‘Touch the Sky’ Kanye West ft. Lupe Fiasco (2005) “Touch the Sky” was released on November 7, 2005, as the fourth single from Kanye West’s second studio album Late Registration on Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam Records, featuring Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco in what became one of the most talked about guest verses on the entire project. Produced by Kanye West and samples Curtis Mayfield’s 1975 soul classic “Move On Up,” flipping its brass-heavy, gospel-infused orchestral energy into a celebratory hip hop record that captured the full spirit of ambition and upward mobility that defined Late Registration as an album. Lupe Fiasco’s guest verse on “Touch the Sky” carries enormous cultural weight in retrospect because it served as his mainstream introduction to a massive audience at a time when he had yet to release a debut album. His verse, which references rocket ships, astronauts, and reaching beyond limitations, matched Kanye’s theme of ascension perfectly while simultaneously showcasing a level o...