World - Background

Background

Kanye West previewed "Lost in the World" in July 2010 at the offices of Facebook. West performed production-free versions of several songs at the event, standing on top of a table. Rolling Stone writer Daniel Kreps, who reported the event, wrote "in an unorthodox move, Kanye West debuted verses from three new songs, a cappella for employees at Facebook's headquarters in Palo Alto, California." Before launching into a performance of "Lost in the World", West mused that "this is actually a bit more like a poem" and described it as more of a "serious rap". A version of the song leaked online on September 29, 2010; the version was unfinished, with a length of approximately 6 minutes. At this time, it was unknown whether or not the song would appear on West's upcoming fifth studio album. Later, in October 2010, it was confirmed that "Lost in the World" would indeed appear on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, but that the leaked version had subsequently been split into two different songs. The first part of the track remained titled "Lost in the World", while the end became another song, titled "Who Will Survive in America".