"Norf Norf" is a song recorded by American rapper

Vince Staples Vincent Jamal Staples (born July 2, 1993) is an American rapper and singer. Staples was once a close associate of Odd Future, Mike G and Earl Sweatshirt in particular. He is currently signed to Motown and Blacksmith Records. Staples rose to pr ...

for his debut double studio album, ''

Summertime '06 ''Summertime '06'' is the debut studio double album by American rapper Vince Staples. It was released on June 30, 2015, through ARTium Recordings, Blacksmith Records, and Def Jam Recordings. The album was primarily produced by No I.D., alongside a ...

''. It was produced by Clams Casino, and released on June 22, 2015 by

ARTium Recordings Ernest Dion Wilson (born June 23, 1971), professionally known as No I.D. (formerly Immenslope), is an American hip hop and R&B producer from Chicago, Illinois. Wilson is also a disc jockey (DJ), music arranger and former rapper, having releas ...

and

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

. It did not peak in any major chart. It received widespread acclaim by critics and was placed on several year-end lists. In February 2018, the song was certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

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).

Composition

"Norf Norf" is a hip hop song. It was described as "sonically grim", built over a "drone-like" section similar to a "

monophonic Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduc ...

guitar

feedback Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handled ...

Reception

Critical reception

The song received widespread acclaim by critics. The song was placed in several year-end lists, with

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 ...

placing it at number 19; ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'', at number 46; and ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'', at number 20. Rob Sheffield of ''

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 ...

'' named it his 12th favorite song of 2015. Paul Schrodt of ''Complex'' called it the best Vince Staples song.

Controversy

The song received criticism from a woman, who heard the song on the radio with her 11-year-old daughter, and released a viral 11-minute video on the internet criticizing the song. In the video, she recited the song's lyrics, called the song "crap" and "filth", and criticized the song's chorus, "I ain't never run from nothing but the police". The video attracted backlash, which led Staples to defend the woman: "No person needs to be attacked for their opinion on what they see to be appropriate for their children"; he also said she was "clearly confused on the context of the song" and "emotionally unstable".

Music video

The song's music video was released on July 17, 2015. It was filmed in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

, and shows Staples with "an unfazed expression as he's taken on a seemingly routine trip from the back of a cop car", and "gets his mugshot taken, gets roughed up by cops, and gets thrown in a cell". Eric Ducker of ''

'' named it the second best music video of 2015, and ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' named it the seventh best.

Certifications

References

External links

* {{authority control 2015 singles 2015 songs Vince Staples songs Songs written by Vince Staples