"Caterpillar" is a song by American rapper

Royce da 5'9" Ryan Daniel Montgomery, known professionally as Royce da 5'9" (or simply Royce 5'9"), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Montgomery is currently one half of the rap duo Bad Meets Evil with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem, and ...

featuring fellow American rappers

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

and King Green, released as the fourth single from the former's seventh studio album ''

Book of Ryan ''Book of Ryan'' is the seventh studio album by American rapper Royce da 5'9". It was released on May 4, 2018 by Royce's own label Heaven Studios and eOne Music. The album features guest appearances from artists Eminem, J. Cole, Pusha T, Jadakis ...

'' (2018). Produced by Symbolyc (S1) One and Epikh Pro, it was released for digital download through iTunes on May 3, 2018.

Background

The single was released to

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

and Royce da 5'9"'s YouTube Vevo channel on May 3, 2018. Its release was accompanied with a music video. According to Royce, "I knew as soon as I heard the beat, I knew I wanted minemon there." A remix, featuring American rapper Logic, is included on the bonus track edition of Royce's ''

''. Originally, Logic was meant to appear on the main version of the song, but was later replaced by Eminem. Royce explained that this was because he and Logic "couldn't figure out a good time for us to be able to shoot

he video He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

" Eminem and Logic further collaborated on Logic's album ''Confessions of a Dangerous Mind'' (2019) on the track "

Homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

Composition

The song finds Royce da 5'9" and Eminem rapping over an "organ-driven" boom bap beat, with King Green on the chorus. Eminem takes aim at mumble rap, rapping: "The boom bap is coming back / With an ax to mumble rap". In an interview with ''

Rap-Up ''Rap-Up'' is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on the ...

'', Royce said:

The basic theme of the song is, "Don't disrespect the caterpillar to praise the butterfly." Marshall falls a little bit more into that category than I do, but both of us are caterpillars. A lot of times, you'll praise these guys but gotta tear us down… But where do you think his style came from?

Critical reception

The song has been described as the return of Bad Meets Evil, the duo that the two rappers had formed. Israel Daramola of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' called the song a "throwback record to the jazzy, hard rapping style of the '90s, acting as a vehicle for Royce and Em to exercise their lyrical prowess." Mackenzie Cummings-Grady of ''Billboard'' writes that "Royce and Em attack the boom-bap beat with furious intensity." Ralph Bristout of ''

Revolt Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

'' describes the song as a "nearly five-minute display of rap calisthenics."

Music video

The music video was filmed in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

and directed by James Larese. In it, Royce da 5'9" and Eminem take turns rapping while the other "remains stoic".

Track listing

;Digital Download

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caterpillar (Royce da 5'9 song) 2018 singles 2018 songs Royce da 5'9" songs Eminem songs Songs written by Eminem Songs written by Royce da 5'9" MNRK Music Group singles Songs written by Symbolyc One Song recordings produced by Symbolyc One