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Baby Blue (Action Bronson song)

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"Baby Blue"
A man sits on the edge of a cliff with his eyes closed. The background and song title are both light blue with the latter appearing to shed tears.
Single by Action Bronson featuring Chance the Rapper
from the album Mr. Wonderful
ReleasedMarch 3, 2015 (2015-03-03)
Recorded2014
Length4:40
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Ronson
Action Bronson singles chronology
"Terry"
(2015) 		"Baby Blue"
(2015) 		"Durag vs. Headband"
(2016)
Chance the Rapper singles chronology
"Nothing Came to Me"
(2015) 		"Baby Blue"
(2015) 		"Church"
(2015)
Music video
"Baby Blue" on YouTube

"Baby Blue" is a song by American rapper Action Bronson with a guest appearance from fellow rapper Chance the Rapper. It was released on March 3, 2015 by Atlantic and Vice as the fourth and final single from his second album Mr. Wonderful (2015). It was co-written by both artists, along with Zane Lowe, who did a punch-up to the chorus, and Mark Ronson, who also produced the song. A breakup song, "Baby Blue" ends a three-part suite started by "City Boy Blues" and "A Light in the Addict" that is preluded by the album's interlude, "Thug Love Story 2017 The Musical".

The song received positive reviews from critics, who generally praised Chance's verse. "Baby Blue" was Bronson's first solo appearance on the Billboard Hot 100, debuting at number 91 for one week. It also charted at numbers 21 and 30 on the Hot Rap Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts respectively. The song was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting sales of over 500,000 copies. An accompanying music video for the song, directed by Lil Chris, was released on Bronson's YouTube page as part of the 2015 YouTube Music Awards and pays homage to the 1988 comedy film Coming to America.

Background and development

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Following the album's first single "Easy Rider" (2014) and the digital release of "Actin' Crazy" (2015), Action Bronson revealed the track list for Mr. Wonderful and showed which songs had collaborations to them.[1] "Baby Blue" was produced by Mark Ronson, who had previously produced for singers like Daniel Merriweather and Bruno Mars. The song was written by Ronson, Arian Arslani, Chancellor Bennett and Zane Lowe. It acts as a closer to a three-part suite set by "City Boy Blues" and "A Light in the Addict" that was preluded by the album's interlude, "Thug Love Story 2017 The Musical". It's about an elderly man who laments about a former love leaving the streets.[2]

In an interview with Complex, Bronson explained that he wanted to put together a small musical with the three tracks he had within the album and found the ending to it as a kiss-off to a former flame and moving on from it.[3] The beat to Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz's "Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)" (1997) was used as a reference by Ronson to come up with the song's opening.[4] The chorus to the song: "Why you gotta act like a bitch when I'm with you / Baby girl, I'm blue," was co-written by then-BBC Radio 1 host Zane Lowe, with Bronson providing vocals to it.[4][5] Chance the Rapper, credited as a featured artist on the recording, explained to Complex that his verse for the song was inspired by an amalgam of various women he had previously encountered, while lending levity to the outcome of it all.[6]

Critical reception

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An image of a man holding a microphone close to his mouth and wearing a golden skull t-shirt.
Critics praised Chance the Rapper's verse in the song.

"Baby Blue" garnered positive reviews from music critics. Pat Levy of Consequence of Sound praised Bronson's singing over the piano-heavy production but singled out Chance's verse as the highlight for his "laundry list of things he hopes will happen to the girl who romantically maligned him."[7] Dan Weiss of Spin called it the standout of the album's suite, due in particular to Chance's absurdly dark and humorous lyrics.[8] Jay Balfour from HipHopDX called it "a catchy piano-driven track with Pop appeal" and found Chance's verse on the song to be "personal and delightfully petty."[9] Colin Fitzgerald of PopMatters put the track alongside "Easy Rider" as 'album highlights', saying that without them "the album's second half would seriously hinder the overall value of Mr. Wonderful."[10] Craig Jenkins of Billboard commended Bronson for having "the courage to sing serviceably on the chorus."[11] Jordan Sargent of Pitchfork criticized Bronson's whiny vocals and Ronson's production throughout the song but gave praise to Chance's quirk-filled verse, saying that "he pulls off in half a minute what Bronson couldn't in fifteen: using an imagined story to reveal humanity through humor."[2]

Music video

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On March 9, 2015, Bronson stated via his Twitter account that a music video for the song was being worked on.[12] He released a one-minute long "teaser" for the video on his YouTube page on March 21.[13] Two days later, it premiered on Bronson's YouTube page as part of the 2015 YouTube Music Awards.[14] The Lil Chris-directed video is a tribute to the 1988 comedy film Coming to America,[15] with Bronson playing every character Eddie Murphy portrayed throughout the film.[16] American rapper Big Body Bes and bodybuilder Jill Rudison both appear as Arsenio Hall and Shari Headley's characters respectively.[17][18]

Live performances

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On March 22, 2015, Bronson and Chance performed the song during SXSW at the 2015 mtvU Woodie Awards.[19] On March 25, two days after the release of his second album, Bronson sang the song with Chance on national television for the first time on the Late Show with David Letterman[20] with Chance's band The Social Experiment.[21][22] On April 21, Bronson made an appearance on DJ Skee's SKEE TV via Fuse.[23]

Charts and certifications

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On the week of April 11, 2015, "Baby Blue" debuted at number 91 on the Billboard Hot 100, but left the next week.[24] That same week, it debuted at number 30 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart,[25] but fell eight spots to numbers 38 and 46 respectively for two consecutive weeks from April 18 to 25, before leaving the chart completely.[26][27] On the Hot Rap Songs chart, it debuted at number 21 before leaving the next week.[28]

References

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  1. ^ Camp, Zoe (January 8, 2015). "Action Bronson Details New Album Mr. Wonderful". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Sargent, Jordan (March 25, 2015). "Action Bronson: Mr. Wonderful". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on October 5, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  3. ^ Scott, Damien (March 23, 2015). "Action Bronson Breaks Down Every Track on 'Mr. Wonderful'". Complex. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Action Bronson - The Making Of Baby Blue". YouTube. March 5, 2015. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  5. ^ "New Music: Action Bronson Feat. Chance The Rapper - 'Baby Blue'". Rap-Up. March 2, 2015. Archived from the original on March 3, 2015. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  6. ^ Padilla, Brian (May 5, 2015). "Interview: Chance the Rapper on Relationships, Losing a Mentor, and Police Brutality". Complex. Archived from the original on May 8, 2015. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  7. ^ Levy, Pat (March 26, 2015). "Action Bronson - Mr. Wonderful". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on May 11, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  8. ^ Weiss, Dan (March 25, 2015). "Review: Action Bronson Painlessly Graduates From Mixtapes to Albums on 'Mr. Wonderful'". Spin. SpinMedia. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  9. ^ Balfour, Jay (March 24, 2015). "Action Bronson - Mr. Wonderful". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  10. ^ Fitzgerald, Colin (April 1, 2015). "Action Bronson: Mr. Wonderful". PopMatters. Archived from the original on May 24, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  11. ^ Jenkins, Craig (March 23, 2015). "Album Review: Action Bronson Doesn't Mess With His Recipe on Major Label Debut 'Mr. Wonderful'". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  12. ^ Arian Arslani [@ActionBronson] (March 9, 2015). "Thank u to all the radio stations that have already added "Baby Blue" full time!!! Video coming soon!!!!!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 15, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016 – via Twitter.
  13. ^ "Action Bronson Feat. Chance the Rapper - Baby Blue [Official Teaser - YTMAs]". YouTube. March 21, 2015. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  14. ^ Billboard Staff (March 23, 2015). "YouTube Music Awards: Watch New Videos By Charli XCX, Ed Sheeran, Martin Garrix". Billboard. Eldridge Industries. Archived from the original on March 25, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  15. ^ Goble, Corban (March 23, 2015). "Action Bronson and Chance The Rapper Pay Tribute to Eddie Murphy's Coming to America in "Baby Blue" Video". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  16. ^ Grow, Kory (March 23, 2015). "See Action Bronson Parody 'Coming to America' in New Video". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  17. ^ Breihan, Tom (March 23, 2015). "Action Bronson – "Baby Blue" (Feat. Chance The Rapper) Video". Stereogum. SpinMedia. Archived from the original on July 19, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  18. ^ Jill Rudison [@jillrudison] (March 23, 2015). "New @ActionBronson "Baby Blue" video featuring ME just dropped! Check it out!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 15, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Lyons, Patrick (March 22, 2015). "Action Bronson & Chance The Rapper Perform "Baby Blue" At SXSW". HotNewHipHop. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  20. ^ Blistein, Jon (March 26, 2015). "Action Bronson, Chance the Rapper Bring 'Baby Blue' to 'Letterman'". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  21. ^ Unterberger, Andrew (March 26, 2015). "Action Bronson and Chance the Rapper Bring 'Baby Blue' to Letterman". Spin. SpinMedia. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  22. ^ Kaye, Ben (March 26, 2015). "Action Bronson and Chance the Rapper perform "Baby Blue" on David Letterman". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on March 28, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  23. ^ "Action Bronson "Baby Blue" Live on SKEE TV". YouTube. April 21, 2015. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  24. ^ "US Singles Top 100 (April 11, 2015)". aCharts.co. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  25. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart: April 11, 2015". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  26. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart: April 18, 2015". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  27. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart: April 25, 2015". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  28. ^ "Hot Rap Songs Chart: April 11, 2015". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  29. ^ "Action Bronson Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  30. ^ "Action Bronson Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  31. ^ "Action Bronson Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  32. ^ "American single certifications – Action Bronson – Baby Blue". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
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