apeshit
{{short description|The Carters song}}
{{See Wiktionary}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Apeshit
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = The Carters
| album = Everything Is Love
| released = {{start date|2018|6|16}}
| recorded = 2017–2018
| studio =
| genre = Trap{{cite web|last=Younger|first=Briana|title=Beyoncé / JAY-Z: Everything Is Love Album Review|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-carters-everything-is-love/|website=Pitchfork.com|date=June 19, 2018|access-date=June 22, 2018}}
| length = {{duration|m=4|s=24}}
| label = * Roc Nation
| writer = * Pharrell Williams
| producer = Pharrell Williams
| misc = {{Extra chronology
| artist = Beyoncé
| type = single
| prev_title = Top Off
| prev_year = 2018
| title = Apeshit
| year = 2018
| next_title = Spirit
| next_year = 2019
}}{{Extra chronology
| artist = Jay-Z
| type = single
| prev_title = Top Off
| prev_year = 2018
| title = Apeshit
| year = 2018
| next_title = Entrepreneur
| next_year = 2020
}}{{Extra chronology
| artist = The Carters
| type = single
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| title = Apeshit
| year = 2018
| next_title =
| next_year =
}}
{{External music video|{{YouTube|kbMqWXnpXcA|"Apeshit"}}}}
}}
"Apeshit" (stylized in all caps) is a song by American musical duo The Carters, composed of Beyoncé and Jay-Z. The song was written by the duo, Pharrell Williams, and Quavo & Offset from the hip hop trio Migos, with the former three producing the song alongside Stuart White{{Citation |title=Stuart White (recording engineer) |date=2022-11-21 |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stuart_White_(recording_engineer)&oldid=1123066323 |work=Wikipedia |language=en |access-date=2023-02-28}} and the latter two providing ad-libs on the song. The song was released on June 16, 2018, as the only single from the duo's collaborative studio album Everything Is Love, along with a music video filmed at the Louvre in Paris.{{Cite web|url=https://www.louvre.fr/en/routes/jay-z-and-beyonce-louvre|title=Visitor Trail : JAY-Z and Beyonce at the Louvre {{!}} Louvre Museum {{!}} Paris|date=2018-06-21|language=en|access-date=2018-07-16}} The video received eight nominations at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards, including for Video of the Year,{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2018/music/news/cardi-b-beyonce-jay-z-lead-2018-mtv-vma-video-music-awards-nominations-1202874001/|title=Cardi B, Beyonce, Jay-Z Lead 2018 MTV VMA Nominations|author=Variety Staff|date=2018-07-16|work=Variety|access-date=2018-07-16|language=en-US}} and a nomination for Best Music Video at the 61st Grammy Awards.{{Cite news|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/2019-grammy-awards-complete-nominees-and-winners-list#29|title=2019 GRAMMY Awards: Complete Nominees And Winners List|last=Staff|first=Grammys|date=2019-02-11|work=Grammys|access-date=2019-02-11|language=en-US}}
Critical reception
Otis Hart of NPR dubbed the song one of the catchiest to be released in 2018, adding that it "lives up to the grandeur on first listen". Kory Grow writing for the Rolling Stone described the beat as "hard-hitting". Simon Reynolds cited "Apeshit" as an example for the continuing "triumph" of Auto-Tune in contemporary music, with Beyoncé "jump[ing] on the trap bandwagon [in] a transparent attempt to compete on urban radio by adopting the prevailing template of commercial-yet-street rap".{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/article/how-auto-tune-revolutionized-the-sound-of-popular-music/|title=How Auto-Tune Revolutionized the Sound of Popular Music|last=Reynolds|first=Simon|date=2018-09-17|website=Pitchfork.com|language=en|access-date=2018-10-05}}
In December 2018, Billboard ranked "Apeshit" as the 27th best song of the year.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/events/year-in-music-2018/8489483/best-songs-2018-staff-picks|title=Billboard's 100 Best Songs of 2018: Critics' Picks|magazine=Billboard|date=11 December 2018|access-date=17 April 2019}} For Pitchfork, it was the 85th,{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-100-best-songs-of-2018/|title=The 100 Best Songs of 2018|website=Pitchfork|date=10 December 2018 |access-date=17 April 2019}} while Rolling Stone named the song as the 24th best one of 2018, writing: "Rumors swirled for years that one day the biggest music power couple of all time would release a collaborative album together. [...] The video was as over-the-top and luxurious as one would hope, taking over the Louvre and filling it with a sea of black and brown dancers and models amongst the world’s most iconic art pieces."{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/50-best-songs-of-2018-764204/|title=50 Best Songs of 2018|author1=Brittany Spanos|author2=Rob Sheffield |author3=Will Hermes |author4=Maura Johnston |author4-link=Maura Johnston |author5=Suzy Exposito |author6=Simon Vozick-Levinson |author7=Elias Leight |author8=Charles Holmes |author9=Mosi Reeves |author10=Jonathan Bernstein |author11=Christian Hoard |author12=Jon Dolan |date=14 December 2018|website=Rollingstone.com|access-date=17 April 2019}} The Guardian listed "Apeshit" at number 21 on their year end ranking,{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/dec/03/the-top-100-tracks-of-2018-playlist|title=The top 100 songs of 2018|first1=Ben|last1=Beaumont-Thomas|first2=Laura|last2=Snapes|date=3 December 2018|access-date=17 April 2019|website=Theguardian.com}} while Q{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlists.html#2018|title=Rocklist.net...Q magazine Recordings Of The Year|website=Rocklistmusic.co.uk|access-date=17 April 2019|archive-date=13 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013221054/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlists.html#2018|url-status=usurped}} at number 19, and The Village Voice at number 14.{{cite web|url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2019/02/06/pazz-jop-the-top-50-singles-of-2018/|title=Pazz & Jop: The Top 50 Singles of 2018|website=Villagevoice.com|date=6 February 2019|access-date=17 April 2019|archive-date=7 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507201857/https://www.villagevoice.com/2019/02/06/pazz-jop-the-top-50-singles-of-2018/|url-status=dead}}
Impact
The Louvre said there was a more than 50% increase in under-30 visitors in 2018 thanks to the video shot by the couple in the museum, marking a record number of visitors with over 10 million.{{Cite web|date=2019-01-03|title=Beyoncé and Jay-Z help Louvre museum break visitor record in 2018|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/03/beyonce-jay-z-help-louvre-museum-break-visitor-record|access-date=2021-02-02|website=the Guardian|language=en}}{{Cite news|date=2019-01-04|title=Beyonce and Jay-Z help Paris Louvre to record number of visitors|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-tourism-louvre-idUSKCN1OX1B3|access-date=2021-02-02}} The museum has created a guided tour centered around the works of art seen in the "Apeshit" video.{{Cite magazine|last=Kreps|first=Daniel|date=2018-07-06|title=Louvre Creates Guided Tour Based on Beyonce, Jay-Z's 'Apeshit' Video|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/louvre-beyonce-jay-z-apeshit-video-696636/|access-date=2021-02-02|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Penrose|first=Nerisha|date=2019-01-04|title=Thanks to Beyoncé and Jay-Z, the Louvre Broke Its Visitor Record in 2018|url=https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a25746876/beyonce-jayz-paris-louvre-museum-visitor-record/|access-date=2021-02-02|website=ELLE|language=en-US}}
Awards and nominations
Music video
The music video for the song was directed by Ricky Saiz, produced by Iconoclast, and filmed in the Louvre in Paris and Los Angeles, California in May 2018. The video premiered on the second night of the London show during their On the Run II Tour at the London Stadium. The clip lasts for six minutes. It opens with a man who has wings, seen crouching as bells and sirens are prominent in the background, and features visual imagery suggesting comparisons and linkages between wealth, status, and royalty in the Renaissance-era artwork and the eventual evolution of these characteristics into the Carters.{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/beyonce-jay-z-release-surprise-album-everything-love/|title=Beyonce and Jay Z release surprise album Everything Is Love|date=June 17, 2018|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=June 17, 2018}} The visual narrative moves on to reveal the empty halls at the Louvre and the pair posing in front of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece the Mona Lisa. Once the song starts playing, the scene cuts to the duo poised atop a marble staircase while dancers lay across the descending steps contracting and releasing their torsos to the rhythmic flow of the song. Statues and paintings such as Winged Victory of Samothrace, Venus de Milo, and The Coronation of Napoleon are featured throughout the video as the duo lip-sync the lyrics to the track.
The cost of the music video is unconfirmed, but details regarding renting out the Louvre for private events can be found on their website.{{cite web|url=https://www.racked.com/2018/6/19/17479626/apeshit-video-beyonce-louvre|title=You Don't Have to Be Beyonce to Rent Out the Louvre|date=June 19, 2018|work=Racked|access-date=March 13, 2021}}
Otis Hart of NPR called the video "extravagantly produced six minutes, filled with high art, pastel suits and turnt up museum parties".{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2018/06/16/620705180/beyonce-and-jay-z-are-the-carters-in-apes-t-video|title=Beyonce And Jay-Z Are The Carters in 'APES**T' Video|first=Otis|last=Hart|website=Npr.org|date=June 16, 2018|access-date=June 16, 2018}} Kory Grow writing for Rolling Stone deemed the clip "stunning" and noticed how the duo looked "serene" in it resembling "works of arts themselves".{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beyonce-jay-z-drop-new-album-everything-is-love-during-otrii-tour-w521614|title=Beyonce, Jay-Z Drop New Album 'Everything Is Love' During OTRII Tour|magazine=Rolling Stone|first=Kory|last=Grow|date=June 16, 2018|access-date=June 17, 2018|archive-date=June 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617115803/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beyonce-jay-z-drop-new-album-everything-is-love-during-otrii-tour-w521614|url-status=dead}} Later in the year, Rolling Stone declared the video the best one of 2018,{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-music-videos-2018-768615/the-carters-apeshit-768635/|title=10 Best Music Videos of 2018|magazine=Rolling Stone|first=Eric|last=Ducker|date=December 19, 2018|access-date=December 19, 2018}} and would later name it the 29th greatest music video of all time.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-music-videos-1194411/|title=The 100 Greatest Music Videos|access-date=2021-07-30|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=30 July 2021|language=en}} Slant Magazine named "Apeshit" the 17th greatest music video of all time.{{Cite web|date=2021-11-15|title=The 100 Greatest Music Videos of All Time|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/100-greatest-music-videos/5/|access-date=2021-11-17|website=Slant Magazine}}
The music video received 8 nominations at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards, in categories Video of the Year, Best Collaboration, Best Hip-Hop Video, Best Cinematography, Best Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Choreography and Best Editing, winning Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. The music video was nominated for Best Music Video at the 61st Grammy Awards.
Personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal.{{cite web|url=https://listen.tidal.com/album/90521280|title=EVERYTHING IS LOVE / Beyoncé TIDAL|website=Listen.tidal.com|date=16 June 2018 |access-date=June 16, 2018}}
- Pharrell Williams – production
- Beyoncé – co-production
- Jay-Z – co-production
- Stuart White – additional production, mixing, recording
- Offset – additional vocals
- Quavo – additional vocals
- Young Guru – recording
- Mike Larson – recording
- DJ Durel – recording
- Dan Ewins – mix engineering assistance
- Adrien Crapanzano – engineering assistance
- Colin Leonard – mastering
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (2018)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| scope="row"| Australia (ARIA){{cite web|url=https://www.auspop.com.au/2018/7/aria-chart-watch-482/|title=ARIA Chart Watch #482|website=Auspop.com.au|date=July 21, 2018|access-date=July 21, 2018|archive-date=July 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721103020/https://www.auspop.com.au/2018/7/aria-chart-watch-482/|url-status=dead}}
| 51 |
| {{single chart|Flanders|37|artist=The Carters|song=Apeshit|rowheader=true|access-date=July 7, 2018}} |
| {{single chart|Wallonia Tip|28|artist=The Carters|song=Apeshit|rowheader=true|access-date=July 7, 2018}} |
| scope="row"| Canada (Canadian Hot 100){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/canadian-hot-100/2018-06-30|title=Canadian Hot 100: June 30, 2018|magazine=Billboard|access-date=June 26, 2018}}
| 24 |
| {{single chart|Czechdigital|68|year=2018|week=27|rowheader=true|access-date=July 9, 2018}} |
| {{single chart|France|97|artist=The Carters|song=Apeshit|rowheader=true|access-date=July 20, 2019}} |
| scope="row"| Greece (Billboard){{cite magazine|title=Greece Digital Songs|url=https://www.billboard.com/biz/charts/2018-06-30/greece-digital-song-sales|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Prometheus Global Media|access-date=June 15, 2018|date=June 30, 2018}}
| 1 |
| {{single chart|Hungarysingle|17|year=2018|week=25|artist=The Carters|song=Apeshit|rowheader=true|access-date=June 28, 2018}} |
| {{single chart|Ireland3|33|artist=The Carters|rowheader=true|access-date=July 21, 2018}} |
| {{single chart|Italy|93|artist=The Carters|song=Apeshit|rowheader=true|access-date=June 30, 2018}} |
| {{single chart|Dutch100|59|artist=The Carters|song=Apeshit|rowheader=true|access-date=June 29, 2018}} |
| scope="row"| New Zealand Heatseekers (RMNZ){{cite web|url=https://aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive/singles/2018-06-29|title=NZ Heatseeker Singles Chart|publisher=Recorded Music NZ|date=July 2, 2018|access-date=June 29, 2018}}
| 4 |
| {{single chart|Portugal|39|artist=The Carters|song=Apeshit|rowheader=true|access-date=July 27, 2018}} |
| {{single chart|Scotland|43|date=20180629|rowheader=true|access-date=June 30, 2018}} |
| {{single chart|Slovakdigital2|33|year=2018|week=27|rowheader=true|access-date=July 9, 2018}} |
| {{single chart|Sweden|56|artist=The Carters|song=Apeshit|rowheader=true|access-date=July 6, 2018}} |
| {{single chart|Switzerland|69|artist=The Carters|song=Apeshit|rowheader=true|access-date=July 2, 2018}} |
| {{single chart|UK|33|date=20180706|rowheader=true|access-date=July 7, 2018}} |
| {{single chart|UKrandb|21|date=20180706|rowheader=true|access-date=March 5, 2023}} |
| scope="row"| US Billboard Hot 100{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8462525/xxxtentacion-sad-no-1-hot-100|title=XXXTentacion's 'Sad!' Vaults From No. 52 to No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 Following Rapper/Singer's Death|date=25 June 2018|publisher=Billboard}}
| 13 |
| scope="row"| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/r-b-hip-hop-songs/2018-06-30|title=Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs: June 30, 2018|magazine=Billboard|date=2 January 2013|access-date=November 18, 2019}}
| 9 |
| scope="row"| US Rhythmic (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/rhythmic-40/2018-08-11|title=Rhythmic: August 11, 2018|magazine=Billboard|date=28 November 2013|access-date=August 7, 2018}}
| 9 |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (2018)
! scope="col"| Position |
|---|
| scope="row"| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard){{cite magazine|title=Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2018|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2018/hot-r-and-and-b-hip-hop-songs|magazine=Billboard|date=2 January 2013|access-date=November 18, 2019}}
| 53 |
{{col-end}}
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|title=Apeshit|artist=The Carters|type=single|region=Canada|award=Platinum|relyear=2018|certyear=2019|access-date=December 24, 2019}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=France|title=Apeshit|artist=The Carters|type=single|certyear=2023|relyear=2018|award=Gold|access-date=March 7, 2023}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|artist=The Carters|title=Apeshit|award=Gold|relyear=2018|certyear=2020|refname=nzcert|source=radioscope|access-date=2024-12-17}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Poland|type=single|artist=The Carters|title=Apeshit|award=Gold|relyear=2018|certyear=2019|access-date=February 23, 2019}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|title=Apeshit|artist=The Carters|type=single|certyear=2019|relyear=2018|award=Silver|id=15604-4931-1}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=The Carters|title=Apeshit|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=2018|certyear=2019|access-date=June 11, 2019}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true | noshipments=true | streaming=true}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{The Carters|state=autocollapse}}
{{Beyoncé singles|state=collapsed}}
{{Jay-Z singles|state=collapsed}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Song recordings produced by Beyoncé
Category:Song recordings produced by Pharrell Williams
Category:Songs written by Beyoncé
Category:Songs written by Jay-Z
Category:Songs written by Offset (rapper)
Category:Songs written by Pharrell Williams