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Revision as of 03:48, 1 March 2013

Not to be confused with Harlem Shake (meme) or Harlem shake (dance).
"Harlem Shake"
Song

"Harlem Shake" is a song recorded by American DJ and producer Baauer. It was released as a free digital download by Mad Decent imprint label Jeffree's on May 22, 2012. The uptempo song incorporates a mechanical bassline, Dutch house synth riffs, a dance music drop, and samples of growling-lion sounds. It also samples Plastic Little's 2001 song "Miller Time", specifically the vocal "then do the Harlem shake", which is an allusion to dance of the same name. Baauer added a variety of peculiar sounds to the song so that it would stand out.

The single did not begin to sell until February 2013, when a YouTube video set to its music developed into an Internet meme of the same name. The media response to the meme helped increase the single's sales, as it reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. It also charted at number three in the United Kingdom and at number one in both Australia and New Zealand. The success of "Harlem Shake" prompted Billboard to include video streams as a new component of their charts.

"Harlem Shake" was well received by music critics, who viewed it as an appealing dance song, although some felt that it was more of a novelty. American rapper Azealia Banks released a remix to the song on her SoundCloud page, which was subsequently removed at Baauer's request and led to a dispute between the two.

Background

In 2011, Baauer rededicated himself to music after studying at City College and began to practice making beats.[1] He recorded "Harlem Shake" in 2012 in his bedroom studio in Brooklyn, New York.[2] With the song, he wanted to record a high-pitched, Dutch house synthesizer over a hip hop track and make it stand out by adding a variety of peculiar sounds.[1] He later referred to it as "a goofy, fun song".[3] Baauer posted "Harlem Shake", along with several of his other recordings, on his SoundCloud page,[3] and in April, Scottish DJ Rustie featured the song in his Essential Mix for BBC Radio 1.[2] Record producer Diplo heard the song and pitched it to Mad Decent's imprint label Jeffree's,[2] who released the song on May 22 as a free digital download.[4]

Music and lyrics

"Harlem Shake"
A 19-second sample of the song
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Harlem Shake" features harsh snares, a mechanical bassline,[5] samples of growling lions,[4] and Dutch house synth riffs. It has a high tempo characteristic of hip hop and a dance music drop.[2] "Harlem Shake" is categorized by Resident Advisor's Andrew Ryce as a hip hop and bass song,[5] while David Wagner of The Atlantic views it as trap, a musical sub-genre with stylistic origins in EDM and Southern hip hop.[6] Ryce writes that the song's music "represents the hip-hop contingent of" bass music, which is typified by rolling snares and jerky basslines, and finds it "particularly symptomatic of a growing strain of music obsessed with 'trap'".[5] By contrast, Jon Caramanica of The New York Times feels that it "isn't a hip-hop song, but it is hip-hop-influenced."[7]

The song begins with building synths and snares, and a syncopated sub-bass sound before a voice commands listeners to "do the Harlem shake".[2] The line was sampled from hip hop group Plastic Little's 2001 song "Miller Time".[3] Baauer used the vocal sample after a friend had played him the song, which he said "got stuck in my head for a while".[1] Plastic Little member Jayson Musson said that his line was inspired by a fist-fight that he ended by performing the harlem shake. He did not have a problem with Baauer using the sample without his permission and found the production "phenomenal", but felt that the allusion to the dance was "peculiar" and outdated: "I was like, Who the fuck is rapping about the Harlem Shake in 2012?"[3]

"Harlem Shake" also features a sample of a feminine voice yelling "con los terroristas", which translates to "with the terrorists" in Spanish. Alex Alvarez of ABC News identifies the source of the sample as Héctor Delgado's "Los Terroristas",[8] while Naomi Zeichner of The Fader says that it was taken from an a capella version of DJ duo Philadelphyinz's 2010 remix for "Con Alegria", a song recorded by Gregor Salto, DJ Solo, and DJ Gregory.[3] Neither vocal samples used on "Harlem Shake" were contractually cleared.[7]

Commercial performance

See also: Harlem Shake (meme)

"Harlem Shake" was released commercially in June 2012.[9] Mad Decent commissioned a music video for the single at the time, but were not satisfied with the result and shelved it.[10] The single was subsequently released to the iTunes Store on January 8, 2013.[11] However, it did not begin to sell until February,[9] when its music was set to a YouTube video that developed into an Internet meme of the same name. The 30-second video featured people dancing to the song and was parodied more than 3,000 times in other user-submitted videos.[12] Baauer and Mad Decent were able to generate income from both the user-submitted videos and Baauer's original audio-only post on YouTube because of the site's Content ID service, which allows artists, labels, and publishers to monetize songs.[10]

The late-week media response to the meme helped the single sell 12,000 units on iTunes in the week ending February 10, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It consequently entered the US Dance/Electronic Digital Songs at number nine and the Dance/Electronic Songs at number twelve.[12] Mad Decent's manager Jasper Goggins said that "Harlem Shake" was the "biggest thing" they have released, "and it's happened within six days."[12] In the United Kingdom, "Harlem Shake" reached number twenty-two on the UK Singles Chart during the week of the meme's phenomena. By the end of the chart week, the single had climbed nineteen spots to number three. Martin Talbot, the Official Charts Company's managing director, said that the single's climb on the chart "underlines just how quickly this track has turned into a bone fide phenomenon. At the start of the week, it wasn't even selling enough to make the Top 20 - but it is now one of the UK's most popular tracks."[13]

The following week, "Harlem Shake" debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and climbed to number one on the Dance/Electronic Songs, while selling 262,000 units. It was the twenty-first song in the Hot 100's history to debut at number one and was aided by 103 million weekly video streams, which was announced that week by Billboard and Nielsen SoundScan as a new component of their charts.[9] Although Billboard and YouTube had discussed it for two years, "Harlem Shake"'s success prompted them to enact the chart policy.[14] However, because it lacked major label promotional support, the single registered low in airplay.[9] "Harlem Shake" remained at number one on the Hot 100 in its second week, when it sold 297,000 digital units. It also received more airplay, as major label Warner Bros. Records started promoting the song to radio.[15]

Critical reception

Pitchfork Media's Larry Fitzmaurice labelled the song "Best New Track" upon its release in May 2012 and called it a "disorienting banger" with an "irresistible appeal" that "owes almost everything" to its "menacing, world-smashing bassline". Fitzmaurice wrote in conclusion, "Along with this purely visceral pleasure, it's hard not to marvel at how awesome those growling-lion samples sound."[4] Anthony Fantano of The Needle Drop complimented its "monstrous hits of bass, detailed trap-style hi-hats, and an infectiously unique synth riff," and commented that if the song "isn't a perfect banger, it's pretty damn close."[16]

Andrew Ryce of Resident Advisor gave "Harlem Shake" a rating of three-and-a-half out of five and found its musical climax "admittedly satisfying—that is, until it resumes flailing like a novelty track", writing that "it's not hard to see why the track is well-liked, but its snowballing ubiquity is a bit of a head-scratcher, simply because it's not all that interesting."[5] Similarly, Jon Caramanica of The New York Times said that, after hearing a minute of it being played during Power 105.1 FM's mixshow, the song "felt more like a novelty than like part of a strategy." Caramanica felt that its success, along with that of Macklemore's 2012 song "Thrift Shop", reflects a "centerless future" for hip hop and stated, "Depending on your lens, this reflects a tremendous cultural victory for hip-hop or the moment when hip-hop, as a construct, begins to lose meaning."[7]

Remix

On February 14, American rapper Azealia Banks released a remix to "Harlem Shake" on SoundCloud,[17] which was then removed at Baauer's request. Banks disparaged Baauer on Twitter in response and claimed to have e-mails sent from him giving her permission to use the song. She then said that Diplo had sent her an e-mail telling her that the remix was removed because they would rather have rapper Juicy J on it.[18] On February 16, Banks shared a music video for her remix on Vimeo,[19] and revealed a purported e-mail from Baauer saying he liked the remix.[7] Baauer responded in an interview for The Daily Beast, saying that they had planned to release a version of the song with Banks, but felt that her verse did not meet their expectations:

She laid something on 'Harlem Shake' and it was so/so. Didn't love it. And that was a little while ago, and since all this video stuff happened, our plans all changed. Because of that, we decided to just release the song on its own with no vocal version. So we told her, 'Please don't release your version.' And she said, 'Well, I'm going to put it online anyway.' And we said, 'Please don't. We'd really like it if you didn't.' And she did.[18]

Jon Caramanica of The New York Times later cited Banks' remix as one of her best songs.[7] Chris Martins of Spin wrote that she delivers "fire-hot verse after fire-hot verse" and facetiously remarked that "Banks raps all over your dumb 'Harlem Shake' meme".[20]

Track listing

Digital download[5]
  1. "Harlem Shake" – 3:16
  2. "Yaow!" – 2:11

Charts

Chart (2013) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[21] 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[22] 9
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[23] 6
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[24] 23
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[25] 6
Denmark (Tracklisten)[26] 11
France (SNEP)[27] 34
Ireland (IRMA)[28] 5
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[29] 5
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[30] 23
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[31] 1
Scotland (OCC)[32] 3
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 41
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[34] 8
UK Singles (OCC)[35] 3
UK Dance (OCC)[36] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[9] 1
US Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[9] 1
US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[37] 46

Release history

Date Format Label Catalog
May 22, 2012[4] free digital download Jeffree's JEFF016[5]
January 8, 2013[11] iTunes download Mad Decent —

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Stern, Marlow (February 18, 2013). "Meet Baauer, the Man Behind the "Harlem Shake"". The Daily Beast. The Newsweek Daily Beast Company. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e Mason, Kerri (February 22, 2013). "Baauer's 'Harlem Shake': Billboard Cover Story". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 23, 2013. Retrieved February 23, 2013. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b c d e Zeichner, Naomi (February 15, 2013). "FADER Explains: Harlem Shake". The Fader. New York. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2013. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b c d Fitzmaurice, Larry (May 22, 2012). "Baauer: "Harlem Shake"". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e f Ryce, Andrew (August 3, 2012). "RA Reviews: Baauer - Harlem Shake (Single)". Resident Advisor. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Wagner, David (February 13, 2013). "The Harlem Shake Meme Is Dead". The Atlantic Wire. The Atlantic Monthly Group. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ a b c d e Caramanica, Jon (February 20, 2013). "A Hip-Hop Moment, But Is It Authentic?". The New York Times. p. C1. Archived from the original on February 20, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Alvarez, Alex (February 20, 2013). "Meet Hector el Father — The Uncredited "Voice" of the "Harlem Shake" Meme". ABC News. Archived from the original on February 21, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ a b c d e f Trust, Gary (February 20, 2013). "Baauer's 'Harlem Shake' Debuts Atop Revamped Hot 100". Billboard. New York. Archived from the original on February 20, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2013. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ a b Knopper, Steve (February 22, 2013). "How Baauer Took 'Harlem Shake' to Number One". Rolling Stone. New York. Archived from the original on February 22, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2013. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ a b "Harlem Shake - Single". iTunes. Apple Inc. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ a b c Hampp, Andrew (February 15, 2013). "'Harlem Shake': The Making and Monetizing of Baauer's Viral Hit". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2013. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Kreisler, Lauren (February 17, 2013). "Harlem Shake fires into Top 3". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Michaels, Sean (February 22, 2013). "Harlem Shake's YouTube bump sends it to No 1 in US". guardian.co.uk. Guardian News and Media Limited. Archived from the original on February 22, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ Trust, Gary (February 27, 2013). "Baauer's 'Harlem Shake' Tops Hot 100 for Second Week". Billboard. New York. Archived from the original on February 27, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2013. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ "Baauer – "Harlem Shake"". The Needle Drop. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ Zoladz, Lindsay (February 15, 2013). "Baauer Gets Azealia Banks' "Harlem Shake" Taken Down, Feels Her Twitter Wrath". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ a b Battan, Carrie (February 18, 2013). "Baauer Explains Azealia Banks "Harlem Shake" Squabble, Working With AlunaGeorge on New EP". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ Minsker, Evan (February 16, 2013). "Azealia Banks Shares Her "Harlem Shake" Video, Claims She Got Baauer's Permission to Use Track". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ Martins, Chris (February 14, 2013). "Azealia Banks Raps All Over Your Dumb 'Harlem Shake' Meme". Spin. New York. Archived from the original on February 20, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2013. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ "Baauer – Harlem Shake". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved February 2013.
  22. ^ "Baauer – Harlem Shake" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  23. ^ "Baauer – Harlem Shake" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  24. ^ "Baauer – Harlem Shake" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  25. ^ "Billboard Canadian Hot 100 : Mar 09, 2013". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on February 28, 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  26. ^ "Baauer – Harlem Shake". Tracklisten. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  27. ^ "Baauer – Harlem Shake" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  28. ^ "Chart Track: Week 08, 2013". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  29. ^ "Baauer – Harlem Shake" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  30. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Baauer" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  31. ^ "Baauer – Harlem Shake". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  32. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  33. ^ "Baauer – Harlem Shake". Singles Top 100. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  34. ^ "Baauer – Harlem Shake". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  35. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  36. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  37. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hot Dance was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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