"iPhone" (stylized in

all caps In typography, all caps (short for "all capitals") refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters, for example: "THIS TEXT IS IN ALL CAPS". All caps may be used for emphasis (for a word or phrase). They are commonly seen in l ...

) is a song by American rapper Rico Nasty. Released on August 13, 2020 through her own Sugar Trap label, it served as the lead single off of her debut studio album ''Nightmare Vacation'' (2020). Produced by

Dylan Brady Dylan Marshall Brady (born November 27, 1993) is an American music producer and singer-songwriter best known for being one half of experimental electronic music duo 100 Gecs, alongside Laura Les. He also owns and operates his own record label, ...

of the experimental duo 100 gecs, the song is their second collaboration since "

Ringtone (remix) "Ringtone (remix)" is a song by American experimental musical duo 100 Gecs, composed of Dylan Brady and Laura Les, from their remix album ''1000 Gecs and the Tree of Clues'' (2020). The song features vocals from British singer Charli XCX, Ame ...

". The song also paved the way for several more Brady-produced tracks which feature on ''Nightmare Vacation'', such as "OHFR?" and "Can't Look Down". "iPhone" was named one of the best songs of 2020 by both ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' and ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''.

Background and release

In November 2019, Rico Nasty teased the song while on

Instagram live Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can be ...

in the recording studio. After a bootleg recording of the song gained hype and attention from fans over social media, she said in January 2020 that she would prefer to release it with an additional verse from rapper

Lil Uzi Vert Symere Bysil Woods ( ; born July 31, 1995), known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. They are characterized by their facial tattoos, facial piercings, eccentric hairstyles and androgynous fashion, ima ...

. After the success of the single "

", a collaboration between Dylan Brady and Rico Nasty among several other artists in February 2020, there was an increased demand from fans online to release "iPhone". On August 4, she quoted a tweet containing a recording of the Instagram live from November 2019 and wrote, "IPHONE is dropping next week ok bye". Rico Nasty officially released the song on August 13, alongside a formal announcement of her debut studio album, '' Nightmare Vacation'' (2020). To promote the song, she organized a giveaway of multiple

IPhone 11 Pro Max The iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max are smartphones designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. Serving as the Apple's flagship models of the 13th-generation of iPhones, they succeeded the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, respectively, ...

's inside an autographed phone case. The giveaway was organized with the cosmetics brand

Il Makiage Il Makiage is a tech-focused beauty brand based in New York, United States. In May 2020 they launched in the United Kingdom, launched in 2022, Canada in 2020, Germany in November 2020 and Australia in June 2021. Name Origin The name is an inten ...

to additionally promote Rico Nasty's own makeup palette. "iPhone" received a remix from American producer

Ookay Abraham Laguna, known by his stage name Ookay, is an American electronic music producer, DJ and singer. Career Laguna is based in Los Angeles and his father is a bassist who performed a bass solo during Ookay's Father's Day set at EDC 2015. ...

which was released in September 2020.

Composition

Produced by Brady in the genre of "

hyperpop Hyperpop is a loosely-defined music movement and microgenre that predominantly originated in the United Kingdom during the early-to-mid 2010s. It is characterized by a maximalist or exaggerated take on popular music, and artists within the genr ...

", the song features "blown-out glitchy

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

beats" and "warped

Auto-Tune Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances. Auto-Tu ...

vocals.

Critical reception

Lawrence Burney of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' wrote that the song "perfectly matches the chaos concocted by the critically adored producers" and that "in just over two minutes, the song goes from

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

pop-punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti- suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other p ...

while ico Nastygoes on about her power, her loneliness and how she keeps forgetting to keep her mask on in a pandemic." John Ochoa of

The Recording Academy The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy A ...

wrote that "the song is an adrenaline rush of distorted hyperpop paired with Rico's washed-out, razor-sharp rhymes. In the middle of the track, she floats into soft R&B coos that can still cut like rusty blades."

Music video

An accompanying music video was released alongside the song on August 13, 2020. It was directed by British music video director

Emil Nava Emil William Capper Nava (born 29 March 1985) is a British music video director. After leaving school at 16, Emil started his career as a chef. He shot to fame after directing Jessie J's song " Do It Like A Dude". He has since directed over 1 ...

under his production company Ammolite, and was edited by Alex Russek, with creative direction from Rico Nasty and Jason Joyride. The 3D video stars Rico Nasty as a "sultry, alien-ish version of herself who serenades from within the titular smartphone". Allie Gregory of '' Exclaim!'' described it as "a glitched-out, animated gecs-created video". Aaron Williams of ''

Uproxx ''Uproxx'' (stylized in all caps) is an entertainment and popular culture news website. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater, and acquired by Woven Digital (later renamed Uproxx Media Group) in 2014. The site's target audience ...

'' noted that the video "uses surreal imagery to comment on the way technology has consumed our lives as Rico spits boastful lyrics about a crush who gets her to change her ways." Lawrence Burney of ''The Washington Post'' wrote that the video's "digital animation allow Rico to take various shapes" including "a Sims-like avatar, then a social media-filtered version of herself, then a blob of pixels trying to escape a television screen."

References

{{authority control 2020 singles 2020 songs Rico Nasty songs Songs written by Dylan Brady Hyperpop songs Songs written by Rico Nasty