"Lost" is a song by American hip hop recording artist

Gorilla Zoe Alonzo Keith Mathis Jr. (born January 27, 1981), better known by his stage name Gorilla Zoe (), is an American rapper originally from East Point, Georgia. He is best known for being a member of the rap group Boyz N Da Hood. His solo debut album ...

, released October 14, 2008 as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from his second studio album '' Don't Feed Da Animals'' (2009). The song leaked in May 2008 entitled "Losin' My Mind",

featuring 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 ...

a verse from 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, joining ...

. It is notable that, specifically with the Lil Wayne version, both songs use the auto-tune effect. "Lost" received positive reviews from critics praising

Drumma Boy Christopher James Gholson (born August 11, 1983), better known by his stage name Drumma Boy, is an American record producer. Early life Born in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised in Cordova, Tennessee, he was exposed to music at a young age. His mo ...

's electronic production and Zoe's sincere Auto-Tune delivery of introspective lyrics.

Critical reception

"Lost" received positive reviews from music critics praising the production and usage of Auto-Tune to reveal an honest performance by Zoe. Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews praised the synth production and use of Auto-Tune to give Zoe a heartfelt performance, saying that "You might not think someone with Zoe's deep raspy flow could pull off crooning, but Drumma Boy plays to his strengths and gives him a joint he can sing low and slow over." Nathan Slavik of DJBooth was surprised by the honesty and self-awareness delivered by Zoe about his newfound lifestyle, saying that "'Lost' is a display of the lyricist lurking behind Zoe’s gravel-voiced swagger, dropping carefully constructed lines like “I’m losing my mind, I’m losing control...of the wheel swerving on and off the road.” That’s right, Zoe dropped a dope metaphor. Suck on that haters." Brendan Frederick of '' XXL'' called it "a brink-of-insanity cry for help that’s filled with booming 808s and sing-along digital harmonies."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

's David Jeffries felt that the introspective lyricism were being overshadowed by sophomoric humor, calling it "a heartfelt song about loneliness that would work splendidly if it wasn't for the diaper talk."

Chart performance

"Lost" debuted at number 93 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the week of January 24, 2009. Six weeks later, it moved twenty-two spots to peak at number 71 the week of March 7, staying on the chart for eleven weeks.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

was directed by Zollo and premiered on the

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

show '' The Deal''.

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

-based rapper Rick Ross makes a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

along with Atlanta-based rappers

Young Jeezy Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. Signing to Def Jam Recordings in 2004, his major label debut, '' Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101'', was released the followin ...

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...

, Plies,

Shawty Lo Carlos Rico Walker (March 22, 1976 – September 21, 2016), better known as Shawty Lo, was an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. He initially came to prominence as a founding member of the Southern hip hop group D4L, and in 2000 founded D4 ...

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971) better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre cr ...

Waka Flocka Flame Juaquin James Malphurs (born May 31, 1986), known professionally as Waka Flocka Flame, is an American rapper. Signing to 1017 Brick Squad and Warner Bros. Records in 2009, he became a mainstream artist with the release of his singles "O Let's ...

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...

, other cameo appearances did include Erup, KRS-One,

Slick Rick Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence with Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. Their songs " The Show" and " ...

, Nelly, Fat Joe,

YoungBloodz YoungBloodZ is an American Southern hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia composed of J-Bo (born Jeffrey Raymond Grigsby on October 4, 1977) and Sean P (born Sean Paul Ryan Joseph on March 7, 1978). The duo was signed to LaFace Records. They are o ...

, Cutty, Andre 3000,

Big Boi Antwan André Patton (born February 1, 1975), better known by his stage name Big Boi, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for being a member of the southern hip hop duo Outkast alongside André 300 ...

, Fiend,

N.O.R.E. Victor James Santiago Jr. (born September 6, 1977), better known by his stage names Noreaga and later N.O.R.E., is an American rapper. Born and raised in Queens, New York, Santiago first rose to prominence as one half of the East Coast hip hop du ...

, DMX,

Chi McBride Kenneth "Chi" McBride ( ; born September 23, 1961) is an American actor. He has appeared in films, where he is known primarily as a character actor, and in television, where he has had numerous starring roles. In film, he has played prominent ro ...

AND

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon The Chef, or simply Raekwon (), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success ...

. The music video is similar to the music video of "

Somebody's Watching Me "Somebody's Watching Me" is a song recorded by American singer Rockwell, released by the Motown label in 1984, as the lead single from his debut studio album of the same name. It features guest vocals by brothers Michael Jackson (in the choru ...

" by R&B artist Rockwell, relating the subject's paranoid fears of being followed and watched, although the lyrics of "Lost" chronicle the emptiness and loneliness that fame can bring. The music video does not show the underground background singer named as "the mistress". It was released on

, MTV, MTV2 and

MTV Jams BET Jams is an American pay television network controlled by BET Networks and owned by Paramount Media Networks. The channel features hip-hop and urban contemporary music videos. The network, formerly known as MTV Jams, was rebranded under the B ...

on December 23, 2008 and on iTunes on January 19, 2009.

Remixes and freestyle

On September 14, 2008, American rapper Bow Wow released a freestyle to the song.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 2008 singles 2008 songs Gorilla Zoe songs Bad Boy Records singles Songs written by Gorilla Zoe Songs written by Drumma Boy