"Man of the Year" is a song by American hip hop recording artist

Schoolboy Q Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. In 2009, Hanley signed to Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) and in late ...

. The song was released as the second official

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from his major-label debut album ''

Oxymoron An oxymoron (usual plural oxymorons, more rarely oxymora) is a figure of speech that juxtaposes concepts with opposing meanings within a word or phrase that creates an ostensible self-contradiction. An oxymoron can be used as a rhetorical devi ...

'', on November 23, 2013, by

Top Dawg Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American independent record label founded in 2004, by CEO Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. Terrence "Punch" Henderson is president of the label. There are currently eleven artists signed to the label: the label's f ...

and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

. The song, produced by frequent collaborators

Nez & Rio Nez & Rio are an American record production team from Chicago, Illinois, composed of Nesbitt Wesonga Jr. and Mario Loving. They are perhaps best known for producing Schoolboy Q's 2014 single " Man of the Year," as well as ASAP Rocky's 2015 singl ...

, first appeared on the soundtrack to the 2013 video game ''

NBA Live 14 ''NBA Live 14'' is a basketball video game released on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2013. It is the first ''NBA Live'' game on the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. ''NBA Live 14'' features Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers as its cove ...

''. The song

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...

s "Cherry", as performed by American electronic band Chromatics, from the 2013 compilation album ''

After Dark 2 ''After Dark 2'' is a compilation album featuring artists from the Italians Do It Better label. The album was released on May 17, 2013, and produced by Johnny Jewel. It is a sequel to the 2007 album '' After Dark''. Artists and bands featured on ...

''. The song debuted at number 81 and later peaked at 62 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Background and release

On May 13, 2013, 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 promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for Top Dawg label-mate

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...

's single "

Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" ( edited for radio as "Trick, Don't Kill My Vibe" or simply "Don't Kill My Vibe"), is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, from his major-label debut studio album ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' (2012). The song, pr ...

", was released. Later that day, the

director's cut A director's cut is an edited version of a film (or video game, television episode, music video, or commercial) that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit in contrast to the theatrical release. "Cut" explicitly refers to the ...

of the video was released, which included a bonus clip featuring a

snippet A snippet is defined as a small piece of something; it may in more specific contexts refer to: * Sampling (music), the use of a short phrase of a recording as an element in a new piece of music * Snipets, (sic) a series of short TV interstitials p ...

of a new song by Schoolboy Q. Shortly after the video was released, American production duo Nez & Rio, who previously contributed production on Schoolboy Q's 2012 project ''

Habits & Contradictions ''Habits & Contradictions'' is the second studio album by American rapper Schoolboy Q. It was released on January 14, 2012, exclusively on iTunes, by Top Dawg Entertainment. The album features guest appearances from ASAP Rocky, Jhené Aiko, Dom Ken ...

'', revealed on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that they had also produced the song at the end of the video. Also in May, Schoolboy Q

tweeted Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

: "Nez & rio all ova #OXYMORON" On November 5, 2013, it was revealed Schoolboy Q would appear on the soundtrack to the 2013 video game ''

''. "Man of the Year" was released as a single via digital distribution on November 23, 2013. On January 28, 2014, "Man of the Year" was serviced to

rhythmic contemporary 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 ...

radio in the United States.

Critical reception

"Man of the Year" was met with generally positive reviews from

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

s. Brandon Soderberg of ''

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 ...

'' called it one of the album's highlights. David Jeffries of

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 databas ...

said it is an accessible highlight of the album. Lizzie Plaugic of ''

CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

'' referred to the song as one of the album's essential tracks. Craig Jenkins of

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 ...

said the song, "follows suit in affixing the happy ending to ''Oxymoron''’s war stories while serving up the album’s most memorable hooks." Michael Madden of

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

said it had one of the album's standout productions. Jason Lipshutz of ''

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 ...

'' said, ""Man Of The Year" is not a lyrical masterpiece, but it slays: with a beat from Nez & Rio that nicks an obscure Chromatics track, the track explodes every time Q spits the refrain "Man of the year, ma-man of the BOUNCE," which is nonsensical but feels oh so right." Maya Kalev of ''

Fact A fact is a datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance, which, if accepted as true and proven true, allows a logical conclusion to be reached on a true–false evaluation. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scient ...

'' praised the endlessly catchy refrain of the song. Joe Sweeney of

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

called the song a "languid dance-crossover" that drags the album down. Omar Burgess of

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

referred to the song as album filler. Aziz of

Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur c ...

said the song is "too obsessed with pampering clubgoers to be at all interesting."

Live performances

On January 24, 2014, Schoolboy Q made his network television debut, performing "Man of the Year" on ''

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon. About pag ...

''. On January 28, 2014, Schoolboy Q performed the song, along with "

Collard Greens Collard is a group of certain loose-leafed cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', the same species as many common vegetables including cabbage ( Capitata group) and broccoli ( Italica group). Collard is a member of the Viridis group of ''Brassica ...

" and " Break the Bank" on the season finale of

DJ Skee Scott Keeney (born 15 November 1983), better known by his stage name DJ Skee, is an American artist, television host, radio personality, and entrepreneur. Skee rose to fame as the first DJ to discover and play superstar artists on the radio incl ...

's ''SKEE Live''. Then on February 26, 2014, Schoolboy Q performed "Man of the Year" on the '' Arsenio Hall Show''.

Music video

On January 17, 2014, the music video for "Man of the Year", which was directed by

Dave Free David Friley (born November 13, 1986), known professionally as Dave Free, is an American filmmaker, record executive, and former record producer. He is best known for his creative partnership with rapper Kendrick Lamar, with whom he founded the ...

, Fredo Tovar and Scott Fleishman, was released.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2013 singles Schoolboy Q songs Top Dawg Entertainment singles Interscope Records singles 2013 songs Songs written by Schoolboy Q Music videos directed by Dave Free