Super Rich Kids

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"Super Rich Kids"
Malay
Frank Ocean singles chronology
"Lost"
(2012)
"Super Rich Kids"
(2013)
"Nikes"
(2016)
Earl Sweatshirt singles chronology
"Chum"
(2012)
"Super Rich Kids"
(2013)
"Whoa"
(2013)

"Super Rich Kids" is a song by American singer and rapper

UK singles and R&B chart. The song also appeared on the TV show Gossip Girl and the film The Bling Ring
.

Background

"Super Rich Kids" was written by

Kirk Robinson, Nathaniel Robinson Jr., Roy Hammond, Mark Morales and Mark Rooney[3] and produced by Malay.[4] Ocean and Malay came up with "Super Rich Kids" on their first day working together on Ocean's debut album, Channel Orange.[5] According to Ocean, the 2000 film Traffic was an inspiration for the song.[6] Ocean first performed the song during his debut solo tour in 2011,[7] and later performed it on the Channel Orange Tour.[8] The single release was originally announced on January 23, 2013. It was released in the United Kingdom on March 11,[1] and in the United States on the 17th.[9]

Composition

Music

"Super Rich Kids" is an

synth arpeggios are also present.[13] According to The Quietus, "a stomping piano and the steady smack of kickdrum anchors the ghostly crowd noise from a vast débutantes ball, as the synths quiver both nauseously and as subtly as candle-smoke in a floor draft."[14]

Lyrics

"Super Rich Kids" addresses young, wealthy/Rich characters' ennui and fears of the

Complex, is a reminder of Ocean as "OFWGKTA at the end of the day."[16] Paste magazine said that "Earl's low verses push Ocean way up into his vocal range."[17]

According to Sound and Motion magazine, the track

"is exactly as the title suggests; Frank’s view on the children of parents who have inherited massive trust funds without the grasp of what a huge responsibility it is and the good they could do. From expensive cars to a different woman every night, the alleged social elite stumble through a charmed existence where the real world is buffered from them and then they breed a new generation with the same attitude. The track also contains brief glimpses into what he perceives as an alternative view of loneliness and isolation where all the super rich want is a love that’s not about money or anything material."[18]

"Super Rich Kids" is described by Muso's Guide as "a contemporary version of a Jay McInerney novel,"[19] and by The Independent as "something Carole King knocked out in the 1970s."[20] HipHopDX.com said that "at no point are the lyrics judgemental. If anything they’re compassionate."[21] The song also takes samples from Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up", and a reference to the 1970s sitcom Good Times (the "Dy-no-mite!" catchphrase of the character J.J. Evans).

Critical reception

The single received acclaim from critics. Sound and Motion magazine said that it "could easily be listened to repeatedly or just set on in the background for an evening's entertainment."[18] Muso's Guide said the song "could be viewed as one of those tail end singles from a brilliant album that doesn't stand strong on its own (Can anyone remember 'Until The End of Time' from FutureSex/LoveSounds or 'Broken-Hearted Girl' from I am ... Sasha Fierce?). Ocean, proving his talent as a songwriter, and a jaded voice for this frustrated introspective generation is able to find something profound from a superficial world."[19] The song became an Editor's Pick on djbooth.net.[4]

Critical reactions of the song in reviews of Channel Orange were also positive. Time called the track a "stand out, tying together the album’s two themes of class and love."[22] Billboard, in a track-by-track review, said that "the steadiness of the beat is immediately familiar but wholly fresh – it's like Ocean snatched 'Benny and the Jets' and threw the composition down a trap door into another universe."[23] No Ripcord said that "it's so incongruous against the crass commercialism and consuming greed that pervades so much of popular culture that it's astonishing."[24]

Complex listed Earl Sweatshirt's appearance in the song number 15 on their "25 Best Guest Verses of 2012".[16]

In other media

The song appeared on the

Big Little Lies. The song was also covered by Misha B.[27]

Lawsuit

In 2014, record label TufAmerica filled a copyright lawsuit against Vivendi and Universal Music Group for the sampling of Mary J. Blige's "Real Love" in "Super Rich Kids". This was because, according to the lawsuit, the sample included a sample of "Impeach the President".[28]

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[33] 2× Platinum 140,000
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[34] Gold 45,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[35] Silver 200,000
United States (RIAA)[36] Gold 500,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b R.Kelly & Justin Bieber Hang Out Like Besties + Prince Drops New Music "Screwdriver" + Frank Ocean's Next Single "Super Rich Kids". The YBF. January 23, 2013. Accessed from June 1, 2013.
  2. ^ Channel ORANGE by Frank Ocean. iTunes. Accessed from October 29, 2013.
  3. ^ Frank Ocean - Super Rich Kids Sheet Music - Download and Print. Musicnotes.com. Accessed from June 1, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Frank Ocean - Super Rich Kids. djbooth.net. Accessed from June 2, 2013.
  5. ^ Himmelman, James (February 7, 2013). Frank Ocean Can Fly. The New York Times. Accessed from June 1, 2013.
  6. ^ Ocean-ography. GQ. December 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
  7. Rap Radar
    . November 16, 2011. Accessed from June 1, 2013.
  8. Rap Up
    . July 18, 2012. Accessed from June 1, 2013.
  9. Condé Nast. Archived
    from the original on May 26, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  10. ^ Hamm, Ryan (July 20, 2012). Frank Ocean: Channel Orange (Def Jam). Under the Radar. Accessed from June 2, 2013.
  11. ^ a b Petridis, Alexis (July 11, 2012). "Frank Ocean: Channel Orange – review". The Guardian. Accessed from June 1, 2013.
  12. ^ a b Richard, Chris (July 10, 2012). "Music review: Frank Ocean's 'Channel Orange'". The Washington Post. Accessed from June 1, 2013.
  13. ^ Youssef, Sobhi (July 15, 2012). Frank Ocean - Channel Orange. SputnikMusic. Accessed from June 2, 2013.
  14. ^ Calvers, John (July 3, 2012). The Future's Bright: Frank Ocean's Channel Orange Track-by-Track. The Quietus. Accessed from June 2, 2013.
  15. Idolator
    . Accessed from June 1, 2013.
  16. ^
    Complex
    . Accessed from June 1, 2013.
  17. ^ Billings, Lake (July 18, 2012). Frank Ocean: Channel Orange. Paste. Accessed from June 1, 2013.
  18. ^ a b Single Review: Frank Ocean feat Earl Sweatshirt- Super Rich Kids. Sound and Motion Magazine. March 21, 2013. Accessed from June 1, 2013.
  19. ^ a b Wink, Richard (March 1, 2013). Single Review : Frank Ocean – Super Rich Kids. Muso's Guide. Accessed from June 2, 2013.
  20. ^ Price, Simon (July 15, 2012). Album: Frank Ocean, Channel Orange (Def Jam). The Independent. Accessed from June 2, 2012.
  21. ^ Reyes, Jon (July 13, 2012). Frank Ocean - Channel Orange. HipHopDX.com. Accessed from June 1, 2012.
  22. Time
    . Accessed from June 2, 2013.
  23. ^ Frank Ocean, 'Channel Orange': Track-By-Track Review. Billboard. July 10, 2012. Accessed from June 2, 2013.
  24. ^ Rivers, Joe (August 6, 2012). Frank Ocean: Channel ORANGE. No Ripcord. Accessed from June 2, 2013.
  25. ^ D. Kennedy, Gerrick (November 8, 2012). 'Gossip Girl' to feature songs from Frank Ocean's 'Channel Orange'. Los Angeles Times. Accessed from June 2, 2013.
  26. The Huffington Post
    . May 17, 2013. Accessed from June 1, 2013.
  27. ^ Bridgewater, Paul (March 27, 2013). Watch Misha B in session covering Frank Ocean’s ‘Super Rich Kids’. thelineofbestfit.com. Accessed from July 10, 2013.
  28. ^ Gardner, Eriq (February 10, 2014). "Hollywood Docket: Frank Ocean Sampling; 'Happy Birthday' Litigation; 'Hobbit' Settlement". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
  29. ^ Zywietz, Tobias. "Chart Log UK: New Entries Update – 16.03.2013 (Week 10)". zobbel.de. Tobias Zywietz. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  30. ^ "2013-03-16 Top 40 R&B Singles Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  31. . Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  32. ^ "Frank Ocean – Chart History: Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  33. ^ "Singles Accreditations Report - March 2024" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  34. ^ "Danish single certifications – Frank Ocean feat. Earl Sweatshirt – Super Rich Kids". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  35. ^ "British single certifications – Frank Ocean feat. Earl Sweatshirt – Super Rich Kids". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  36. ^ "American single certifications – Frank Ocean – Super Rich Kids". Recording Industry Association of America.