Boyz (song)

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"Boyz"
Single by M.I.A.
from the album Kala
Released June 11, 2008 (worldwide)
Format 12", CD, digital download, USB flash drive
Recorded Trinidad, India; 2006
Genre Electronica, Soca
Length 3:26
Label XL (Worldwide)
Interscope (U.S. distribution)
Writer(s) Maya Arulpragasam, Switch
Producer Maya Arulpragasam, Switch
M.I.A. singles chronology
"Galang '05"
(2005)		 "Boyz"
(2007)		 "Jimmy"
(2007)

"Boyz" is an urumee melam/gaana/soca song written and produced by Switch and M.I.A. for M.I.A.'s second album Kala (2007). The song was released as the album's lead single on 11 June 2007 (see 2007 in music). In December 2007, it placed at #9 on the Rolling Stone "100 Best Songs of 2007" list.[1]

Contents

[edit] Background

Written and co-produced by Maya Arulpragasam and Switch, the song was the first official single to be lifted from M.I.A.'s second studio album Kala. M.I.A. recorded the beats using urumee drummers from Chennai, India, before taking her material to Trinidad where she recorded the vocals, and layered the song with soca music influences. She then worked on the song further in Brooklyn.[2] "Boyz", like her other song "Bird Flu" from Kala utilizes the gaana music genre[3] (Dappan koothu music), a sound M.I.A. also often heard from temples near where she lived during her childhood. She admits: "There's this one drum called the urmi [sic] that I really wanted to use on my album...It's like a spoke drum that they use in temples; they use it in this kind of music called 'gaana.' ... That’s the same drum in 'Boyz' too."[4] She says that the song has a "very outdoors" sound, and that although she "didn't record the drums outdoors, I think it sounds like that."[5]

[edit] Release

The song was premiered on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show on 24 April 2007. On 3 June 2007, the HQ Radio Edit of Boyz was leaked to the internet. On 10 June 2007, details of the release were published on M.I.A.'s official website. The track was released internationally via XL Recordings, in the UK via XL as a limited edition 12 inch maxi single and in USB key format on June 11th, and as a 12 inch vinyl and enhanced EP CD single in the US via Interscope Records on 17 July.[6][7]

The single was also released through M.I.A.'s official website's store on 10 August. The single was available for purchase in physical CD-single format, 12" vinyl and also limited edition 512MB USB stick/wristband (released in five different colors).[8][9] The song was released on 18 June 2007 on iTunes Stores in Europe and peaked at number nineteen on the UK iTunes Dance Most Downloaded Songs.

The Boyz EP release includes a cappella and instrumental versions of the single, photos, remix parts, the video, and a making of the video part 1 feature. An Akon remix of "Boyz" was leaked at the time of the EP's release.

"Boyz" was featured in the episode "Fight or Flight" from season 2 of the TV show Heroes, a sixth season episode of the TV show CSI: Miami, and the episode "Back to New York" from the fourth season of the MTV show The Hills. It was featured in FIFA Street 3 along with the song "Bird Flu" and in the basketball game NBA 08.

On October 9, 2008, two remixes to "Boyz" were leaked onto the internet with one featuring Wale and the other, Jay-Z.[10][11] The remix featuring Jay Z appears on the How Many Votes Fix Mix EP. Another version of the song was released by Swizz Beatz titled "I'm Supposed to Ball".

[edit] Music video

The music video for the single was directed by Jason "Jay Will" Williams and M.I.A., and shot in Jamaica towards the end of April 2007. Photographs from the set of the video appeared on the internet in early May. The video features M.I.A. singing and dancing in serene surroundings with vibrant, neon colours and animation graphics, accompanied by several male dancers of different dance crews in Jamaica. One scene sees M.I.A. dancing around a defunct car.[12] The video premiered on M.I.A.'s official website and MySpace page on 10 June 2007. In the "Making of 'Boyz' video" feature, Arulpragasam stated she "wanted the frame to end up looking just like ripped-off flyer posters."[13]

[edit] Track listings and formats

Promo CD

  1. "Boyz" – 3:28
  2. "Boyz" [a cappella] – 3:00
  3. "Boyz" [instrumental] – 3:29

12" vinyl

  1. "Boyz" [album version] – 3:28

U.S. CD single (Enhanced EP)/USB wristband

  1. "Boyz" – 3:28
  2. "Boyz" [a cappella] – 3:00
  3. "Boyz" [instrumental] – 3:29
  4. Photos
  5. Remixes
  6. Video
  7. Making of the Video Part 1

[edit] Charts

Chart (2007) Peak
U.S. Billboard Hot Singles Sales[14] 7
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales[15] 13
Canadian Singles Chart 7
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales[16] 3
Chart (2008) Peak
U.S. Billboard Pop 100[17] 99

[edit] References

  1. ^ ""Rolling Stone's 100 Best Songs of 2007"". Rolling Stone. 2007-12-11. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17601363/the_100_best_songs_of_2007/3. Retrieved 2007-12-11. 
  2. ^ Breihan, Tom. ""Staus Ain't Hood interviews M.I.A."". The Village Voice. http://www.villagevoice.com/blogs/statusainthood/archives/2007/07/status_aint_hoo_28.php. Retrieved 2008-11-09. 
  3. ^ ""M.I.A."". SL2UK. http://sl2uk.com/content/miabirdflu.shtml. Retrieved 2007-10-16. 
  4. ^ ""Life in Exile"". The Fader. 2007-07-08. http://www.thefader.com/blog/articles/2007/08/07/video-interview-mia-jimmy. Retrieved 2007-10-16. 
  5. ^ ""Video: M.I.A., "Boyz""". VIBE. 2007-06-14. http://www.vibe.com/music/revolutions/2007/06/video_mia_boyz/. Retrieved 2007-06-06. 
  6. ^ ""M.I.A."". M.I.A. Official site. 2007-06-10. http://www.miauk.com/info/. Retrieved 2007-06-11. 
  7. ^ ""Pitchfork: M.I.A. Namez First Kala Single "Boyz""". Pitchforkmedia. 2007-06-06. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/43415-mia-namez-first-ikalai-single-boyz. Retrieved 2007-06-07. 
  8. ^ ""M.I.A. >> August 10th"". 2007-09-10. http://www.miauk.com/info/?p=40. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
  9. ^ ""M.I.A PRODUCTS"". Backstreet-Merch.com. 2007-08-10. http://www.backstreet-merch.com/bands/mia/default.asp. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
  10. ^ ""New York - Jay-Z's "Boyz" Remix: Every Single Good Thing in Hip-Hop This Year Is M.I.A.-Related""". Village Voice. 2008-10-09. http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/archives/2008/10/jayzs_boyz_remi.php. Retrieved 2008-10-21. 
  11. ^ """Freeload: M.I.A., "Boyz" with Jay-Z and Wale""". The Fader. 2008-10-10. http://www.thefader.com/articles/2008/10/10/freeload-m-i-a-boyz-with-jay-z-and-wale. Retrieved 2008-10-21. 
  12. ^ ""Pitchfork: Photos: M.I.A.'s Jamaican Vacation"". Pitchforkmedia. 2007-05-04. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/42752-photos-mias-jamaican-vacation. Retrieved 2007-05-09. 
  13. ^ ""M.I.A. The Making of "Boyz""". Boyz EP. YouTube. 2007. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=rDoTKVLHNzA. Retrieved 2008-10-09. 
  14. ^ ""Billboard - Hot Singles Sales"". Billboard. 2007. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=353&cfgn=Singles&cfn=Hot+Singles+Sales&ci=3085638&cdi=9349826&cid=08%2F18%2F2007. Retrieved 2007-08-15. 
  15. ^ ""Billboard - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales"". Billboard. 2007. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=368&cfgn=Singles&cfn=Hot+R%26amp%3BB%2FHip-Hop+Singles+Sales&ci=3085761&cdi=9356344&cid=08%2F25%2F2007. Retrieved 2007-08-24. 
  16. ^ [1]. AllMusicGuide. Retrieved October 14, 2007.
  17. ^ ""Billboard - Pop 100"". Billboard. 2008. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=629381&model.vnuAlbumId=983933. Retrieved 2008-12-07. 
v • d • e
M.I.A.
Studio albums
Other albums
EPs
Singles
"Galang" · "Sunshowers" · "Bucky Done Gun" · "Boyz" · "Jimmy" · "Paper Planes"
Featured singles
Other songs
Tours
Related articles
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