"Butterflies" is a single by British rapper

AJ Tracey Ché Wolton Grant (born 4 March 1994), known professionally as AJ Tracey, is a British rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is from Ladbroke Grove, West London. Tracey rose to popularity in 2016 and was listed by ''The Guardian'' i ...

featuring British rapper

Not3s Lukman Olanrewaju Odunaike (born 17 April 1998), better known by his stage name Not3s (pronounced Notes), is a British singer-songwriter, rapper and actor from Hackney, London. His songs include "My Lover" and "Fine Line", both of which are colla ...

. It was

self-released Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pr ...

on 30 May 2018 for digital download and streaming. The single appears on Tracey's self-titled debut album (2019). The song, produced by Nyge, became Tracey's first song to chart, peaking at number 19 on

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 ...

, and receiving a silver certification by

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...

Background

Speaking to ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'' about "Butterflies", AJ Tracey stated: "Africa's really well represented now, so hold tight with my African friends but my culture isn't represented. It's all cool listening to the afrobeats and

afroswing Afroswing, also known as Afrobashment, or less commonly Afrobbean or Afro-trap (not to be confused with the French genre), is a genre of music that developed in the UK during the mid-2010s, derivative of dancehall and afrobeats, with influence ...

, whatever you want to call it, but where is the dancehall, the soca, you know what I'm saying? There's none of this n U.K. music I just wanted to showcase it a bit."

Music video

The music video was released on 30 May 2018. It was directed by Tracey himself along with Mornix. The video was shot in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

in February 2018.

Commercial performance

"Butterflies" entered at number 24 on the

for the chart dated 8 June 2018, peaking at number 19 the following week. The song became AJ Tracey's first top 40 entry on the chart. "Butterflies" has also charted at number 7 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 number 2 on the

UK Independent Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...

Critical reception

Robin Murray of '' Clash'' described the song as a "breezy summer feel, with AJ Tracey slackening off on the velocity but ratcheting up the style."

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2018 singles 2018 songs AJ Tracey songs Not3s songs Songs written by AJ Tracey Songs written by Not3s