Upgrade U

Upgrade U
Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z
publication	November 27, 2006 (USA)
length	4:32
Genre (s)	Hip-hop , R&B
Author (s)	Swizz Beatz, Cameron Wallace, Beyoncé Knowles
Label	Columbia Records
album	B'Day

Upgrade U is a hip-hop -Song of the US R & B - singer Beyonce Knowles in a duet with the rapper Jay-Z . The song was produced by Swizz Beatz , Cameron Wallace and Knowles for their second studio album, B'Day . Upgrade U is about a relationship between a man and a woman. The woman wants her husband to spoil her and treat her like a queen.

The song was only released as a promo single in the US . Most of the critics praised the song. In the Billboard Hot 100 the single reached number 59 and number 11 in the US hip-hop charts.

background

Upgrade U samples Betty Wright's 1968 hit Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do. Upgrade U was produced by Swizz Beatz, Cameron Wallace and Knowles and recorded at Sony Music Studios in New York City , New York . Knowles little sister Solange wrote the song with Knowles and Swizz Beatz. Upgrade U is the second duet on the album with Jay-Z . TI also recorded a version of the song, but this did not appear on the album and was later released as a remix version.

Musical and content

Upgrade U is a hip-hop song with pop , soul and R&B influences. Like most of the other songs on the album, the beat was generated with a Roland TR-808 drum machine. The song begins with a dialogue between Knowles and Jay-Z. Shortly before the end of the song, Jay-Z raps his verse , then Beyoncé raps the final part of the song, in which she often repeats the individual lines.

Upgrade U is about a relationship between a man and a woman. The woman wants her husband to spoil her and treat her like a queen. The woman says what her husband should do and wants her luxurious husband to give her rich presents. The song Suga Mama , also by B'Day, is about the same subject. Jay-Z and Knowles talk about luxury companies and personalities: Audemars Piguet , a Swiss watch manufacturer ; Jacob the Jeweler , a celebrity jeweler ; Cartier , a jewelry and watch maker; Hermès , a luxury company; Lorraine Schwartz , a celebrity jeweler; Ralph Lauren Purple Label , a fashion designer with his fashion company; Natura Bisse Diamond Cream , a diamond company; 6 star pent suites ; The Amalfi Coast , from southern Italy ; Fendi , a luxury company and The Bloomberg Luxury Accommodation Group .

criticism

Upgrade U was recognized by most of the critics. Eb Haynes from Allhiphop called the song "the finale of the Bonnie and Clyde, Ride or Die series". “ Upgrade U will get many to hot sex through Bees charisma and singing, ” continued Haynes. Washington Post's Chris Williams described the song as a reflection of the "buyable love lifestyle." Allmusic's Andy Kellman called Upgrade U "the hottest song on the album". Tim Finney from Pitchfork Media called it a "cheesy" song. Popmatters 'Mike Joseph believes Upgrade U works not through Knowles' singing, but rather through the chemistry between Knowles and Jay-Z. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine thought that " Upgrade U might as well be a Destiny's Child song."

Bernard Zuel of The Sydney Morning Herald described the song as "the hottest hip hop". Phil Harrison of Timeout commented that "the listener will only think of sex and a bee that will dance for them and make everything even hotter, more sexual and erotic". US Weekly's Carolyn Davis called Upgrade U a "cheesy song where Beyoncé and Jay-Z discuss their luxury and sex lives."

Commercial win

Before it was actually released, Upgrade U was already being played on R&B and hip-hop radio stations in the United States. Since the Billboard Hot 100 also rate airplay , the song entered the charts on November 9, 2006 at number 92. Upgrade U was then released on November 27, 2006 as a promo single, which allowed it to rise to number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained in these charts for a total of 18 weeks. Upgrade U was nominated in the Best Duet / Collaboration category of the BET Awards 2007 , but couldn't compete against Runaway Love by Ludacris feat. Mary J. Blige prevail.

Music video

The music video for Upgrade U was shot at the same time as the B'Day Anthology Video Album . Directed by Melina and Beyoncé: The music video was shot between Kitty Kat and Green Light within 1 1/2 days. Jay-Z recorded the rap scenes in a different studio than Beyoncé. In the music video, Beyoncé dresses up as Jay-Z in some scenes and starts rapping. She was in hip-hop clothing in the scene, wearing sunglasses and with her hair pulled back. In this scene she is sitting on a throne and performing typical hip-hop movements. Knowles later commented that she wanted to get out of her character and imitate a rapper. Beyoncé later sits on a Rolls-Royce and continues singing. Then she dances in a few scenes in a gold mini dress in a group of male dancers wearing only slip . This is followed by the mentioned imitation of Jay-Z, in which Beyoncé raps. Jay-Z then continues the rap.

The music video premiered on February 28, 2007 on BETs 106 & Park - the same day as Knowle's other music video for Beautiful Liar Duet with Shakira , on TRL .

Charts

Charts	Top ranking	Weeks
Chart placements
United States (Billboard)	59 (18 weeks)	18th

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Shaheem Reid: Beyonce Album Preview: Harder Sound, Aggressive Songs Among B'Day's Gifts . In: MTV News , August 30, 2007. Retrieved December 27, 2007. 
2. ↑ Beyonce - Biography . In: Music World Entertainment . Archived from the original on October 15, 2007. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 11, 2008. 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Chris Williams: Beyonce's 'B'Day' Is Nothing to Celebrate . In: The Washington Post . September 6, 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
4. ↑ Sarah Rodman: Beyonce shows rage and range on new release . In: The Boston Globe . September 4, 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
5. ↑ Shaheem Reid, Cobbin-Wooten, Raslyn: Luxury Ties, Fancy Suites: A Guide To Beyonce And Jay-Z's 'Upgrade U' . In: MTV News , December 20, 2006. Retrieved August 7, 2008. 
6. ↑ Eb Haynes: B'Day . In: Allhiphop . September 20, 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
7. ↑ Andy Kellman: B'Day . In: Allmusic . Retrieved February 10, 2008.
8. ↑ Tim Finney: Beyoncé: B'Day Album Review. Pitchfork , September 7, 2006, accessed July 17, 2016 . 
9. ↑ Mike Joseph: Beyoncé: B-Day . In: Popmatters . September 11, 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
10. ↑ Sal Cinquemani: Beyoncé: B'Day . In: Slant Magazine . Retrieved February 10, 2008.
11. ↑ Bernard Zuel: B'Day . In: The Sydney Morning Herald . September 8, 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
12. ↑ Phil Harrison: Beyoncé: B'Day . In: timeout . August 25, 2006. Archived from the original on February 12, 2008. Retrieved on February 10, 2008.
13. ↑ Carolyn Davis: B-Day: Beyoncé's back and branching out with a more mature sound . In: US Magazine . Retrieved February 10, 2008.
14. ^ Keith Caulfield: Ask Billboard - Replacing Irreplaceable . ( Memento of September 29, 2007 on the Internet Archive ) Billboard . December 29, 2006. Retrieved February 8, 2007.
15. ↑ Beyonce feat Jay Z - Upgrade U . Juno Records. Retrieved June 28, 2007.
16. ↑ ^{a b} chartsurfer.de: Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z: Upgrade U
17. ↑ Mark Edward Nero: 2007 BET Awards Winners. In: About.com. July 27, 2007, accessed June 18, 2013 . 
18. ↑ ^{a b} Jennifer Vineyard: Beyonce: Behind The B'Day Videos . In: MTV . Retrieved February 10, 2008.