"Clique" is a song by American rappers Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Big Sean from West's record label GOOD Music's debut compilation album, Cruel Summer (2012). The song features additional vocals from Cocaine 80s, Aude Cardona, and Travis Jones. It was produced by Hit-Boy, while co-produced by West, and additional production was handled by Anthony Kilhoffer alongside Noah Goldstein. Numerous rappers recorded verses for the song, yet only West, Jay-Z, and Big Sean made the final cut. Two days after it leaked, the song was debuted via West's website on September 7, 2012, and simultaneously released for digital download as the album's fourth and final single, through GOOD Music and Def Jam.
"Clique" has a dark beat, with the song including a sample of James Brown's "Funky President (People It's Bad)". The rappers use the lyrics to brag about their clique's strength. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, with them mostly highlighting the production. Some praised West's verse and a few writers complimented Jay-Z's presence, while critical reception towards Big Sean's verse was somewhat less positive. The song was ranked amongst year-end lists for 2012 by multiple publications, including NME and The Washington Post. It was one of the Award Winning R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards in 2014.
In the United States, "Clique" reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It further charted within the top 50 on the main charts in six other countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom. The song has been certified quadruple platinum and gold in the US and the UK by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and British Phonographic Industry (BPI), respectively. West ranted over a version of its backing track at the Revil Oviation Hall in December 2012, and performed the song live during The Yeezus Tour (2013–14). A remix of the song, featuring T.I., premiered in November 2012.
Background and recording
"Clique" marked the first musical collaboration between Kanye West and Jay-Z since their joint studio album Watch the Throne (2011), though they had finished the accompanying tour of the same name in the summer of 2012. Speaking to MTV News in September, Big Sean explained that he initially recorded the song's chorus "in London to the beat and 'Ye liked it or whatever", before being the first performer to record his verse. The rapper stated that after sending the verse to West, he "didn't hear anything back for a while [but] then people were talking about it". Big Sean recounted running into fellow rapper 2 Chainz in the meantime and receiving his approval of the song, until he was told during a phone call that Jay-Z was on it and "was like, 'damn'". Due to both West and Jay-Z providing verses, Big Sean confessed that he thought "they're probably gonna take my verse off even though I laced it" yet was told via the phone, "Nah, it's you Kanye and Jay-Z." In an interview with Tim Westwood, Big Sean revealed that many "grade-A rappers" recorded verses for the song but were not selected by West for the final cut. He did remember that the verses "were real legit", despite only him, West, and Jay-Z not being cut. In 2011, record producer Hit-Boy helped produce West and Jay-Z's "Niggas in Paris". The producer recalled "doing me once again" for "Clique", saying he "made a beat" that West liked "and we built on it", before the beat eventually became the song. Of working with West, Hit-Boy explained, "Nothing is ever right the first time, or the second time, or the third time." He continued, asserting that you have to "keep going until it appeases him" and he feels as if West is "always right". The song was produced by Hit-Boy, with co-production from West, and additional production from Anthony Kilhoffer and Noah Goldstein.
On September 5, 2012, TMZ leaked a 30-second snippet of "Clique"; West, Jay-Z, Big Sean, and Hit-Boy had been announced earlier that week to be collaborating on the song. The same day as the leak, West posted the song's cover art to his website. West debuted the song in full through the website on September 7, 2012. Simultaneously, it was premiered by DJ Funkmaster Flex for Hot 97 and released as a single.Citations regarding the digital release of "Clique": West references his partner Kim Kardashian on the song, following on from him having rapped about his lovers in the past, including Amber Rose. "Cold" was released in April 2012, with it seeing West declare his love for Kardashian. While previewing tracks recorded for Cruel Summer in August 2012, West played a song entitled "Perfect Bitch", which he gave confirmation of being written about her. Fellow rapper Pusha T had recorded a verse for "Clique", though it was instead used by him on Hit-Boy's track "Bussin Moves" in September 2015.
Composition and lyrics
Musically, "Clique" has a dark beat, as well as industrial sounds. It contains a sample of American funk musician James Brown's 1974 recording "Funky President (People It's Bad)". Staccato Stylophone synth lines are prominent throughout the song, being accompanied by hiccups. The song includes throbbing bass, which contains slurs. It also heavily features drums. Big Sean performs first, contributing the hook and a verse to the song. His verse is followed by Jay-Z's, before West performs the last verse for around one minute and 30 seconds. Additional vocals are contributed to the song by Cocaine 80s, Aude Cardona, and Travis Jones.
In the lyrics of the song, the rappers boast about the strength of their clique. On the hook, Big Sean asserts that nobody is on the level of his clique. During his verse, Big Sean brags about being up for nine days. Jay-Z delves into his past, reminding listeners of the personal costs from his success as well as the risks taken by him to achieve it. West raps arrogantly about a number of topics, including reflection on race and wealth, his real estate ambitions, and meditating in Pompeii. He expresses pride in Kardashian having become famous as a result of her sex tape with singer Ray J, rapping: "My girl a superstar all from a home movie."
Release and reception
On September 7, 2012, "Clique" was released for digital download in various countries by GOOD Music and Def Jam as the fourth single from the album. 11 days later, the song was included as the second track on GOOD Music's debut compilation album Cruel Summer. The song was met with generally positive reviews from music critics, who were mostly complementary towards the production. Josh Stillman from Entertainment Weekly cited the song as demonstrating West's continuous "incapabl[ity] of making bad music", liking the "off-kilter beat" as well as West's "inventive lyrics" that he considered to lie "among his most clever". In The Independent, Andy Gill acclaimed the production style over it bringing "a sinister, stalking ambience that matches the blend of money, mystery and menace" provided by collaborators on the album. Pitchfork critic Jayson Greene gave praise to Hit-Boy's production on the song, comparing the "transfixing" collection of hiccups and synths to record producer Timbaland's work. He concluded by recognizing the song as "haughty, spotless, and coldly perfect; it sounds like bottle service". In a review of the song for the Chicago Tribune, Adam Lukach and Lucheezy rated it three out of four stars, saying that even though the texture "is relatively thin", the beat "sounds ready to bubble over" in a similar manner to "a pot of molten gold". The writers appreciated the song as "the perfect platform" for West and Jay-Z's lyrical performances while dismissing Big Sean's lyricism and flow, specifically commenting that he stumbles over the latter and opining he is "just here for the hook".
For Spin, Christopher R. Weingarten labeled the beat "nothing short of a masterwork" that is reminiscent of "a hiccupping Gil-Scott Heron (via Jamie xx) sneaking under the very last gasp" of rip-offs of Lil Wayne's "A Milli" (2008), while he viewed West's verse as overshadowing other artists' contributions to the album because of the lyrics. Jonah Weiner of Rolling Stone wrote of how Jay-Z's "breezy self-regard overflows into Spanish" on the song, though pointed out West for being the superior performer with his "classic head-spinner" of a verse. Michael Madden was more lukewarm at Consequence of Sound; he admitted to not taking the same liking to the song as others were but assured "its bass-slurs and monstrous opera samples prove worthy" of West and Jay-Z's reunion, and picked "Clique" as one of the essential tracks on Cruel Summer. The New York Times Jon Caramanica was split in his feelings of the song, being appreciative of West's "volatile" performance for "swerving in new directions with each couplet" but showing disgust towards Big Sean's unforgivable referencing of himself "as B.I.G." due to it "lazily and gratuitously invoking the memory" of fellow rapper the Notorious B.I.G.
Accolades On September 7, 2012, Pitchfork selected the song as the best new track. Ian Cohen of the publication positively compared Hit-Boy's production to his work on "Niggas in Paris" and disregarded Big Sean's verse, even though he praised Jay-Z's "wholly expected, sorta comforting" performance. Cohen continued; he lauded West for using a platform "to talk his shit again", and finished by questioning that the song may be "center of the universe-type shit". "Clique" was voted 44th on the Pazz & Jop poll of The Village Voice for 2012; it received 10 mentions and was tied with 6 other songs for the position. The track was listed by Complex as the 15th best song of 2012 and the magazine's DD considered the beat "the next best thing" after "Niggas in Paris" as well as praising Big Sean, Jay-Z, and West for delivering "all-star verses". Dagbladet and NME also positioned the track at number 15 on their respective lists of the year's best songs, with Talia Soghomonian of the latter publication citing it as properly proving that West "was still turning out solid gold" after Watch the Throne. The track was ranked by both Goûte mes disques and The Washington Post as the ninth best song of 2012, and its strongest achievement was being picked as the year's fourth best song by Dummy Mag. Jay-Z's verse on the song was named the fifth best of 2012 by Complex, with the staff mostly acclaiming his subject matter. At the 2014 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards, the song was one of the Award Winning R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. "Clique" was awarded as one of the 35 Most Performed R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at the BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards in 2014, and received a nomination for World's Best Song at the 2014 World Music Awards.
+Year-end lists for "Clique" Publication Accolade Rank Complex The 50 Best Songs of 2012 Dagbladet The 50 Best Songs of 2012 Dummy Mag The 20 Best Songs of 2012 Focus Vif Top 50 Singles of 2012 Goûte mes disques Top Singles of 2012 NME The 50 Best Tracks of 2012 Paste The 50 Best Songs of 2012 Triple J Hottest 100 of 2012 The Washington Post The Best Songs of 2012 The Village Voice The Pazz & Jop Music Critics Poll 2012
Commercial performance