Picasso Baby
"Picasso Baby" | |
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Magna Carta... Holy Grail | |
Recorded | 2012–13 |
Genre | |
Length | 4:05 |
Label | |
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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"Picasso Baby" is a song by American hip hop artist
Background and recording
After collaborating on
Producer
Adrian Younge, whose song "Sirens" was sampled to create the instrumental, commented that he was "very happy [with how it came out]." Despite usually being critical of how people sample his music, Young thought that "especially for 'Picasso Baby', they literally just looped the top, and it worked. Sometimes you just do a loop and it just works."[2]
Composition
"Picasso Baby" makes many references to popular artists such as Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko, Jeff Koons, Francis Bacon, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Andy Warhol, as well as world-famous painting Mona Lisa.[3]
Music video
The music video for the song, titled "Picasso Baby: A Performance Art Film" was shot on July 10, 2013, at the
Picasso Baby: A Performance Art Film was nominated for Best Music Video at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, where it lost to the music video for Jay-Z's collaboration with Justin Timberlake, "Suit & Tie."[5]
Controversy with Abramović
After her involvement in "Picasso Baby: A Performance Art Film", Abramović told in an interview that the rapper had used her. She claimed Jay Z never fulfilled his promise to make a donation to the
Critical reception
Rolling Stone ranked "Picasso Baby" at number 19, on their list of the 100 Best Songs of 2013, calling it "the standout track from Jay Z's lackluster Magna Carta... Holy Grail".[9] NPR also listed "Picasso Baby" as one of their 100 favorite songs of 2013, praising in particular the production work of Timbaland.[10]
Chart performance
Chart (2013) | Peak position |
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US Billboard Hot 100[11] | 91 |
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[12] | 34 |
References
- ^ "Jay-Z. Zane Lowe. Part 1: Magna Carta Holy Grail". BBC Radio 1. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
- ^ a b "'Magna Carta Holy Grail' Behind The Scenes: Five Producers Who Helped Craft The Album". XXL. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
- ^ a b Michaels, Sean (2013-07-11). "Jay-Z performs Picasso Baby for six hours in New York gallery". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2013-07-18.
- ^ "New Video: Jay-Z "Picasso Baby"". Rap Radar. 2013-08-02. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ "56th Annual GRAMMY Awards Nominees". Retrieved 7 December 2013.
- ^ Gordon, Jeremy (19 May 2015). "Marina Abramovic Says "Cruel" Jay Z "Completely Used" Her for "Picasso Baby" Stunt". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
- ^ Boucher, Brian (20 May 2015). "Jay Z Defends Himself Against Marina Abramović Accusation with Proof of Donation". Artnet News. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
- ^ Minsker, Evan (20 May 2015). "Marina Abramović Institute Issues Apology to Jay Z". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
- ^ "Jay Z, "Picasso Baby"". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
- ^ "NPR Music's 100 Favorite Songs of 2013". National Public Radio. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
- ^ "Jay-Z Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "Jay-Z – Chart History Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard.