"Castro" is a song by American rapper

Yo Gotti Mario Sentell Giden Mims (born May 19, 1981), known professionally as Yo Gotti, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record executive. In 1996, Gotti released his debut album ''Youngsta's On a Come Up'' under the alias Lil Yo. He went on to re ...

featuring fellow American rappers

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. Anderson began his music career in 2007 and gained popularity in 2010 with his third mixtape '' Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big''. He then s ...

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (or Tity Boi), is an American rapper. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he initially gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, al ...

, and Quavo. It was released on December 16, 2016 as a single from Gotti's 2016 mixtape ''

White Friday (CM9) ''White Friday (CM9)'' is the twentieth and first retail mixtape by American rapper Yo Gotti. It released on December 23, 2016 by Collective Music Group, Roc Nation and Epic Records . The mixtape features guest appearances from LunchMoney Lewis, ...

''.

Background

The song's title is a reference to Cuban leader

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

, who died within the same month of its release. Prior to "Castro" being released, West was with Gotti in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

when premiering his "

Saint Pablo "Saint Pablo" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, featuring prominent vocals by British singer Sampha. It originally surfaced online on March 31, 2016 after it had been leaked onto Apple Music by mistake before being removed hours later. The s ...

" record.

Critical reception

Tom Breihan of ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

'' described the track as 'a skittery, synthetic banger' and showed disappointment in West's feature when writing: 'Does a song like this make you feel any better about Kanye West right now? It doesn't make me feel any better about Kanye West.' ''The FADER'''s Will Bundy branded it as 'a monster posse cut'.

Commercial performance

"Castro" charted at number 16 on the US ''Billboard''

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

on January 14, 2017, around a month after having been released as a single.

Charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2016 singles 2016 songs Yo Gotti songs Kanye West songs Big Sean songs 2 Chainz songs Quavo songs Songs written by Yo Gotti Songs written by Kanye West Songs written by Big Sean Songs written by 2 Chainz Songs written by Quavo Works about Fidel Castro Songs written by Benjamin Diehl