“Apeshit” (stylized in all caps) is a 2018 trap song by American musical duo the Carters, composed of Beyoncé and Jay-Z. The song was co-written and co-produced by Pharrell Williams with the duo. It features additional ad-libs by Quavo and Offset from the hip hop trio Migos, who are credited as a co-writers. The song was released on June 16, 2018, as the lead single from the duo’s collaborative studio album Everything Is Love, along with a music video filmed at the Louvre in Paris.[2] The video received eight nominations at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards, including for Video of the Year,[3] and a Grammy nomination for Best Music Video.[4]
. . . Apeshit . . .
Otir Hard of NPR dubbed the song one of the catchiest to be released in 2018, adding that it “lives up to the grandeur on first listen”.[5] Kory Grow writing for the Rolling Stone described the beat as “hard-hitting”.[6]Simon Reynolds cited “Apeshit” as an example for the continuing “triumph” of Auto-Tune in contemporary music, with Beyoncé “jump[ing] on the trap bandwagon [in] a transparent attempt to compete on urban radio by adopting the prevailing template of commercial-yet-street rap”.[7]
In December 2018, Billboard ranked “Apeshit” as the 27th best song of the year.[8] For Pitchfork, it was the 85th,[9] while Rolling Stone named the song as the 24th best one of 2018, writing: “Rumors swirled for years that one day the biggest music power couple of all time would release a collaborative album together. […] The video was as over-the-top and luxurious as one would hope, taking over the Louvre and filling it with a sea of black and brown dancers and models amongst the world’s most iconic art pieces.”[10]The Guardian listed “Apeshit” at number 21 on their year end ranking,[11] while Q[12] at number 19, and The Village Voice at number 14.[13]
The Louvre said there was a more than 50% increase in under-30 visitors in 2018 thanks to the video shot by the couple in the museum, marking a record number of visitors with over 10 million.[14][15] The museum has created a guided tour centered around the works of art seen in the “Apeshit” video.[16][17]
. . . Apeshit . . .