"Karate Chop" is a song by American rapper

Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...

from his second studio album '' Honest''. The song was produced by

Metro Boomin Leland Tyler Wayne (born September 16, 1993), professionally known as Metro Boomin, is an American record producer, record executive, beatmaker, and DJ. He is known for his dark production style and its influence on modern hip hop and trap. R ...

and originally had a feature from rapper

Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

. However, the remix features fellow American rapper

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

. The remix was released as the lead single of the album on February 19, 2013. It debuted at #100 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and since then has peaked at #82.

Background and release

"Karate Chop" was originally written by Future and Lil Wayne. It was produced by Metro Boomin and originally featured a verse from Free Band Gang member Casino. The original version of the track appeared on DJ Spinz and DJ Pretty Boy Tank's mixtape ''We Are Radio 6''. Future premiered the song on January 25, 2013, and it was sent to

urban radio Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...

on January 29, 2013. Metro Boomin stated in an interview with ''XXL'' magazine how the record came about. He explained: "I actually made that beat before I moved to Atlanta... I never really liked it, but once I moved to Atlanta I just started going to the studio with Future like everyday. So one day, I didn't come, and when I showed up the next day he played "Karate Chop". And I just didn't like it at all. Then every time people would come in to the studio, he would always play the record...". The song was officially

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

ed featuring a

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other p ...

from American rapper

and was released as the lead single for his upcoming album, ''Future Hendrix'', later to be retitled ''Honest''. The Lil Wayne remix became a bonus track on the album. It was sent to urban and

rhythmic radio Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses h ...

and released for digital download on February 19, 2013.

Remix

On May 10, the song's official remix was released featuring

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 ...

French Montana Karim Kharbouch (Arabic: æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he emigrated to the United States with his family when he was 13. ...

and Birdman, called the RichMix. Metro Boomin also released a remix to the song featuring

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 200 ...

in late May 2013.

Young Buck David Darnell Brown (born March 15, 1981), best known by his stage name Young Buck, is an American rapper. He heads his own record label, Cashville, and was a member of the former hip hop group G-Unit. Early life Brown was born in Nashville, Te ...

Young Dro D'Juan Montrel Hart (born January 15, 1979), better known by his stage name Young Dro, is an American rapper. After gaining recognition with his regional hit song "Yes Sir", from his 2002 independent album ''I Got That Dro'', Young Dro aligned ...

Riff Raff Riff Raff, Riffraff, or Riff-Raff, a term for the common people but with negative connotations, may refer to: In music * Riff Raff (rapper), from Texas * Riff Raff (band), a UK progressive rock band * Riff Raff, a band formed by Billy Bragg * ...

, and

Jeremih Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Jeremih ( ), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. In 2009, he signed a record deal with Def Jam Recordings. Jeremih's commercial debut single, "Birthday Sex", ...

have also released remixes to the song.

Critical reception

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

'' ranked it number 80 on a list of the 100 best songs of 2013: "His staccato-fied rhymes, supremely druggy performance, and computer-assisted warble reduce his verses to a jumble of phonemes that you have to squint at to recognize as actual words. Combined with a beat by wunderkind producer Metro Boomin’ that pairs a Hendrix-y synthesized guitar lick with blaring Inception-style horns, the song announced his new push into updating 60s psychedelia for the digital age."

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

told ''

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 ...

'' that the song made him want to dance: "He's a guy who's got a rock 'n' roll edge to him: he's a drinking, drugging kind of guy and he's crazy. Hip-hop now is so much more diverse than it's ever been – and Future, to me, best represents that crazy, different world."

Controversy

The song has garnered much controversy due to a lyric in rapper

's verse. The lyric, "Beat that pussy up like

Emmett Till Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941August 28, 1955) was a 14-year-old African American boy who was abducted, tortured, and lynched in Mississippi in 1955, after being accused of offending a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, in her family's grocery ...

", drew much criticism and the ire of Till's family. Emmett Till was a 14-year-old boy who was murdered in the 1950s for allegedly flirting with a white woman.

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

apologized for the line and made efforts to take the song down. Future mentioned in an interview with

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

that he's sure Wayne meant no harm, stating, "The record it was done from a good place, good art, he ain't have no bad intentions when he was thinking about it like that". The song was officially re-released with the line edited out of the verse. (On the version which appears on ''Honest'', only Till's name is edited) On May 3, 2013, Lil Wayne was dropped from his endorsement deal with

Mountain Dew Mountain Dew, stylized as Mtn Dew, is a carbonated soft drink brand produced and owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in 1940 by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman. A revised formula was created by Bill Brid ...

because of the lyrics.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2012 songs 2013 singles Future (rapper) songs Lil Wayne songs Epic Records singles Obscenity controversies in music Songs written by Lil Wayne Songs written by Future (rapper) Songs written by Metro Boomin Songs written by Southside (record producer) Song recordings produced by Metro Boomin