"I Mean It" is a song by American rapper
G-Eazy
Gerald Earl Gillum (born May 24, 1989), better known by his stage name G-Eazy, is an American rapper. His first major-label album, '' These Things Happen'', was released on June 23, 2014, and peaked at number 3 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 ...
featuring fellow American rapper Remo. It was released on May 13, 2014, as the fifth single from the former's debut
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
''
These Things Happen'' (2014), The song was written and produced by the artists alongside Christoph Andersson.
Despite peaking at number 98 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100, it was still certified 3× Platinum by the
RIAA
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 ...
on February 8, 2018. A remix was released featuring an additional verse by
Rick Ross
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper.
Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...
.
Critical reception
David Drake of ''
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 th ...
'' compared "I Mean It" to the work of
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 ...
, citing the song as evidence that "Big Sean may have had a bigger influence on millennial rap fans than has generally been acknowledged".
Chart performance
In the United States, "I Mean It" debuted at number 100 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for the issue dated January 15, 2015.
The song left the chart, before re-entering and peaking at number 98 for the issue dated February 14, 2015.
It spent a total of four non-consecutive weeks on the chart.
"I Mean It" became G-Eazy's first
top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
song on any music chart, peaking at number 20 and 27 on the
Hot Rap Songs
Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by '' Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...
and
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
charts, respectively.
In 2014, the song reached number 88 on the year-end Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Nearly four years after its release, "I Mean It" was certified
triple platinum
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
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) for sales of three million paid
digital downloads.
Music video
The video premiered on
Vevo
Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...
, then
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 May 28, 2014.
It was produced by Abby Vo and directed by Bobby Bruderle, who has been a frequent collaborator of G-Eazy's, having done photography work for him since 2011 and directing other videos of his such as "Almost Famous" and "Been On."
In the video, G-Eazy plays a
news anchor
A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...
whose news report is the lyrics of the song, including the chorus, sung by Remo, which G-Eazy lip-syncs. (Remo does not appear in the video.) G-Eazy is at one point shown interviewing himself. The camera occasionally cuts to a female news correspondent, played by
Paige Hurd
Paige Audrey-Marie Hurd (born July 20, 1992) is an American actress of mixed African American and Puerto Rican heritage. She is best known for her recurring role as Tasha Clarkson on the CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris'', Samantha Grover in ...
. The video also shows various people watching the news broadcast on TV. Rapper
Kyle
Kyle or Kyles may refer to:
Places
Canada
* Kyle, Saskatchewan, Canada
Ireland
* Kyle, County Laois
* Kyle, County Wexford
Scotland
* Kyle, Ayrshire, area of Scotland which stretched across parts of modern-day East Ayrshire and South Ayrshir ...
makes an appearance.
Live performance
On July 24, 2014, G-Eazy made his U.S. television debut performing on ''
Late Night with Seth Meyers
''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing weeknights a ...
'' performing "I Mean It" and "Far Alone".
Track listings and formats
*Digital download
#"I Mean It" featuring Remo – 3:56
*Digital download (Remix)
#"I Mean It" (Remix) featuring Rick Ross and Remo – 3:58
*Streaming (Live performance)
#"I Mean It" (Live from Spotify SXSW 2014) – 4:07
Credits and personnel
*
G-Eazy
Gerald Earl Gillum (born May 24, 1989), better known by his stage name G-Eazy, is an American rapper. His first major-label album, '' These Things Happen'', was released on June 23, 2014, and peaked at number 3 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 ...
–
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
,
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
,
additional production
*Remo the Hitmaker – writer, vocals, producer
*Christoph Andersson – writer, producer,
recording
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, ...
at Endless Summer Studios
*
Jaycen Joshua
Jaycen Joshua is a mix engineer and music producer who owns the revered Canton House Studios in Studio City, California. Joshua started his mix career in 2005 when he became partners with his mentor Dave Pensado and formed The Penua Project. Joshu ...
–
mixing at
Larrabee Sound Studios
Larrabee Sound Studios is a recording studio complex in North Hollywood, California, originally established in 1969.
Facilities
Located at 4162 Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood, Larrabee has six studios, three tracking spaces, and a produ ...
(North Hollywood)
*Ryan Kaul – mixing assistant
*Dave Kutch –
mastering at The Mastering Palace (New York City)
Credits and personnel adapted from ''These Things Happen'' album liner notes.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications and sales
References
External links
*
*
{{authority control
2014 singles
2014 songs
G-Eazy songs
RCA Records singles
Songs written by G-Eazy