Bed Peace

Album: Sail Out (2013)
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Songfacts®:

  • Los Angeles R&B singer songwriter Jhené Aiko began her career contributing backing vocals to recordings by the R&B boy band B2K. Her debut mixtape Sailing Soul, which was self-released in 2011, got her noticed and Aiko gained further attention after contributions to Big Sean's Hall Of Fame track "Beware" and Drake's Nothing Was The Same cuts, "From Time" and "Wu-Tang Forever." This was released as the lead single from Aiko's debut EP, Sail Out after she signed to Def Jam. "Sail Out basically means to be free," Aiko explained. "Go with the wind, you know, like a sailboat. I think that's really important when it comes to peace… inner peace especially. You can't help anyone else if you don't have it together for yourself."
  • The song features Childish Gambino, who combines rapping with writing for television, performing with his sketch group Derrick Comedy and acting on the NBC comedy Community under his real name of Donald Glover.
  • The single's artwork and video was inspired by John Lennon and Yoko Ono's 1969 Bed-Ins for Peace protest against the Vietnam War. The clip finds Aiko and Gambino lying in bed in a Los Angeles hotel room while reporters interview them. They're both clad in all-white like Lennon and Ono's original protest. Aiko explained that it was her experience growing up in LA, which inspired her to advocate a movement for peace. "I grew up in LA, and there was a lot of stuff going on all the time," she stated. I've always been around noise and chaos."
  • Sail Out cruised to #8 on the Billboard Hot 200 Albums chart in its first week, making the record Def Jam Records' biggest-ever EP debut.
  • The song represents the fun and irresponsible side of Jhené Aiko. "When I wrote 'Bed Peace,' I knew that I wanted to make something more playful because I usually make sad songs about heartbreak," she told Radio.com. "So on this song, I took a different approach and decided to talk about what a perfect day would be like for me and a perfect lover. The song is all about slowing down every now and then and not worrying about anything but the moment."

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