"Mercy" (stylized as "Mercy.1" on the album) is a song by American rapper Kanye West featuring fellow American rappers Big Sean, Pusha T, and 2 Chainz. The song was released on April 10, 2012, through GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings, as the lead single from the compilation album, Cruel Summer (2012). The song's production was handled by Lifted, with additional production from West, Mike Dean, Mike Will Made It, Anthony Kilhoffer, and Hudson Mohawke. The song heavily samples the spoken intro for the dancehall song, "Dust a Sound Boy" by Super Beagle. "Mercy" received mostly positive reviews from music critics, who commented on the blathering production, the varying quality of the verses, and the wordplay of the individual rappers.
The song peaked at number 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at number one on both the U.S. Hot Rap Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and Rhythmic Airplay charts. The song has since been certified 7x platinum in the U.S., as of April 2023. A music video was released on June 6, 2012. The highly stylized video shows a long take of all four rappers featured on the song, with editing as to make them appear as if they're disappearing and reappearing behind walls. The video received positive reviews from critics.
West performed his portion of the song at the 2012 Watch the Throne Tour. 2 Chainz, Pusha T, and Big Sean performed the track during Sean's setlist at the 2012 Summer Jam festival. The song was performed by all four rappers at the 2012 BET Awards, with West substituting his verse from "Mercy", with his verses from "Cold" and "New God Flow" (2012). Multiple music magazines ranked "Mercy" as one of the best songs of 2012. The song received two nominations at the 55th Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance.