"Amen" is a song by American hip hop recording artist

Meek Mill Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his music career as a battle rapper, and later formed a short-lived rap group, ...

, released as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from his debut studio album '' Dreams and Nightmares'', on June 19, 2012. The song features fellow

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

recording artist

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

with uncredited vocals from R&B singer

Jeremih Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Jeremih ( ), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. In 2009, he signed a record deal with Def Jam Recordings. Jeremih's commercial debut single, "Birthday Sex", ...

. It was produced by

Key Wane Dwane Marshall Weir II (born July 12, 1990) is an American hip hop/R&B producer and songwriter, professionally known as Key Wane. Wane has produced for artists such as Big Sean, Jazmine Sullivan, Beyoncé, Drake, Jhene Aiko, Wale, Lil Wayne, ...

and

Jahlil Beats Orlando Jahlil Tucker (born February 8, 1988), better known by his stage name Jahlil Beats, is an American hip hop producer. He is currently signed to Jay Z's Roc Nation. He has produced for artists such as Puff Daddy, Lil Wayne, Fabolous, Mee ...

. The song samples the

Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in 1970 in San Jose, California, known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies. Active for five decades, with their greatest success in the 1970s, ...

song "

Minute by Minute ''Minute by Minute'' is the eighth studio album by American rock band The Doobie Brothers, released on December 1, 1978, by Warner Bros. Records. It was their last album to include members John Hartman (until '' Cycles'') and Jeff "Skunk" Bax ...

Background

The song, co-produced by

KeY Wane Dwane Marshall Weir II (born July 12, 1990) is an American hip hop/R&B producer and songwriter, professionally known as Key Wane. Wane has produced for artists such as Big Sean, Jazmine Sullivan, Beyoncé, Drake, Jhene Aiko, Wale, Lil Wayne, ...

and

, was originally released on Meek Mill's ninth mixtape, ''

Dreamchasers 2 ''Dreamchasers 2'' is the ninth mixtape by American rapper Meek Mill (hosted by DJ Drama). It was released on May 7, 2012, by Maybach Music Group and Warner Bros. Records, and also released for digital download on DatPiff. It serves as the seco ...

'' (2012). The song was later officially released

mastered Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...

, via iTunes and

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

on June 19, 2012 in the US. American singer-songwriter

is officially credited as a featured artist on the mixtape version and although his vocals remain on the single version, he is not credited as a

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...

Controversy

"Amen" has received much backlash from religious organizations. On July 11, 2012, Meek Mill called into Philadelphia radio station Hot 107.9 and argued with

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

pastor and rapper Jomo K. Johnson about the song. Johnson pushed for a boycott of the song, and will soon publish a book about Mill and MMG accusing them of blasphemy. In a statement, Johnson said that, "As a hip-hop fan, I want to encourage every rap fan in Philadelphia who is a believer in Jesus Christ, to boycott Meek Mill until he acknowledges this blatant disrespect. And being resident of North Philadelphia and pastor, I revoke Meek's 'hood pass' until this happens." Mill has subsequently apologized to those who might have been offended by the song, and Johnson has withdrawn his calls for a boycott. The controversy garnered reactions from several gospel hip hop artists. In an interview with '' Billboard'',

Lecrae Lecrae Devaughn Moore (born October 9, 1979), mononymously known as Lecrae, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record and film producer, record executive, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the president, co-owner and co-founder of the i ...

was asked what he thought of the controversy, and he responded: The Ambassador and Da T.R.U.T.H. also commented on the controversy in interviews by saying that they greatly appreciated that Johnson took a public stand against the song, though Da T.R.U.T.H. stated that there is a possibility that Johnson could have reasoned more with Meek Mill in the radio debate instead of just making blanket statements. On July 17, in an interview on the

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

show ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rate ...

'', Mill stated, "I don’t think no preacher or no church approves of any type of rap music — because rap music, period, is a lot of bad stuff said. But at the end of the day, it's real life. And me, I wasn’t trying to disrespect no religion or anything like that."

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

premiered on June 15, 2012, via Meek Mill's YouTube account. The video features both

and

but not

. It features cameos by

Juelz Santana LaRon Louis James (born February 18, 1982), better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper and member of East Coast hip hop group The Diplomats, also known as Dipset. He is best known for his appearances on Cam'ron's 2002 si ...

Travis Porter Travis Porter is an American hip hop trio from Atlanta, Georgia. The group consists of stepbrothers Ali and Quez, and their friend Strap who they met in middle school. In November 2010 the trio signed with Jive Records. The group's biggest hits ...

Waka Flocka Flame Juaquin James Malphurs (born May 31, 1986), known professionally as Waka Flocka Flame, is an American rapper. Signing to 1017 Brick Squad and Warner Bros. Records in 2009, he became a mainstream artist with the release of his singles "O Let's ...

, French Montana, J. Cole,

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

, Fat Joe, Wale and

Mack Maine Jermaine Anthony Preyan (born July 28, 1982), better known by his stage name Mack Maine, is an American record executive, songwriter, and rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. Mack Maine has been the president of Young Money Entertainment since ...

Remixes

On August 2, 2012, Game released a remix of the song. On September 3, 2012,

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining ...

released a remix of the song on his mixtape '' Dedication 4''.

Slim Thug Stayve Jerome Thomas (born September 8, 1980), better known by his stage name Slim Thug, is an American rapper. He initially gained mainstream attention for his contribution to the hit single by rapper Mike Jones, " Still Tippin'". In July 2005, ...

also released a remix of the song on his mixtape entitled ''Thug Thursday''.

Track listing

; Digital single

Chart performance

On the Billboard Hot 100, the song entered the chart at number 86 for the week of July 7, 2012.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2012 singles Meek Mill songs Jeremih songs Drake (musician) songs Songs written by Drake (musician) Christianity in popular culture controversies Song recordings produced by Jahlil Beats Maybach Music Group singles Song recordings produced by Key Wane Christianity and society in the United States Songs written by Jeremih 2012 songs Songs written by Meek Mill Songs written by Jahlil Beats