Schoolin' Life
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"Schoolin' Life" is a song recorded by American recording artist
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
for the deluxe edition of her fourth studio album, '' 4'' (2011). It was written by Knowles, Terius Nash, Shea Taylor as well as
Carlos McKinney Carlos McKinney (born January 10, 1973), known professionally as Los Da Mystro, is an American record producer and jazz pianist. Biography McKinney was born into a prominent Detroit jazz family; he is a nephew to pianist Harold McKinney, ba ...
while production was handled by Knowles,
The-Dream Terius Youngdell Nash (born September 20, 1977), better known by his stage name The-Dream, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His co-writing credits include songs with "Me Against the Music" (2003) for Britney Spears, "Ride ...
, and
Los Da Mystro Carlos McKinney (born January 10, 1973), known professionally as Los Da Mystro, is an American record producer and jazz pianist. Biography McKinney was born into a prominent Detroit jazz family; he is a nephew to pianist Harold McKinney, ba ...
. Jordan Young, also known by his stage name DJ Swivel, mixed the song at New York's Jungle City Studios. Containing elements of
disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
and
dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
music, "Schoolin' Life" is an
uptempo A variety of musical terms are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special mus ...
R&B song, in which Knowles employs guttural vocals and uses her
head voice Head voice is a term used within vocal music. The use of this term varies widely within vocal pedagogical circles and there is currently no one consistent opinion among vocal music professionals in regard to this term. Head voice can be used in re ...
. Having a
retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from history, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. In popular culture, the "nostalgia cycle" is typically for the two decades that begin 20–30 ...
nature, the song is built on a 1980s-inspired dance
beat 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 (c ...
, and is instrumentally complete with old school
synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
s,
drum kit A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player ( drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsti ...
s,
electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...
s, and
horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...
. Lyrically, the song features Knowles schooling everyone from their 20s to their 50s. She gets feisty as she reflects on lessons she learned in her own life and affirms that she hasn't certified as a teacher, a preacher or a doctor, but is willing to perform their various duties regardless. "Schoolin' Life" was well received by contemporary music critics, who noted its aural resemblance to
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...
's prime work, praised its production, and coined it as one of the catchiest upbeat songs Knowles has ever recorded. It appeared on several critics' lists of the best songs of 2011. Following the release of ''4'', "Schoolin' Life" charted at number 155 on the South Korean International Singles Chart. The song was used in the eighth season of the American television
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and dance competition ''
So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...
''. It was part of Knowles'
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during her residency show Revel Presents: Beyoncé Live.


Production and mixing

"Schoolin' Life" was written by Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Nash, Shea Taylor, and
Carlos McKinney Carlos McKinney (born January 10, 1973), known professionally as Los Da Mystro, is an American record producer and jazz pianist. Biography McKinney was born into a prominent Detroit jazz family; he is a nephew to pianist Harold McKinney, ba ...
. Production was handled by Knowles, The-Dream, and Los Da Mystro. It was made available on the deluxe edition of ''4'', which was sold exclusively at
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until that edition was released to
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s on January 2, 2012. The deluxe edition consists of an additional two deluxe only tracks, "Dance for You" and "Lay Up Under Me" and three remixes of "
Run the World (Girls) "Run the World (Girls)" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé, from her fourth studio album '' 4'' (2011), released as the lead single from the album on April 21, 2011. It was written and produced by R&B singer The-Dream and Beyoncé, w ...
" (2011). Jordan Young aka DJ Swivel mixed the song at New York's Jungle City Studios. Describing "Schoolin' Life" as his favorite track on the album, Swivel told ''
Sound on Sound ''Sound on Sound'' is an independently owned monthly music technology magazine published by SOS Publications Group, based in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The magazine includes product tests of electronic musical performance and recording devices, a ...
'' that he was adamant about mixing the song:
I spent a lot of time after nowlesleft the studio tightening up the rough. In fact, I'm sure she let me mix it just because I loved the track so much! I mixed this in the fantastic penthouse room in Jungle City. This record was, of course, about the vocals — but a lot of it was about the production elements too. Everything had to be audible; there's some interesting percussion, and the hook had to feel nice and big.
Around 100 tracks were used on "Schoolin' Life"; they were roughly split with 50 for the music and 50 for the vocals. As stated by Swivel, musically the aim of the mix was to take a large number of tracks and create a perfect balance. So, he used Waves’ Metaflanger on the percussion and some of the snares, and spent some time EQ’ing. Swivel explained that there was much parallel processing on the lead vocal. The lead-vocal bus was muted to a second bus, and one of them was entirely crushed on a 50:1 compression ratio which was totally limited and with a very low threshold. He elaborated, "It creates a very gritty distorted sound in there, really low to taste, and it fills in the lead vocal very nicely. The crushed vocal runs quietly underneath." After completing the lead vocals, Swivel decided to rework the 1980s sound on the snares as they were originally very tight. He therefore added a gated reverb for the snap sound which was long and drawn‑out snap sound. He also subbed in an additional kick underneath to add some real oomph to the bottom. Owing to the work Swivel had accomplished during production, the final mix took only a few hours. He said: "There were a lot of tracks, but I just enjoyed it, to be honest. I knew how I wanted it to sound, and it was pretty much the last song we cut; a lot of the mixing was nailed in the production as well, which helped. Dream did a great job producing this track." The bar one
guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
track of "Schoolin' Life" was entirely programmed. Similarly, the live
drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
section in the hook was actually done with programmed drums. Once the mixing was over, Swivel's impression were as follows:
Schoolin' Lifeabsolutely had to have its own space. There are percussion elements and a few random sounds in there too, plus the nice guitar track, but certainly the main challenge was for all of these tracks to be well balanced and individually audible. It really is very easy to overlook something like that, which can potentially completely change the sound of a record.


Composition and lyrical interpretation

"Schoolin' Life" is an
uptempo A variety of musical terms are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special mus ...
R&B, which contains elements of
disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
and
dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
. Built on a 1980s-inspired
beat 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 (c ...
, the song's instrumentation includes old school
synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
s, 1980s-sounding
drum kit A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player ( drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsti ...
s wailing
electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...
s, and
horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...
. Music critics, including Jamie Peck of
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
noted that "Schoolin' Life" was inspired by the prime work of
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...
, particularly because of its lyrical content, the instruments used, and Knowles' style of singing on it. Lyrically, the song finds Knowles detailing her experiences as she was growing up. In the first verse, she employs guttural vocals to address many life lessons to "20-somethings", "30-somethings", "40-somethings", and "50-somethings". Knowles warns them against some consequences, affirming "time really moves fast" and that growing up fast will leave them wanting more. Knowles also talks about still excelling in a world where parents try to shield everything, "Mom and dad tried to hide the world / Said the world's just too big for a little girl / Eyes wide open can't you see / I had my first heels by the age of 13". 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 ...
, Knowles gives listeners a flashback to her friskier days and admits that she is certified neither as a teacher, a preacher nor a doctor, but is willing to perform their various duties regardless. She also sings, "I'm great at writing physical love letters", and "I'm a freak, all day all night". After asking, "Who needs a degree when you're schoolin' life?", Knowles echoes, "Oh oh oh oh oh oh woah oh oh". In the second verse, she continues to sing about the ins and outs of life to the "pretty somethings", "sexy somethings", "bitter somethings", and "little somethings": "Living in a fastlane, see you when you crash babe", "That body ain’t always gonna get you out of everything", and "Stop living in regret, it’s not over yet". In the
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
, she commands, "Make your life what you decide / Baby, party till the fire marshal shuts this sucker down". The song ends with Knowles giving one her final lessons, "Don’t stop running until it’s finished — it’s up to you, the rest is unwritten".


Critical reception

"Schoolin' Life" received positive reviews. Jamie Peck of MTV described "Schoolin' Life" as " feisty lesson in fun... It's the perfect soundtrack for dancing on a fire escape or... playing in a busted open fire hydrant... Whatever, it's hot!". He concluded that Prince would be proud of the song's musical style and lyrical content. John Mitchell of the same publication found the song to be single-worthy. Choosing "Schoolin' Life" as one of the three best tracks on ''4'', Tyrone S. Reid of
Blogcritics Blogcritics is a blog network and online magazine of news and opinion. The site was founded in 2002 by Eric Olsen and Phillip Winn. Blogcritics features more than 100 original articles every week, and maintains an archive of all its published con ...
commented that the song offers a proper lesson in how "to make the old and new schools boogie together". He also noted that it is reminiscent of Prince's work. Ryan Dombal 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 ...
viewed the song as an irresistible Prince tribute, which he considered to be much more motivational than " I Was Here". He called "Schoolin' Life" as one "among the proper album's finest moments". Daniel Koren of PMA noted that the song recalls some of The-Dream's most Prince-esque tracks, "Fast Car" and "Yamaha". Ian Walker of
AbsolutePunk ''AbsolutePunk'' was a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate (the most recent CEO). The website mainly focused on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it was known to fea ...
wrote:
'I Miss You' and bonus track 'Schoolin' Life' both showcase opposite sides of that magnificent decade's musical spectrum. The former is a stripped down track carried mostly by a hollow beat and dismal synthesizers, allowing Knowles and her morosely beautiful voice center stage ... The latter picks up the pace, peppered liberally with old-school horns and crashes. Knowles details her experiences growing up, but parallels can be drawn to the maturation she's going through on this very album. More than any song, 'Schoolin' Life' literally oozes confidence, providing an endearing edge to an already catchy track.
Becky Bain of
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wrote that "Schoolin' Life" is one of the catchier upbeat songs Knowles has ever recorded and felt that it deserves to be a future single. Casey Hamilton of the Boston website
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wrote that credit for the song's "retro-radical nature" goes to producer The-Dream, but it is Knowles herself who "truly delivers the shock value, managing to make a lightly introspective, loosely insightful, and largely entertaining tune", before adding that it contains the sexiest lyrical content she has ever attempted. Hamilton concluded that Knowles' vocals effectively match the funky and fun vibe of "Schoolin' Life", and concluded that the latter showcases "a side of the singer that is nice to see and even nicer to hear". Duncan Cooper of ''
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'' magazine wrote that the song is "lyrically inspired, tough as hell and easily the best thing" on ''4''. Danielle Cheesman of
MSN Music ''MSN Music'' was a part of MSN's web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. The website also served as a digital music store from 2004 to 2008. History I ...
commented that "'Schoolin' Life' steals the whole entire spotlight", further noting that it channels the "trademark friskiness" of Prince. He commended how Knowles "unleashes her inner (and innate) freak singing". Cheesman concluded "how this isn't on the original is beyond me", before adding that there "maybe one extra single n the deluxe edition of ''4''.


Recognition

''
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''s critic Tom Ewing ranked "Schoolin' Life" at number nine on his list of The 10 Best Tracks of 2011. Priya Elan of ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' placed the song at number five on her list of the 10 Best Pop Songs Of The Year, writing that it is the "most excellent, time-defying look at Beyonce's life so far". He added that if viewed from a stylistic perspective, "Schoolin' Life" may not have fit with ''4'' mature tone, but as a stand-alone track "it was one of the most fun of the year". The staff members of the website Popdust ranked "Schoolin' Life" as the 87th best song of 2011, commending Knowles for having pastiched it together "from decades-musty synths and rip-roar over it until it sounds completely current with a wink and a smirk."


Live performances

In May 2012, Knowles performed "Schoolin Life" during her
revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...
show Revel Presents: Beyoncé Live in Revel Atlantic City. The performance of the song was placed on the album ''
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'' (2013) chronicling the concerts. It was previewed on Knowles' official YouTube page on November 25, 2013. A writer of ''
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'' magazine felt that the laser light show from the performance "brighten dup Atlantic City".
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' Natalie Finn praised Knowles for "tearing it up" onstage during the performance of the song with her backup dancers adding that her fans "are in for quite the education".


Chart performance

For the week ending July 30, 2011, "Schoolin' Life" debuted at number 155 on the South Korean International Singles Chart, selling 4,006 digital downloads.


References


External links

* {{Beyoncé songs Beyoncé songs 2011 songs Songs written by The-Dream Songs written by Beyoncé Songs written by Carlos McKinney Song recordings produced by Beyoncé Songs written by Shea Taylor Song recordings produced by Shea Taylor