Redbone (song)

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"Redbone"
Single by Childish Gambino
from the album "Awaken, My Love!"
Released November 17, 2016 (2016-11-17)
Recorded 2016
Genre Psychedelic funk[1]
Length
  • 5:27 (album version)
  • 3:27 (radio edit)
Label Glassnote
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Childish Gambino
  • Ludwig Göransson
Script error: The function "ucfirst" does not exist. singles chronology
"Me and Your Mama"
(2016)		 "Redbone"
(2016)		 "Terrified"
(2017)

"Redbone" is a song recorded by American rapper and singer Childish Gambino, the stage name of Donald Glover. It was released on November 17, 2016, and serves as the second single from his third studio album "Awaken, My Love!"[2] The song received three Grammy Award nominations including Record of the Year at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, eventually winning the award for Best Traditional R&B Performance.[3] In 2021, it was ranked #383 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[4]

Background

Following the release of "Me and Your Mama", Gambino released the song on November 17, 2016, premiering on Annie Mac's Hottest Record on BBC Radio 1, with the DJ describing it as "oozing with soul".[5][6]

Recording and production

"Redbone" was written by Donald Glover and produced by Ludwig Göransson. When Glover was doing an interview with Triple J about the album he said:

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There wasn't a ton of vocal stuff done ... I think people hear "Redbone" and are like, "Oh, he pitched up his vocals," but there was no vocal pitching on the album—I just sang differently.[7]

Göransson recorded all the instruments starting out from a drum beat that Donald Glover was playing. The intro of the song is dominated by a recurrent slap bass line and the Maestro G-2 wah of a vintage Telecaster that plays the melody while a synth organ makes the counterpoint. An old Rhodes conduct the base chords in D minor as other instruments get in, like a clavinet, a mellotron, a glockenspiel and the Juno-106 synthesizer. The outro part ends with several fuzz guitar harmony licks, a doubled distorted acoustic guitar and some classic piano arrangements.[8] The song is based on "I'd Rather Be with You" by Bootsy's Rubber Band.[9][10]

Critical reception

"Redbone" was critically acclaimed upon release, resulting in its inclusion in several publications’ year-end best songs lists.[11][12][13] Critics primarily praised the track as a faithful homage to P-Funk and 1970s R&B, as well as for Glover's vocals.[14][15][16][17] In a positive review, Pitchfork’s Sheldon Pearce called the track “a full-blown funk slow jam” which “parses love, lust, reconciliation, generations of black soul, and wokeness”.[18] Slant Magazine, which ranked the song as the Best Single of 2017, described it as “a creepin’ tribute to the pre-quiet-storm R&B characterized by the Delfonics and the Floaters” and highlighted the “Thundercat-worthy popping bassline” and “insistent glockenspiel diddling strike”,[13] with author Jonathan Wroble noting the song’s “wah-wah guitar and slap bass, distant chimes, and pitch-shifted vocals”, calling them “robotic and soulful at once”.[19] Jason Woodbury of Flood Magazine compared the song to “Prince’s erudite R&B” and called Glover’s falsetto singing “remarkable”.[15] NME ranked the song 14th in its Best Songs of the Decade list, noting Glover’s “bold reinvention as a 70s soul’n’funk crooner” and that his singing “incredibly, wasn’t pitch-shifted in the studio”.[20] Editors from Rolling Stone included the track in the publication’s 100 Greatest Songs of the Century So Far list in 2018, stating that it distilled the spirit of “that Seventies black music that felt like they were trying to start a revolution”.[14]

Commercial performance

"Redbone" was a sleeper hit in the United States, debuting at number 75 on Billboard Hot 100 for the chart dated December 10, 2016.[21] The song then re-entered and peaked at number 12 on the chart for the week of August 19, 2017,[22] making it Gambino's highest-charting single at the time (since surpassed by "This Is America") and his first top 20 single. The song became Childish Gambino's first ever number-one single on the Adult R&B chart.

The track was voted into fifth place in Australian radio station Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2016.[23]

Usage in media

The 2017 film Get Out, directed by Jordan Peele, features the song during the film's opening scene.[24]

The song became a popular internet meme, following its re-entry to the Billboard charts, consisting of various remixes of the song to fit a certain theme. During a concert in June 2017, Glover acknowledged the meme onstage before leading into a performance of the song.[25]

During the 2018 Grammy Awards, an Apple ad showing off iPhone X's Animoji effect aired, in which the song was used, with an animated alien head singing the song.[26]

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Redbone"
Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[54] 5× Platinum 350,000
Canada (Music Canada)[55] 4× Platinum 40,000
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[56] Platinum 0
France (SNEP)[57] Platinum 250,000
Italy (FIMI)[58] Gold 15,000
Netherlands (NVPI)[59] Gold 10,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[60] Platinum 15,000
South Africa[61] Gold Expression error: Missing operand for *.
Sweden (GLF)[62] Gold 20,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[63] 2× Platinum 1,200,000
United States (RIAA)[64] 5× Platinum 5,000,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone
double-daggersales/streaming figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Childish Gambino – Redbone" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
  30. ↑ "Childish Gambino – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Childish Gambino.
  31. ↑ "Childish Gambino – Chart history" Billboard Canada Rock for Childish Gambino.
  32. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201727 into search.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2017-01-20". Scottish Singles Top 40.
  37. ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201732 into search.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ "Childish Gambino: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
  40. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2016-12-09" UK R&B Chart.
  41. ↑ "Archive Chart: 20220318" UK Indie Chart.
  42. ↑ "Childish Gambino – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Childish Gambino.
  43. ↑ "Childish Gambino – Chart history" Billboard Adult Alternative Songs for Childish Gambino.
  44. ↑ "Childish Gambino – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Childish Gambino.
  45. ↑ "Childish Gambino – Chart history" Billboard Adult R&B Songs for Childish Gambino.
  46. ↑ "Childish Gambino – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Childish Gambino.
  47. ↑ "Childish Gambino – Chart history" Billboard Rhythmic Songs for Childish Gambino.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  52. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  53. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  54. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  55. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  56. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Click on næste to go to page 8705 if certification from official website
  57. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  58. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Select Online in the field Sezione. Enter Childish Gambino in the field Filtra. Select 2019 in the field Anno. The certification will load automatically
  59. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  60. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  61. ↑ UNSUPPORTED OR EMPTY REGION: South Africa.
  62. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  63. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Redbone in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  64. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH

External links

Template:Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance

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