The Pressure (song)
"The Pressure" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Jhené Aiko | ||||
from the album Souled Out | ||||
Released | July 18, 2014 | |||
Recorded | Fisticuffs Gym (Culver City, California) | |||
Genre |
| |||
Length | 3:59 | |||
Artium | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Jhené Aiko Chilombo | |||
Producer(s) | Fisticuffs | |||
Jhené Aiko singles chronology | ||||
|
"The Pressure" is a song by American recording artist
Upon release The Pressure was met with generally positive reviews from music critics; who commended the song's lyrical content, Aiko's vocals and the atmospheric production. Commercially the song did not fare well, only making an appearance on the US Hot R&B Songs chart. The song's accompanying video was released on September 2, 2014 and was directed by rapper
Background
In 2011 Aiko revealed that her debut album would feature production from producers Fistcuffs, who helped produce the majority of Aiko's 2011 mixtape Sailing Soul(s).[2] In 2014 Aiko revealed she worked with No I.D., Key Wayne, Fisticuffs and Dot Da Genius and stated she would only be working with them so the sound was cohesive, she also revealed that her and the producers were working together in order to "make sure each song goes well with the other".[3] The song was written by Aiko herself, along with her frequent collaborators Mac Robinson and Brian Warfield while the latter two handled the song's production under their production name Fisticuffs. "The Pressure", premiered on vogue.com on July 17, 2014, and was released to ITunes a day later as the second official single on July 18, 2014.[4]
Composition
The Pressure is a
Lyrically the song was inspired by the Aiko's stress of finishing her debut album, during her first verse Aiko "maintains her cool" exhaling deeply, however during the song Aiko's lyrics become "sharper" with this concept being introduced in the lyric "You are such a liar / I never denied you, I was for sure," following the sharper verse Aiko becomes "flat-out dismissive".
Reception
Upon release The Pressure was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. Jeff Benjamin of Fuse TV praised the singles production and compared it to the work of
Dimas Sanfiorenzo of Global Grind gave the song a mixed review praising the song over all, but believed the song was too similar to Aiko's previous work,[11] however Brandon TNT West of Global Grind listed the song on his "Top 5 Tracks of the Week" and wrote an extensive review of the song and noted the song's musical style as having a "lightly trippy mood" that works well with Aiko's vocals continuing to say "If you can picture a ball of cotton landing softly on freshly fallen snow on a cold January night, you can sense the vibe in The Pressure."[12] Elle Breezy of the singers room compared the song to Aiko's single "The Worst" stating that both songs have similar "cool jazziness" tones.[13]
Music video
On September 2, 2014 Aiko released the song's accompanying video which was directed by rapper
Track listing
- Digital download
- The Pressure - 3:59[17]
Credits
Credits adapted from
- Jhené Aiko - Primary Artist, Composer
- Mac Robinson - Composer
- Brian Warfield - Composer
Charts
The Pressure debuted at twenty five on the US
Chart (2014) | Peak position |
---|---|
US | 23 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA)[20] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
Country | Date | Format | Label |
---|---|---|---|
United States[17] | July 18, 2014 | Digital download | Island Def Jam Music Group |
References
- ^ "Jhené Aiko Visits "The Breakfast Club," Performs at Streamy Awards". Rap-up.com.
- ^ "Boom Box interview with Aiko". Theboombox.com. 24 October 2012.
- ^ "Aiko and the recording process for Souled Out". Thefader.com.
- ^ "The Premiere of Jhené Aiko's "The Pressure" - Vogue". Archived from the original on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
- ^ a b "Jhene Aiko Sings About "The Pressure" of Relationships in Relatable New Track". Fuse.tv.
- ^ a b "Jhené Aiko "The Pressure"". Exclaim.ca.
- ^ a b c "Aiko debuts The Pressure". Idolator.com. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
- ^ "Stream Jhené Aiko's new track "The Pressure" | New Music | the 405". Archived from the original on 2014-07-21. Retrieved 2014-07-22.
- ^ "Jhené Aiko - the Pressure". Djbooth.net.
- ^ "New Music: Jhene Aiko - 'The Pressure'". Directlyrics.com.
- ^ "Jhené Aiko "The Pressure" (NEW MUSIC)". Globalgrind.com. 18 July 2014.
- ^ "TNT's Saturday Morning Special: Top 5 Tracks of the Week (NEW MUSIC)". Globalgrind.com. 19 July 2014.
- ^ "Jhene Aiko - the Pressure". Singersroom.com. 17 July 2014.
- ^ "A$AP Rocky's Debut Mixtape 'LIVE.LOVE.A$AP' is Now Available to Stream". Rap-up.com.
- ^ "Fuse". Fuse (TV channel).
- ^ "Jhene Aiko Gets (A Little) Psychedelic in Her Stylish "The Pressure" Video: Watch". Idolator.com.
- ^ a b "iTunes – Music – The Pressure – Single By Jhene Aiko". Apple Inc. iTunes Store (US).
- ^ AllMusic Credits, AllMusic.
- ^ a b "Jhene Aiko Shines at No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard.
- ^ "American single certifications – Jhené Aiko – The Pressure". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 19, 2022.