"You Be Killin Em" is a song by American rapper

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), known professionally as Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition for his ability upon performing live on DJ Clue's WQHT, Hot 97 radio show. Jackson then signed ...

, released by

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 l ...

on November 23, 2010 as the first single from his debut

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

'' There Is No Competition 2: The Grieving Music EP'' (2010). It was recorded at Tainted Blue Studio, NYC, by Widens Pkolo Dorsainville. Production was handled by American singer

Ryan Leslie Anthony Ryan Leslie (born September 25, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. Working predominantly in contemporary R&B and hip hop, he has released six studio albums and written songs for artists ...

, with alleged involvement from American rapper

Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ; formerly stylized as KiD CuDi), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Clevelan ...

Background

The production for "You Be Killin Em" was originally composed by Ryan Leslie for singer

Adrienne Bailon Adrienne Eliza Bailon-Houghton (née Bailon (); born October 24, 1983) is an American television personality, singer, and actress. She is a former member of the girl groups 3LW and the Cheetah Girls. From 2013 to 2022, Bailon was a co-host o ...

, after music executive Lenny Santiago – Bailon's boyfriend at the time – managed to arrange them recording sessions together. She had intended to use it for a song on her debut album ''Unapologetic''; however, the album was ultimately never released. During a 2019 episode of talk show ''

The Real In continental philosophy, the Real refers to reality in its unmediated form. In Lacanian psychoanalysis, it is an "impossible" category because of its inconceivability and opposition to expression. In depth psychology The Real is the ...

'', Bailon claimed she had taken too long to find suitable ghostwriters for her vocals and that as a result, Santiago decided to offer the production to Fabolous instead. Rapper

also claims to have been involved in the creation of "You Be Killin Em"; his name is not listed in the official production credits. In an appearance on the podcast ''Drink Champs'', Fabolous alleged that Kid Cudi had contacted him to insist he unofficially assisted Leslie in creating the song's production, whilst also demanding payment for his work. Unaware of any problem, Fabolous suggested to Kid Cudi that he raise the issue with Leslie directly.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was filmed in November 2010; directed by Aristotle (By Any Means LLC). Model

Amber Rose Amber Rose Levonchuck (born October 21, 1983) is an American model and television personality. She gained attention after she starred in the music video for Young Jeezy's 2008 single " Put On", which featured Kanye West. She began a romantic re ...

makes an appearance in the video as well as Ryan Leslie. The video was shot in black-and-white. The video shows with a gunshot view of a woman surrounding two black men.

Remix

The song was officially

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

ed, titled "Look at Her (Killin 'Em Pt. 2)". The remix features a new verse from Fabolous, as well as new vocals from American singers

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Regarded as a leading figure of Contemporary R&B#2000s, 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, includi ...

and Ryan Leslie, the latter of whom also contributed new production to the song. The remix is listed as the fourteenth and final track of Fabolous's fifth mixtape '' The S.O.U.L. Tape'' (2011).

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

2010 singles 2010 songs Fabolous songs Def Jam Recordings singles Song recordings produced by Ryan Leslie Songs written by Ryan Leslie Songs written by Fabolous Songs written by Kid Cudi Song recordings produced by Kid Cudi {{2010s-hiphop-single-stub