"Down Bad" is a song by American

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

Dreamville Dreamville Records is an American record label founded by American rapper J. Cole and his manager Ibrahim Hamad. The label is currently distributed through Interscope Records, a unit of Universal Music Group. The roster includes Bas (rapper), B ...

featuring performances by American rappers

J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...

JID Destin Choice Route (born October 31, 1990), better known by his stage name JID (also stylized J.I.D), is an American rapper. He is a part of the musical collective Spillage Village, founded by EarthGang in 2010, with Hollywood JB, JordxnBryant ...

Bas Bas may refer to: People * Bas (name), a given name and a surname * Bas (rapper) (born 1987) Chemistry * Boron arsenide (BAs), a chemical compound * Barium sulfide (BAs), a chemical compound Other uses * ''bas'' (French for "low"), as in bas ...

, Johnny Venus of

EarthGang EarthGang (stylized EARTHGANG) is an American hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia, composed of Olu (aka Johnny Venus) and WowGr8 (aka Doctur Dot – born Eian Parker). They are co-founders of the musical collective Spillage Village, with JID, Ho ...

, and

Young Nudy Quantavious Tavario Thomas (born December 17, 1992), known professionally as Young Nudy, is an American rapper. Thomas is best known for his mixtapes ''Slimeball'' (2016), ''Slimeball 2'' (2017), and ''Slimeball 3'' (2018), and his collaborative ...

, released on June 12, 2019 alongside " Got Me" as the dual second single from the label's 2019 compilation album, ''

Revenge of the Dreamers III ''Revenge of the Dreamers III'' is the third compilation album by American record label Dreamville, released on July 5, 2019, by Dreamville and Interscope Records. ''Revenge of the Dreamers III'' includes contributions from Dreamville artists, J. ...

''.

Background

The song was created on the first day of Dreamville's sessions for the compilation album.

wrote on Instagram about his initial reaction to the song when he arrived in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

: In February, Dreamville gave a live preview of the song after the

All Star game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or di ...

– which J. Cole was the

halftime show A halftime show is a performance given during the brief period between the first and second halves, or the second and third quarters, of a sporting event. Halftime shows are not given for sports with an irregular or indeterminate number of div ...

performer, during the free concert in

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

. In May, JID also gave fans a snippet of the single during his set at Miami's

Rolling Loud Rolling Loud is an international hip hop music festival held in the United States, Europe, Australia and Canada. Established in 2015, it is "one of the biggest rap-only festivals in the world" according to ''Complex'', while ''Billboard'' called ...

Festival. Under the EP '' 1-888-88-DREAM'', the single was released with " Got Me" on June 12. The EP's title is referencing the "1-888-88-DREAM" phone number that Cole used to announce the original ''

Revenge of the Dreamers ''Revenge of the Dreamers'' is the first compilation album by American record label Dreamville Records and was released on January 28, 2014. The album includes contributions by Dreamville artists, J. Cole, Bas, Omen, K-Quick as well as Treasure D ...

'' in 2014. Dreamville representatives used hotline phone number to talk to fans and also play some exclusive tracks from the label's compilation album.

Composition

According to

Genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...

, the song's "underlying beat is highly reminiscent" of "

Rebel Without a Pause "Rebel Without a Pause" is a song by hip hop group Public Enemy and the first single from their 1988 album, ''It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back''. The title is a reference to the 1955 film ''Rebel Without a Cause''. History "Rebel With ...

" by

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...

, although it is not a direct sample of the song.

Music video

The official music video of the song was filmed in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, and was uploaded on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

on October 22, 2019.

Critical reception

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' named "Down Bad" as one of the best songs of the week, calling it a "rowdy, kick-in-the-door anthem ready-made for summer mischief" and said the artists pack a ridiculous amount of energy into less than three minutes, beginning with a "tragically short verse" from

and closing things with a "rapid-fire verse" from EarthGang's Johnny Venus.

Commercial performance

"Down Bad" originally peaked at number 75 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Following the release of its parent album, ''

'', the song reached a new peak of number 64. On November 22, 2019, the song was certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA).

Credits and personnel

Credits and personnel adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

. * Jermaine Cole – featured artist, composer, lyricist * Destin Route – featured artist, composer, lyricist * Abbas Hamad – featured artist, composer, lyricist * Olu Fann – featured artist, composer, lyricist * Quantavious T. Thomas – featured artist, composer, lyricist * Pluss – producer, composer, lyricist * Joe LaPorta – mastering engineer * Juru "Mez" Davis – mixer * Miguel Scott – recording engineer

Charts

Certifications

Awards and nominations

References

{{Authority control 2019 singles 2019 songs J. Cole songs Bas (rapper) songs Dreamville Records singles EarthGang songs Interscope Records singles JID songs Songs written by Asheton Hogan Songs written by Bas (rapper) Songs written by EarthGang Songs written by J. Cole Songs written by JID Songs written by Young Nudy Young Nudy songs