Album: Surf (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This upbeat, piano-driven song is a collaboration between Chance the Rapper, his frequent collaborators Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment and vocalist Jamila Woods. Chance said: "It's my curation, but then bringing it to the table with all these beautiful people and including them in their own way. Jamila sang on that hook, then I brought it to the collective. Peter (Cottontale) added some great layers of texture and helped produce, Nate (Fox) added a bunch of drums, tons of our friends from Chicago played instruments and added their ideas."
  • The song's retro one-shot music video was directed by Chicago filmmaker Austin Vesely ("Everybody's Something") from a concept by Chance The Rapper. According to the rapper, it's all "in honor of teamwork and positivity and grandmas."
  • The video was shot in one day, but the sets took about two weeks to build. The dancers in the clip are from Save Money, a Chicago troupe that the video's director Austin Vesely worked with on the Vic Mensa/Nico Segal video for "Clear Eyes."

    Chance the Rapper wanted something theatrical after seeing The Lion King on Broadway, and with that in mind, they came up with the continuous-shot concept set around the candy shop. The benchmark for one-shot videos is OK Go (especially their treadmill video for "Here It Goes Again"), so Vesely and Chance spoke with Tim Nordwind from that group to get insights. Thanks to rigorous preparation, they needed just eight takes to get it right.
  • Chance The Rapper performed this song with Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment during his debut Saturday Night Live appearance on December 12, 2015. The Chicago rapper, who also premiered a new song, "Somewhere in Paradise," made history by becoming the first unsigned artist to perform on the show.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The Kingdom

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The KingdomSongwriter Interviews

The Bush frontman on where he finds inspiration for lyrics, if his "machine head" is a guitar tuner, and the stories behind songs from the album The Kingdom.

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

George Harrison

George HarrisonFact or Fiction

Did Eric Clapton really steal George's wife? What's the George Harrison-Monty Python connection? Set the record straight with our Fact or Fiction quiz.

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in Songs

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in SongsSong Writing

Elvis, Little Richard and Cheryl Cole have all sung about Teddy Bears, but there is also a terrifying Teddy song from 1932 and a touching trucker Teddy tune from 1976.

Kip Winger

Kip WingerSongwriter Interviews

The Winger frontman reveals the Led Zeppelin song he cribbed for "Seventeen," and explains how his passion for orchestra music informs his songwriting.

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy TalentSongwriter Interviews

The frontman for one of Canada's most well-known punk rock bands talks about his Eddie Vedder encounter, Billy Talent's new album, and the importance of rock and roll.