"Mo Bamba" is a song by American rapper Sheck Wes. A sleeper hit that achieved mainstream success despite limited promotion, it was produced by Take a Daytrip and 16yrold. The song was independently released on music streaming site SoundCloud by 16yrold in 2017, and became a word of mouth sensation without record label or radio support, reaching number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.[1]
| "Mo Bamba" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Sheck Wes | ||||
| from the album Mudboy | ||||
| Released | June 16, 2017 | |||
| Recorded | 2017 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:01 (single version) 3:04 (album version) | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) |
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| Sheck Wes singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Mo Bamba" on YouTube | ||||
The song later served as a single from Wes' debut studio album, Mudboy. It remains his most popular and successful song.[2][3]
Background
The song is named after then-Texas Longhorn and current Los Angeles Clippers[4] player Mo Bamba, who grew up with Sheck Wes in his home town Harlem, New York neighborhood. The two spent some of their childhoods together.[5]
Producers 16yrold and Take a Daytrip consisting of Denzel Baptise and David Biral, who had met online, collaborated on the track's beat and composition.[1] 16yrold invited Wes to record in the studio with them.[6] Wes recorded the majority of the song in one take,[1][7] with additional ad-libs recorded afterwards.[7]
Baptise of Take a Daytrip looped the beat as Wes recorded his vocals. The beat cutting off at the 1:38 minute mark of the song was the result of the laptop used to record Wes’ vocals freezing. This caused concern among the producers who feared that the song would be ruined because the entire song up until that point had been recorded in one take without any issues. At the 1:40 minute mark of the song, someone can be heard in the background saying "whoa".[6] Wes shouting out, "Oh! Fuck! Shit! Bitch!", was his actual reaction to the beat freezing by accident. Shortly after, the beat unfroze as Wes proceeded to record a new verse on the spot.[6][7]
Music video
The song's music video was released on January 30, 2018, via YouTube and was directed by White Trash Tyler, Nick Walker and Wes himself. It is a music video in black and white and finds Wes on a basketball court.[8]
Personnel
Credits adapted from The New York Times.[1]
Artist
- Sheck Wes – vocals
Production
- 16yrold – production
- Take a Daytrip – production, recording, mixing, mastering
Charts
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[35] | 3× Platinum | 240,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[36] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
| France (SNEP)[37] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI)[38] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[39] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| Poland (ZPAV)[40] | Platinum | 50,000‡ |
| Portugal (AFP)[41] | Platinum | 10,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[42] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[43] | 5× Platinum | 5,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||