"Leave It Smokin" is a song by Canadian singer

Tamia Tamia Marilyn Washington Hill (born May 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and producer. Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Tamia performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. In 1994, after signing a development dea ...

. Inspired by New York summertime music, Tamia wrote the song alongside frequent collaborators Alicia Renee Williams and

Salaam Remi Salaam Remi Gibbs (born May 14, 1972) is a Grammy winning American record producer known for his association with Nas, Amy Winehouse, Robby, Fugees, Fergie, Estelle, Black Thought, and Miguel, and for his reggae-tinged (often referred to as ...

for her seventh studio album ''

Passion Like Fire ''Passion Like Fire'' is the seventh studio album by Canadian singer Tamia. It was released on September 7, 2018 through Plus One Music Group and 21 Entertainment. Her first project to be distributed by eOne Music, its release marked twenty years ...

'' (2018); its production was handled by Remi. A throw-back to 1990s music, the uptempo R&B song exhibits elements of 1990s

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

, and

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

. Built on a stoic,

snare SNARE proteins – " SNAP REceptor" – are a large protein family consisting of at least 24 members in yeasts, more than 60 members in mammalian cells, and some numbers in plants. The primary role of SNARE proteins is to mediate vesicle fu ...

-heavy retro break

beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

and a smooth, rhythmic

groove Groove or Grooves may refer to: Music * Groove (music) * Groove (drumming) * The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s * The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station * Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station * ...

, the song's

instrumentation Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making. Instrumentation can refer to ...

includes moody

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

tones, and

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s. Lyrically, "Leave It Smokin" finds the singer looking for passions in her lover to fuel her needs. The song was acclaimed by contemporary

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, who praised its retro vibe, as well as the production handled by Remi and Tamia's gentle vocals. It appeared on several year-end lists. Released as the album's lead single on April 27, 2018, it became her biggest hit single in years. "Leave It Smokin" peaked at number two on the US

Adult R&B Songs The Adult R&B Songs chart (formerly called Adult R&B Airplay) is an airplay chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on urban adult contemporary radio stations, whose playl ...

chart in July 2018, finishing fourth on the chart's year-end listing, while also reaching the top 20 of the US

R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (previously known as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay) is a chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the top R&B and hip hop songs in the United States, based on audience impressions from a panel of radio stations monitored ...

chart. Tamia performed the song at the 2018 award ceremony of ''

Black Girls Rock! BLACK GIRLS ROCK! is a company founded by executive producer, businesswoman, celebrity DJ, and former model Beverly Bond. The company hosts an annual award show of the same name that honors and promotes Black women's achievements. BLACK GIRLS ROCK ...

''. The song was part of her

set list A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

for her Passion Like Fire Tour (2018–19).

Recording

"Leave It Smokin'" was written by Tamia along with Alicia Renee Williams and

, both of which had previously collaborated with the singer on her previous albums ''

Beautiful Surprise ''Beautiful Surprise'' is the fifth studio album by Canadian recording artist Tamia. It was released by her own label, Plus One Music Group on August 28, 2012 in the United States, with distribution handled by EMI and Capitol Records. Her first ...

'' (2012) and '' Love Life'' (2015). Built upon a key pass that Remi provided "on the B50 of a melody and a snare," it was written over a stripped "

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

summertime" instrumentation that Remi heavily polished late into the production of the song. Recording of the song took place at the Remi's studios in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, while mixing was overseen by Gary Noble at The Instrument Zoo Studios. Tamia later commented on the creation process: "

emi EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

has this process of taking a song and sitting with it as long as he needs to in order to make it feel right. It sounded good when I left it but when I picked it up, it was great. It definitely has a feel, that good retro but still current vibe."

Release and reception

"Leave It Smokin'" received favorable reviews from music critics who complimented the song for its "retro R&B sound" which they considered reminiscent of early 1990s dance music. ''SoulinStereo'' called the song "easily the album standout" and wrote: "It's as sultry as it's catchy – a playfully infectious mid-tempo groove that immediately seduces your ears. When it comes to summer songs for lovers, this is " Boo'd Up" for grown folks." ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' writer Gerrick D. Kennedy described "Leave It Smokin'" as a "seductive neo-soul throwback," while Elias Light from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' remarked that it "employs a serviceable

Soul II Soul Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...

-like shuffle." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' ranked the song seventh on its 20 Best R&B Songs of 2018 listing, with

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

and other magazines such as ''

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 ...

'' and ''

SoulTracks ''SoulTracks'' is an American online magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine ...

'' also including it on their year-end lists. Actor

Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy, The Illuminatu ...

included the song in his café playlist, released to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' in January 2020. The song was released on April 27, 2018 through

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 other digital streaming platforms. When asked about her decision to select it as the lead single from ''Passion Like Fire'', Tamia elaborated: "Every time I work with Salaam Remi, I leave thinking I have a great record, and then he sits with it for three weeks and makes a thousand edits and just lives with it ..I just felt such a connection with the song. It just felt fun like summertime, like a good way to introduce the album ..I think it's important to show ebbs and flows for an album, and I just love this song." On August 17, 2018,

Plus One Music Group Tamia Marilyn Washington Hill (born May 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and producer. Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Tamia performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. In 1994, after signing a development dea ...

and eOne Music released a remix version of the song which features additional vocals from rapper Wale. It received mixed reviews from critics.

Chart performance

"Leave It Smokin'" debuted at number 28 on the US ''

in the week ending May 12, becoming Tamia's first entry on the list since " Stuck with Me" in 2015. For the week ending June 8, 2018, the song reached number 10 on chart, becoming her twelfth top ten entry as well as her first top 10 hit on the Adult R&B Songs chart since "

" peaked at number four of 2012. "Leave It Smokin'" has since peaked at number two. On the US ''

chart the song has peaked at number 16, becoming her most successful single since " Stranger in My House".

Music video

The music video for "Leave It Smokin'" was directed by Canadian filmmaker Aaron A. It was shot in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and premiered 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 June 15, 2018.

Track listing

Notes * denotes additional producer

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Passion Like Fire''. *Alicia Renee Williams – writer *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...

– mastering *Tamia Hill – writer *Gary Noble – mixing *

– production, recording, writer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

TamiaWorld.com
— official site {{authority control 2018 singles 2018 songs Tamia songs Songs written by Salaam Remi Songs written by Tamia