"We Dem Boyz" is a song by American rapper

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 ...

from his fifth studio album ''

Blacc Hollywood ''Blacc Hollywood'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper Wiz Khalifa. It was released in the UK on August 18, 2014 and in the US on August 19, by Rostrum Records and Atlantic Records. The album features guest appearances from Ty Dolla Sig ...

'' (2014). On February 11, 2014, it was released by

Rostrum Records Rostrum Records is an American independent record label initially located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, now located in Los Angeles, California. Benjy Grinberg is the founder and president of the label, which currently has twelve artists on its ros ...

and

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

as the album's first single. It was produced by

Detail Detail(s) or The Detail(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''Details'' (film), a 2003 Swedish film * ''The Details'' (film), a 2011 American film * ''The Detail'', a Canadian television series * "The Detail" (''The Wire''), a television epis ...

and Choppa Boi. The song peaked at number 43 of the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart.

Background and composition

On February 6, 2014, Wiz Khalifa released a 15-second preview of "We Dem Boyz", announcing its full release to come in a few days. Wiz Khalifa commented on his reasoning for releasing it as a single saying, "I like 'We Dem Boyz' as the first single because of the energy. It reaches so many audiences other than just a rap audience. It's kind of like how "

Black and Yellow "Black and Yellow" is a song by American rapper Wiz Khalifa from his third studio album, '' Rolling Papers''. It was released on September 14, 2010, as the lead single from the album. The song was written by Khalifa, along with Stargate, who pr ...

" was – a big sports song to get everybody riled. It's more of an anthem." The song features a boisterous, trap influenced instrumental driven by "thunderous" drums. On top of the production, Wiz Khalifa raps with a subtly

autotune Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances. Auto-Tu ...

d flow.

Release and promotion

On February 10, 2014, the song was premiered through a partnership with music identifying app Shazam. When the preview video was "Shazamed", the song's full audio was unlocked on the app's feed. It was the first song to be premiered by Shazam in history. Then the following day, it was officially released as a digital download. On February 12, 2014, Wiz Khalifa held a release party for the single in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. An official video released of the party featured prominent appearances from the song's producer Detail and

Taylor Gang Records Taylor Gang Entertainment is an American entertainment company. Co-founded by rapper Wiz Khalifa in 2008, it operates as an independent record label, music management, music production and film company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The recor ...

artist

Ty Dolla Sign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...

. On February 19, 2014, Khalifa performed the song live during his appearance on

DJ Kay Slay Keith Grayson (August 14, 1966 – April 17, 2022), professionally known as DJ Kay Slay, was an American disc jockey (DJ) from New York City. He is referred to by ''The New York Times'' as "Hip Hop's One-Man Ministry of Insults". He released fou ...

's Streetsweeper Radio show. His first live show performance was on February 13, 2014 on 106 &Park. Then on March 15, 2014, Khalifa performed the song during Taylor Gang's set at

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

. His next performance of the song was on March 31, on

The Arsenio Hall Show ''The Arsenio Hall Show'' is an American syndicated late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Arsenio Hall. There have been two different incarnations of ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. The original series premiered on January 3, 1989, ...

. "We Dem Boyz" was featured in an episode of the TV series ''

Selfie A selfie () is a self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a digital camera or smartphone, which may be held in the hand or supported by a selfie stick. Selfies are often shared on social media, via social networking services such as F ...

'' in which

Karen Gillan Karen Sheila Gillan (; born 28 November 1987) is a Scottish actress. She gained recognition for her work in British film and television, particularly for playing Amy Pond, a primary companion to the Eleventh Doctor in the science fiction seri ...

's character twerked to it.

Critical reception

"We Dem Boyz" 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. ''

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 ...

'' named it the third best song of the first half of 2014. Writer Insanul Ahmed commented saying, "Driven by a distinctly trap sound and Wiz's Auto-tuned vocals, the song isn't a total overhaul of his style but it is a creative departure for Wiz. It owes more to songs like

Lil Reese Tavares Lamont Taylor (born January 6, 1993), known professionally as Lil Reese, is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. Hailing from Chicago's drill scene in the early 2010s, he is known for his collaborations with fellow rappers Chie ...

's "Us,"

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

's " Started From the Bottom," and any number of Atlanta's warblers than the stoner raps and pop anthems that have made up much of Wiz's output. Despite the soft start, the song is a club staple now and the biggest street-oriented song Wiz has gotten to pop in years." The song was placed at number eight on ''

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 ...

''s 10 Best Rap Songs of 2014 list.

Music video

The music video for "We Dem Boyz" was filmed in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

on March 11, 2014. The video was then released on April 14, 2014. It features cameo appearances by

B.o.B Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. (born November 15, 1988), known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons was signed to Jim Jonsin's Rebel Rock Entertainment imprint in 2006. Two years late ...

Big K.R.I.T. Justin Lewis Scott (born August 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Big K.R.I.T. (a backronym for King Remembered in Time), is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, he started his musical career in 2005. Af ...

Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...

Chevy Woods Kevin "Chevy" Woods (born May 13, 1981) is an American rapper and songwriter from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Throughout his career he has been affiliated with rapper Wiz Khalifa and his respective Taylor Gang record label, also serving as Khalifa ...

, Ty Glascoe, and

Rich Homie Quan Dequantes Lamar (born October 4, 1989), known professionally as Rich Homie Quan, is an American rapper. He was previously signed to labels T.I.G. Entertainment and Motown, and is an independent artist as of 2021. Quan experienced commercial suc ...

. The music video was nominated at the

2014 MTV Video Music Awards The 2014 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 24, 2014 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. It was the 31st annual MTV Video Music Awards. Beyoncé and Iggy Azalea led the nominees with eight nominations each, while Eminem followed them ...

' Best Hip-Hop Video category, but lost to Drake's R&B song "

Hold On, We're Going Home "Hold On, We're Going Home" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake, featuring the R&B duo Majid Jordan. The song was produced by Noah "40" Shebib, OVO Sound's Majid Jordan and Nineteen85, and it is the second single from his third studio album, ''No ...

Remixes

The official remix of "We Dem Boyz" features

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

. It was released on July 3, 2014. On February 18, 2014, American rapper

Tyga Michael Ray Nguyen-StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson ...

released a remix to "We Dem Boyz". Then rapper T.I. released his own remix on April 13, 2014.

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

and his

Conglomerate Records Conglomerate is a record label founded by Busta Rhymes. The label was established in 1994 as Flipmode, the name Conglomerate was later adopted in 2010. Company history Elektra (1996–2000) Soon after the Elektra deal was done, Busta obtained ...

artists

O.T. Genasis Odis Oliver Flores (born June 18, 1987), better known by his stage name O.T. Genasis, is an American rapper, actor and singer. Early life Odis Oliver Flores was born on June 18, 1987, in Atlanta to Garifunas from Belize. He is a Garifuna Amer ...

and J-Doe followed that by releasing a remix on May 5, 2014.

Puff Daddy Puff may refer to: Science and technology * Puff, a small quantity of gas or smoke in the air ** Puff, a light gust of wind ** Exhalation ** Inhalation * Puff model, volcanic ash tracking model developed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks * PUF ...

Meek Mill Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his music career as a battle rapper, and later formed a short-lived rap group, ...

and

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. ...

released their own remix on June 18, 2014. On September 11, 2014 the French rapper

Rohff Housni M'Kouboi (; born 15 December 1977), better known as Rohff and at times stylized as Roh2f, is a French rapper. Born in Antananarivo, Madagascar, to a family of Comoran origin, he immigrated in 1985 to France living in Vitry-sur-Seine, in ...

release his own Remix "Où est Rohff?". On June 19, 2015 Rapper Plies released his own version of the Track titled "We Dem Boyz P-mix" which actually featured the rapper.

Usage in media

The song was featured on the television shows ''

Black-ish ''Black-ish'' (stylized as black·''ish'', `black·''ish'', and black''ish'') is an American sitcom television series created by Kenya Barris. It aired on ABC from September 24, 2014, to April 19, 2022, running for eight seasons. ''Black-ish'' ...

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

Ballers ''Ballers'' is an American sports comedy drama television series created by Stephen Levinson and starring Dwayne Johnson as Spencer Strasmore, a retired NFL player who must navigate his new career of choice as the financial manager of other NFL ...

Hawaii Five-O Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to: * ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series * ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productio ...

,'' ''

The Mindy Project ''The Mindy Project'' is an American romantic comedy television series created by and starring Mindy Kaling that began airing on Fox in September 2012 and finished its run of six seasons on Hulu in November 2017. The series was co-produced by Un ...

'' and '' Superstore.'' It was also featured in the 2015 film '' Southpaw.'' This song faced strong resurgence in late 2016, where YouTube's successful content creator EWNetwork falsely leaked the

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

while exclaiming "JOY CON BOYZ". He has since made multiple references to this incident, connecting it to this song. It has then spawned types of merchandise related to this event and song, and a new online meme. The song is featured in a video game WWE 2K15. The

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

often use the song for promotional purposes.

Awards and nominations

Commercial performance

The song only achieved moderate commercial success and failed to outperform the lead singles from Khalifa's previous albums: in the United States, '' Rolling Papers'' lead single "

" peaked at number one and was certified triple Platinum, while ''

O.N.I.F.C. ''O.N.I.F.C.'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper Wiz Khalifa. The album was released on December 4, 2012, by Atlantic Records and Rostrum Records. The album's title was inspired by the album '' H.N.I.C.'' by Prodigy of Mobb Deep, an ...

s "

Work Hard, Play Hard "Work Hard, Play Hard" is a song by American rapper Wiz Khalifa, released as the lead single from his fourth studio album, '' O.N.I.F.C.'' (2012). The track features production from Benny Blanco and Stargate. Track listing ;Digital download # ...

" peaked at number 17 and was certified

double platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

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).

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2014 singles Wiz Khalifa songs Atlantic Records singles Rostrum Records singles Songs written by Detail (record producer) Song recordings produced by Detail (record producer) 2014 songs Dallas Cowboys Trap music songs