2018 single by Travis Scott featuring Drake
"Sicko Mode" (stylized in all caps) is a song by American rapper Travis Scott. It features vocals from Canadian rapper Drake,[a][3] who was credited on Apple Music but not on the Billboard Hot 100 or Spotify. It was originally released by Epic Records on August 3, 2018, as the third track from Astroworld (2018), before being released as the second single on August 21. It features additional uncredited vocals by fellow American rappers Swae Lee and the late Big Hawk.[4][5]
Sicko Mode was Scott's first number one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 (although Drake is not credited on the Billboard charts),[4][6] as well as the first hip-hop song in history to spend at least 30 weeks in the chart's top ten region. It was universally acclaimed by critics, and received nominations for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
The song contains a sample from "Gimme the Loot", written by the Notorious B.I.G. and Easy Mo Bee, as performed by the former and an interpolation from "I Wanna Rock", written and performed by Uncle Luke.[7][8] On December 9, 2020, the song was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Composition
The song is in three distinct movements. There is the first movement, which starts from the beginning of the song to the one minute mark. The second movement starts at the one minute mark and ends before the three minute mark. The third movement starts at the three minute mark to the end of the song. The first movement is written in the key of B-flat major, the second movement is written in the key of F-sharp minor, and the third movement is composed in the key of E-flat minor.[9] The first movement reminiscences about a time with friends in winter. The second movement reminisces about past relationships with women. The third movement reminisces about the rappers' high school years, but now enjoys the luxury of flying out of a fixed base operator. The overall theme of the song is about reminiscing about past events in the rappers' lives and where they are now.
Critical reception
"Sicko Mode" received critical acclaim, with some critics considering it the highlight of Astroworld. Writing for Rolling Stone, Christopher R. Weingarten deemed the "hard-knocking" track the "album highlight",[10] while Brendan Klinkenberg from the same magazine described it as "the apex of Scott's synthetic instincts".[11] Brian Josephs of Entertainment Weekly called it a "mini-suite of bangers".[12] Roisin O'Connor of The Independent felt Drake "sounds more important on this record than he did at any point on his own recent release, Scorpion, with a ballsy, confident flow".[13]
Chart performance
"Sicko Mode" debuted at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100,[14] It reached number two following the release of its music video, originally behind "Girls Like You" by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B,[15] and then behind "Thank U, Next" by Ariana Grande. It later became his first number one on the issue dated December 8, 2018, after seventeen weeks in the top 10, aided in part by the Skrillex remix;[4] had Drake been credited, it would have been his 7th number-one hit. The single also became Scott's first top 10 on the Radio Songs chart.[16] It finished 3rd in Triple J's Hottest 100 2018.[17] Reflecting on its commercial impact, Billboard magazine's Andrew Unterberger called the song "a three-part prog-rap odyssey that would've been unimaginable as a radio single years earlier, but which got audiences so hyped with its unexpected beat switches and back-and-forth hooks that the pop world had no choice but to meet it halfway".[2]
"Sicko Mode" was the only number-one hit during the 2010s decade to feature a key change.[18]
Music video
The music video for "Sicko Mode" was directed by Dave Meyers and Travis Scott. It was released on October 19, 2018. The video starts off with Scott's red head on a building while a camera zooms into it, and cuts to the next scene of people getting back into some multi-colored houses. Following scenes show Drake walking a dog while being burned by an eclipse and Scott riding a horse. The video ends with Drake and Scott walking away.[19] As of May 2022, the video has over a billion views.[20]
Remixes and covers
On November 28, 2018, an electronic remix by American record producer Skrillex was released.[23][24] The remix's accompanying audio and lyric videos were released to Scott's and Skrillex's YouTube channels on the same day.
On February 28, 2020, Swae Lee released the single "Someone Said", based on his line from the song.[25]
Personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal and liner notes.[26]
Performance
- Travis Scott – vocals, songwriting
- Drake – vocals, songwriting
- Swae Lee – additional vocals, songwriting
- Big Hawk – additional vocals, songwriting
Production
Technical
- Travis Scott – recording engineer, mixing
- Ben Sedano – assistant engineer
- Jimmy Cash – assistant engineer
- Jon Scher – assistant engineer
- Sean Solymor – assistant engineer
- Mike Dean – mixing, mastering
Additional songwriting credits as pertaining to the samples: "I Wanna Rock" as performed by Luke, written by Luther Campbell, Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch; and "Gimme the Loot" as performed by the Notorious B.I.G., written by Christopher Wallace, Osten Harvey, Bryan Higgins, Trevor Smith, James Jackson, Malik Taylor, Keith Elam, Christopher Martin, Kamaal Fareed, Ali Shaheed Jones-Muhammad, Tyrone Taylor, Fred Scruggs, Kirk Jones and Chylow Parker.
