Black Beatles

"Black Beatles"
Single by Rae Sremmurd featuring Gucci Mane
from the album SremmLife 2
Released	September 13, 2016
Format	Digital download
Recorded	2016
Genre	Hip hop trap
Length	4:42
Label	EarDrummers Interscope
Writer(s)	Khalif Brown Aaquil Brown Radric Davis Michael Williams
Producer(s)	Mike Will Made It
Rae Sremmurd singles chronology
"Look Alive" (2016) "Black Beatles" (2016) "Shake It Fast" (2016)
Gucci Mane singles chronology "Pick Up the Pieces" (2016) "Black Beatles" (2016) "Bling Blaww Burr" (2016) Music video "Black Beatles" on YouTube

"Black Beatles" is a song by American hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd. It was released on September 13, 2016 by EarDrummers and Interscope Records as the third single from their second studio album SremmLife 2. The song features guest vocals from American rapper Gucci Mane, and is produced by Mike Will Made It. It is both Rae Sremmurd's and Gucci Mane's first number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 following viral exposure, and also marks their first top ten appearance in territories such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK.

Background

The song was one of the last tracks recorded and a big part of the reason for delaying the original June album release date.^[1]

Music video

On September 22, 2016, the music video for "Black Beatles" was released on Rae Sremmurd's Vevo account on YouTube. It was directed by Motion Family.

Critical reception

Andrew Unterburger of Billboard stated "Black Beatles" "is also a vital, quintessentially youthful song, which is extremely welcome in this oncoming era of social conservatism. Though both brothers Khalif "Swae Lee" Brown and Aaquil "Slim Jxmmi" Brown are now of legal voting age, as an entity Rae Sremmurd remains decidedly new-wave, part of Atlanta's bumper crop of young MCs who are less concerned with paying fealty to hip-hop history than they are with blowing out the genre's formalistic constraints to their own thrilling, individualistic ends. Which isn't to say that the Chainsmokers and Halsey were stodgy and back-to-basics, either -- "Closer" was, in some ways, a blockbusting song in its own right—but after 12 weeks, any song becomes Establishment. Change was needed, and change was delivered." He also stated that while "'Black Beatles' is certainly not an explicitly political song, and the duo might understandably roll their eyes at any reading of their now-signature hit that suggests that it is," he praised the duo for the group's tribute to The Beatles and their ability to subvert expectations of the status quo.^[2]

Rolling Stone's editor Rob Sheffield ranked "Black Beatles" at number 10 in his year-end list:

No wonder Macca himself is a fan. The rap duo come together and rock their John Lennon lenses with a party-and-bullshit anthem so undeniable it hit Number One. Everybody's welcome at their club: young bloods, old geezers, weirdo girls with green hair, dealers, haters, Gucci Mane. A blunted time is guaranteed for all.^[3]

Commercial performance

"Black Beatles" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming both Rae Sremmurd's and Gucci Mane's first number one single and most successful of their careers.^[4] The song had already entered the top 20 of the US Billboard charts before its surge in performance following the "#MannequinChallenge".^[5] It also peaked at number 2 in the UK and number 3 in Canada. Making it Rae Sremmurd's and Gucci Mane's highest-peaking single in those countries.

As of December 4, 2016, "Black Beatles" has sold 571,000 copies in the United States.^[6]

Usage in media

On October 26, 2016, the Mannequin Challenge went viral, which involves shooting footage of a crowd standing frozen in place, often using "Black Beatles" as background music.^[7][8]

On November 30, 2016, Nicki Minaj and Mike Will Made It released a single together titled "Black Barbies". It uses the instrumental from the song, and similar lyrics.

Charts

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[9]	3
Australia Urban (ARIA)[10]	1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[11]	13
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[12]	9
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[13]	35
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[14]	3
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[15]	8
Denmark (Tracklisten)[16]	2
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[17]	2
France (SNEP)[18]	2
Germany (Official German Charts)[19]	8
Hungary (Single Top 40)[20]	15
Indonesia (ASIRI)[21]	1
Ireland (IRMA)[22]	3
Israel (Media Forest)[23]	8
Italy (FIMI)[24]	16
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[25]	16
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[26]	6
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[27]	1
Norway (VG-lista)[28]	2
Portugal (AFP)[29]	11
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[30]	4
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[31]	7
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[32]	15
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[33]	3
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[34]	4
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[35]	2
UK R&B (Official Charts Company)[36]	1
US Billboard Hot 100[37]	1
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[38]	1
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[39]	29

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[40]	Silver	200,000
United States (RIAA)[41]	N/A	571,000[6]
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Rae Sremmurd's "SremmLife 2" Has Been Delayed".
2. "'Black Beatles' Is the No. 1 Song the Country Needs Right Now: Critic's Take". Billboard. November 14, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
3. "50 Best Songs of 2016". Rolling Stone. November 30, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
4. Trust, Gary (November 14, 2016). "Rae Sremmurd's 'Black Beatles' Blasts to No. 1 on Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
5. "The wild rise of Rae Sremmurd and the Mannequin Challenge". 4 November 2016.
6. "Hip Hop Single Sales: Rae Sremmurd, Bruno Mars & The Weeknd". HipHopDX. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
7. "The Chainsmokers' 'Closer' Tops Hot 100 for 12th Week, Rae Sremmurd & Drake Hit Top 10".
8. Feldman, Brian. "Entire High Schools Are Freezing in Place for This Viral Challenge".
9. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
10. "ARIA Australian Top 40 Urban Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
11. "Austriancharts.at – Rae Sremmurd feat. Gucci Mane – Black Beatles" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
12. "Ultratop.be – Rae Sremmurd feat. Gucci Mane – Black Beatles" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
13. "Ultratop.be – Rae Sremmurd feat. Gucci Mane – Black Beatles" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
14. "Rae Sremmurd – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Rae Sremmurd. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
15. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201647 into search. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
16. "Track Top-40 Uge 47, 2016". Hitlisten.NU. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
17. "Rae Sremmurd: Black Beatles (Feat. Gucci Mane)" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
18. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés - SNEP (Week 47, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
19. "Offiziellecharts.de – Rae Sremmurd feat. Gucci Mane – Black Beatles". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
20. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
21. "Top 30 Singles Chart Indonesia". Retrieved December 3, 2016.
22. "Chart Track: Week 47, 2016". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
23. "Rae Sremmurd feat. Gucci Mane – Black Beatles Media Forest". Israeli Airplay Chart. Media Forest. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
24. "Classifica settimanale WK 48" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
25. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 49, 2016" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved December 2, 2016.
26. "Dutchcharts.nl – Rae Sremmurd feat. Gucci Mane – Black Beatles" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
27. "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
28. "VG-lista - Rae Sremmurd". VG-lista. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
29. "Portuguesecharts.com – Rae Sremmurd feat. Gucci Mane – Black Beatles". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
30. "Archive Chart: 2016-11-25". Scottish Singles Top 40. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
31. "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201647 into search. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
32. "Spanishcharts.com – Rae Sremmurd feat. Gucci Mane – Black Beatles" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
33. "Sverigetopplistan - Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
34. "Swisscharts.com – Rae Sremmurd feat. Gucci Mane – Black Beatles". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
35. "Archive Chart: 2016-11-25" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
36. "Archive Chart: 2016-11-18" UK R&B Chart. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
37. "Rae Sremmurd – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Rae Sremmurd. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
38. "Rae Sremmurd – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Rae Sremmurd. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
39. "Rae Sremmurd – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Rae Sremmurd. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
40. "British single certifications – Rae Sremmurd – Black Beatles". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Black Beatles in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
41. "American single certifications – Rae Sremmurd – Black Beatles". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 4, 2016. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH

External links

• Audio on YouTube
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics