"Bassline" is a song by American recording artist Chris Brown, taken from his fifth studio album '' Fortune'' (2012). It was written by Andrea Simms, Andrew "Pop" Wansel, Brown, David Johnson, Robert Calloway, Ronald "Flippa" Colson and Warren "Oak" Felder. The song was produced by Pop Wansel and Dayvi Jae. Musically, "Bassline" is a

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...

, electropop and electrohop song, which incorporates elements of

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

. Instrumentation is provided by a wobble bass and

synth A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

esizers. The song contains lyrics about Brown telling a woman to leave the

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

with him. "Bassline" garnered mixed reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

; some reviewers noted it as one of the standout tracks on the album, while others criticized the song's production and lyrics. It also received comparisons to the songs by Kesha and

LMFAO LMFAO (an initialism for Laughing My Freaking Ass Off or Laughing My Fucking Ass Off) are an American electronic dance music duo consisting of Redfoo and Sky Blu. Redfoo is the youngest son of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and Nancy Le ...

. Upon the release of ''Fortune'', "Bassline" debuted at numbers 28 and 122 on the

UK R&B Chart The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Albums, or simply the UK Urban Chart) are 40-posi ...

and

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, respectively.

Development and composition

"Bassline" was written by Andrea Simms, Andrew "Pop" Wansel, Chris Brown, David Johnson, Robert Calloway, Ronald "Flippa" Colson and Warren "Oak" Felder. The song was produced by Pop Wansel and Dayvi Jae. "Bassline" was recorded by Brian Springer with assistance from Iain Findley. The recordings were later mixed by

Jaycen Joshua Jaycen Joshua is a mix engineer and music producer who owns the revered Canton House Studios in Studio City, California. Joshua started his mix career in 2005 when he became partners with his mentor Dave Pensado and formed The Penua Project. Joshu ...

with assistance by Trehy Harris. Musically, "Bassline" is a

, electropop and electrohop song, that incorporates elements of

. The song lasts for three minutes and 58 seconds. Instrumentation consists of a wobble bass and

esizers. Melinda Newman of

HitFix HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television. In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,00 ...

compared "Bassline" to the songs by Kesha and

. Trent Fitzgerald of PopCrush noted that the lyrics are about Brown trying to "convince a hot girl he spots in the club to come back to his crib", in which he sings "Hey girl tell me what you talk / Pretty as a picture on the wall / Hey girl you can get it all / Cause I know you like the way the beat go". Brown also declares, "You heard about my image / But I could give a flying motherfuck who's offended". Hayley Avron of

Contactmusic.com Contactmusic.com is an online magazine of cultural criticism based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, and ...

noted that a robot voice joins Brown in the

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

"Girls like my bassline". Hazel Robinson of ''California Literary Review'' magazine noted that the word "bassline" is a

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...

for

penis A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males d ...

Critical reception

"Bassline" garnered mixed to negative reviews from

. Sam Wilbur of

AOL Radio AOL Radio powered by Slacker (formerly AOL Radio powered by CBS Radio, and prior AOL Radio featuring XM) was an online radio service available in the United States only. It had over 200 free internet radio stations. History Roots AOL Radio ...

viewed it as "the best example" of dubstep tracks on ''Fortune'', while Kyle Anderson of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' noted it as one of the album's best tracks. Scott Kara of ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspaper ...

'' called the song "irritating" and noted it as "blatant copycat stuff". Digital Spy's Lewis Corner felt that "Bassline" was "a lazy attempt" from Brown. Randall Roberts of ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' stated that the worst part of the song is the hook. Hazel Robinson of ''California Literary Review'' magazine was critical of the production and lyrics, labeling it as "bad" and "dodgy".

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

's Andy Kellman noted that Brown "clearly feels more emboldened than ever" on "Bassline".

Chart performance

Upon the release of ''Fortune'', due to digital sales, "Bassline" debuted on the

at number 28 in the issue dated July 14, 2012. It also debuted at number 122 on the

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes for ''Fortune'' *Chris Brown – lead vocals,

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

*Robert Calloway – songwriter *Ronald "Flippa" Colson – songwriter *Warren "Oak" Felder – songwriter *Iain Findley – assistant recorder *Trehy Harris – assistant mixer *Dayvi Jae – producer *David Johnson – songwriter *Jaycen Joshua – mixer *Andrea Simms – songwriter *Brian Springer – recorder *Andrew "Pop" Wansel – songwriter, producer

Charts

References

{{authority control 2012 songs Chris Brown songs Dubstep songs Electropop songs Songs written by Pop Wansel Songs written by Chris Brown Songs written by Oak Felder