"Chillin" is a song by American rapper Wale, featuring singer

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

. It was released as the lead single from his debut album, '' Attention Deficit'', on April 14, 2009, by

Allido Records Allido Records is a record label and production company. The company was started by DJ and producer Mark Ronson and Rich Kleiman, a television, internet and music businessman. The label got its name "Allido" from the Stevie Wonder song "All I Do" ...

. Wale had wanted to collaborate with Gaga, and were introduced to each other through the rapper's mentor,

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Robbi ...

. "Chillin" was composed by a number of songwriters, including Wale and Gaga, while it was produced by

Cool & Dre Cool & Dre are a record production and songwriting duo from North Miami, Florida, consisting of Marcello "Cool" Antonio Valenzano and Andre "Dre" Christopher Lyon. The duo are best known for their work with Terror Squad founder Fat Joe, first ...

. Recorded in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the song discusses Wale's life in his hometown. It has musical influence of 1990s style rapping, and contains two samples from the 1969 song " Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" by the band

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

, and the 1987 song, "

Top Billin' "Top Billin'" is a single for American hip-hop duo Audio Two, released as the B-side of the single "Make It Funky" from the album '' What More Can I Say?'' It was released before First Priority Music inked a distribution deal with Atlantic Reco ...

", by Audio Two. The song received mixed reviews from contemporary critics. Some praised Wale and Gaga's collaboration and composition, while others criticized it. "Chillin" reached number 12 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, while in the United States it peaked at number 99 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song also reached the lower regions of the record charts in some other nations. The accompanying music video features both Wale and Gaga in various locations in and around

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

Background and writing

Wale had wanted to collaborate with

on the track since January 2009, believing that she embodied the party-record feel of the song. He explained: "If music was a high school, I feel like I'll be the dude on the football team, and it would be like, 'OK, Gaga's having a party!' And you know all the bad girls are going to be out there." Upon hearing that some were surprised by the collaboration, Wale went on to say, "If

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

can work with

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...

, then Wale should be able to work with Gaga." Wale's mentor,

, sent the track to Gaga. She commented that her portion of the song, which includes lyrics such as "Lookin' at, lookin' at, lookin' at me/ Eyes all stickin' like honey on bees", is

narcissistic Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance or image and an excessive preoccupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism exists on a co ...

, but in a positive way. The lyrics capture the life and image of Wale's home areas

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. About incorporating the

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

in the song, Gaga said:

I really wanted to sit down with Wale before I wrote the hook, because to me, it's really lame when people send you tracks, and they're like, 'All right, Gaga, throw your vocals on it.' This is Wale's record. It's not my record. It's one of those songs, one of those tracks and one of those videos that you can't stop listening to.

Recording and composition

Along with Wale and Gaga, songwriters who worked on "Chillin" included Gary De Carlo, Dale Frashuer, Roy C Hammond, Paul Leka, Andre Christopher Lyon,

Makeba Riddick Makeba Riddick-Woods (also known as "Girl Wonder") is an American singer-songwriter who has been active since 2005. She is originally from West Baltimore, Maryland, US. Currently she is managed by Jay-Z's record label and production house, Ro ...

, Kirk Robinson and Marcello Valenzano. "Chillin" has influence of 1990s style rapping, and samples from the 1969 song " Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" by

, and the 1987 song "

" by Audio Two. The song is written in the time signature of

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

with a tempo of 100

beats per minute 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 is composed in the key of

G minor G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major. According to Paolo Pietropaolo, it is the cont ...

. Nathan Rabin from ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' called it a "throwback slab of

electro-funk Electro (or electro-funk)Rap meets T ...

", with robotic new wave inspired vocals by Gaga. After starting with the Steam sample, the song has a stripped-down beat with a

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

and synth-claps, and synthesizers on the verses and the sample being looped in the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

, with Gaga interjecting her verses in-between. Lyrically it has Wale's name repeated throughout and the rapper talking about things he has in comparison to other people, opening with the line "This how you start off '09, kickin' in the door and I'm everybody's problem". He also refers to fellow rapper M.I.A. with the line "I'm the same way, M.I.A./ Me, Cool and Dre get high like planes". Produced by

, the song was recorded at Allido Sound Studios in New York, by Derek Pacuk, while the mixing was done by Serban Ghanea. Wale recalled in a 2011 interview with

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

for ''Lady Gaga: Inside the Outside'' special, that the recording session did not go easy. He had traveled to the New York recording studio from Washington D.C. after a long night of partying. Gaga was already in the studio in her exuberant style with a big ribbon atop her head by which Wale was taken aback, and was a "cultural difference" for him. In an effort to warm up to each other they made small talk about their respective record deals with Interscope. By the end of the session, Gaga had created five different hooks for "Chillin" and added her vocals on the track. The rapper added, "It took a while. Once we finally got the ball rolling, it was almost time to go. It was natural though. It's wack when you get in the studio with somebody and it's automatically music time — it feels fake. We were trying to feel each other out." Wale later added that he would like to collaborate with Gaga again on a track but it was unknown to him if Gaga would be interested.

Music video

The music video for the song was directed by Chris Robinson and was posted on Interscope's

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 ...

channel on June 12, 2009. It features guest appearances from rappers

Young Chris Christopher Francis Ries (born March 9, 1983), known professionally as Young Chris, is an American rapper. He is a member of Philadelphia rap duo Young Gunz alongside his childhood friend, rapper Neef Buck, signed to Roc-A-Fella Records. The duo ...

, Tre,

Pusha T Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper, songwriter and record executive. He rose to prominence as one-half of the hip hop duo Clipse, which was mainly active from 1994 to 20 ...

Anwan Glover Ralph Anwan Glover (born May 5, 1971 in Washington, D.C.) is an American rapper, actor, model, DJ, and founding member of the D.C.-based go-go band "BackYard Band" (also abbreviated as "BYB"). Glover is also known for his portrayal of Slim Charle ...

and Bun B. The video shows Wale and Gaga at the

's Cardozo Senior High School and Wale in various venues and streets in the District, including

South Boston Waterfront South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. South Boston, colloquially known as Southie, has undergone several demographic transformati ...

. This includes one scene in the famous hidden clothing store Bodega in Boston where Wale tries on various clothes. One of Gaga's characteristic

Great Danes The Great Dane is a large sized dog breed originating from Germany. The Great Dane descends from hunting dogs from the Middle Ages used to hunt wild boar and deer, and as guardians of German nobility. It is one of the largest breeds in the world ...

, which had also previously appeared in the music videos for " Just Dance" and " Poker Face", appears in the video for "Chillin", wearing

Beats by Dr. Dre Beats Electronics LLC (also known as Beats by Dr. Dre, or simply Beats by Dre) is an American consumer audio products manufacturer headquartered in Culver City, California. The company was founded by music producer Dr. Dre and record company exec ...

headphones. Several posters of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

appear in the video. The music video was added to

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 A ...

's TV rotation in the United States. Chrissy Andrews from

MuchMusic Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...

complimented Gaga's appearance in the music video, saying that "this is the most 'toned down' I've ever seen Lady Gaga. She's wearing a short dress with pumps, but she's surprisingly without her facial lightning bolt, crystal staff or orbiting head piece (as seen on her ''

Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: * Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress * Elle ...

'' appearance). One of the two massive dogs from her other videos does make an appearance, however... with headphones on! Even without all of the crazy things we know Gaga for, she's still great in this video."

Critical reception

"Chillin" received mixed reviews from critics. Steve Roberts from MTV praised Gaga's verse and for employing a similar singing style to M.I.A. Jason Lipshutz from ''

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 ...

'' complimented the "club-ready single" for its "bouncy hook and slick verses" and called the song "the perfect precursor to Wale's long-awaited debut". Mehan Jayasuriya from

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

commended the song for being a "token party jam" on the album track list. She added that "for all the flack that the

rack Rack or racks may refer to: Storage and installation * Amp rack, short for amplifier rack, a piece of furniture in which amplifiers are mounted * Bicycle rack, a frame for storing bicycles when not in use * Bustle rack, a type of storage bi ...

has caught, it's still an indisputably catchy song, even if the

9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is a ale's''Back to the Feature'' stands as the definitive version." Andres Tardio from ''

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. ...

'' believed the composition of the song as "Pop-friendly". A reviewer for '' XXL'' compared and described "Chillin" as "distinctly D.C.-sounding anthem". David Jeffries from

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 ...

praised Wale's "natural delivery and quirky sense of humor" in the song, likening his vocals to that of

and Gaga's vocals to that of singer

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

. Describing "Chillin" as a "club-friendly hopper", Chris Richards from ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' believed that using Rihanna or M.I.A. on the track would have made it successful, rather than Gaga who was then considered a relatively unknown singer. Richards recalled a similar situation when Washington D.C. based go-go band

Experience Unlimited Experience Unlimited (also known as simply E.U.) is a Washington, D.C.-based go-go/funk band that enjoyed its height of popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s. Fronted by lead singer/bassist Gregory "Sugar Bear" Elliot, the group has had a fl ...

had collaborated with androgynous singer

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

on a track. Sobhi Youssef from ''

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 ...

'' noticed that the song's production made it sound like a different track than the rest of ''Attention Deficit''. ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' critic Ryan Brockington liked the song, but questioned Gaga's emulation of M.I.A. Mosi Reeves from '' Spin'' criticized Gaga's "wanna-be-M.I.A. cadences", calling it "unnecessarily crass". Another review from ''Spin'' by Brandon Soderberg panned the song, saying that " wasn't a Wale song and it wasn't a Gaga song with Wale wedged in there somewhere, either. 'Chillin' became something of an Internet rap watershed moment". Sean Fennessey from

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 ...

described the song as "much-maligned", adding that "there won't be much to gain from Chillin'.. This was the first step in Wale's multiple personality debacle and he seems to know as much—nothing else on ''Attention Deficit'' resembles the goofy sneakers-shouting writing here." In another review, Ryan Dombal from the same website criticized Wale's repetition of his name and the usage of the samples calling it "unnecessary". Brian Howe from '' Paste'' described the track as "flashy and hollow". '' The Greyhound'' gave the song a negative review and believed that "with a lackluster hook and the repetition of the name 'Wale,' the airplay and sales of this single will depend greatly upon the vocals of Lady Gaga." Wilson McBee from ''

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 ...

'' criticized both "Chillin" and the follow-up single, "World Tour", as "tepid Cool & Dre productions in which Wale seems to be attempting Black Eyed Peas-style halftime-show rap." McBee believed that the songs did not represent the true nature of the album. ''Prefix'' magazine was also critical of the song saying that "just when you think Wale understands the consequences of mindlessly horny partying... he gives us the dumb, cheaply agreeable Lady Gaga feature 'Chillin'."

Chart performance

The song performed moderately on the record charts. In the United States, the song debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 99 but fell off the next week. It also reached a peak of number 26 on the

Rhythmic Top 40 The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

chart. According to

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

, "Chillin" has sold 354,000 units in the US as of December 2010. In Canada the song reached a peak of number 73. "Chillin" charted on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

of Australia where it debuted number 29, and was present for a total of eight weeks. The song performed moderately in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where it reached peaks of number 12 and 19, respectively. It also charted on ''Billboard''s

Euro Digital Songs The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

, peaking at number 18.

Track listing and formats

Digital download # "Chillin" (feat. Lady Gaga) – 3:29 US 12" Vinyl edition # "Chillin" (feat. Lady Gaga) (Clean) – 3:18 # "Chillin" (feat. Lady Gaga) (Dirty) – 3:19 # "Chillin" (Instrumental) – 3:20 US 12" Picture Disc # "Chillin" (Wideboys Project Bassline Mix) – 5:12 # "Chillin" (Marc Jb Dub Mix) – 6:40 # "Chillin" (Lee Dagger Extended Mix) – 6:24 # "Chillin" (Bimbo Jones Club Mix) – 5:57 European CD single # "Chillin" (feat. Lady Gaga) – 3:18 # "Nike Boots" – 4:19

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

of ''Attention Deficit''. * Wale – songwriting, rapping *

– songwriting, singing * Gary De Carlo – songwriting * Dale Frashuer – songwriting * Roy C Hammond – songwriting * Paul Leka – songwriting * Andre Christopher Lyon – songwriting *

– songwriting * Kirk Robinson – songwriting * Marcello Valenzano – songwriting *

– producer * Derek Pacuk – recording engineer * Serban Ghanea –

audio mixing Audio mixing is the process by which multiple sounds are combined into one or more channels. In the process, a source's volume level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated or enhanced. This practical, aesthetic ...

Charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{authority control 2009 singles 2009 songs Funk songs Lady Gaga songs Music videos directed by Chris Robinson (director) Song recordings produced by Cool & Dre Songs written by Lady Gaga Songs written by Makeba Riddick Songs written by Cool (record producer) Songs written by Wale (rapper) Wale (rapper) songs Songs written by Kirk Robinson Songs written by Dre (record producer)