The Singles Jukebox

You need to work on your grammar, son…

[Video][Myspace]
[6.08]

Al Shipley: I never got much out of their smug, joyless attempts at ‘reality rap’ in recent years, and the Neptunes stopped being a dependable brand not long after Lord Willin’ themselves. But there’s something genuinely, irresistibly buoyant and breezy about this that’s made it my least expected summer jam of ’09.
[7]

Colin Cooper: Clipse is wicked and Hell Hath No Fury proved that associating with Pharrell was a great idea. This is much tamer than anything on that album: all talk of Blackberrys (Blackberries?) and cars and a chorus that threatens to break into ‘In Da Club’, but it’s so summery and soul-lite that it’s really pretty loveable. Also, at 1:26 in, there is indisputably the noise a crow would make if you upset it in some way.
[8]

Matt Cibula: I guess Pharrell had a better time in Brazil than we thought. This wins on bossa-hop blast alone, and the smooth lyrical ride, but I’m predicting hateration on the dance floor.
[8]

Rodney J. Greene: I like the live-sounding synth arpeggios and that Pusha and Malice sound more invigorated than I’ve heard them of late. Less so the nuisance Pharrell makes of himself, even during the rapped verses, and the endless repititions of a hookless chorus.
[6]

Alfred Soto: Having shit-talked themselves into a shame-of-the-game corner, it’s a relief to here these guys slumming over functional beats and helium synths. “Hear that engine purr/Here, kitty kitty!” would be second-rate Luda at best, but when it’s Pusha T and Malice slinging the raps it’s like watching your kid brother getting drunk for the first time.
[6]

Anthony Miccio: Abandoning the calmly assertive flow that made them heroes for a generic holler, the lack of restraint makes them depressingly easy to ignore. Pharrell’s synth-swank autopilot, while possibly earning the song air time at rap-friendly pools, doesn’t help.
[5]

Alex Macpherson: The only aspect of this song which I don’t feel like I’ve heard several hundred times too many by now is Clipse apparently trying to make a feelgood summer jam, and coming across like they’re wearing a big winter coat and woollen hat to shield themselves from the sun.
[3]

Martin Skidmore: The Neptunes production is bright and summery, as R&B as hip hop, and Pharrell is at his best as a sweet voice in the background – but the hook is weak, the start is slow, and the rapping lacks force. The vocal might work better on a real Dirty South number, without the smoothness, with added snarl. Likeable, but less than gripping.
[7]

John M. Cunningham: I have to say, I’ve got a major soft spot for Pharrell’s smooth, jazzy R&B side. Left unchecked, as on a number of N*E*R*D tracks, it can tip into gloop, but on this collaboration with Clipse, the blend of his creamy croon and sequenced synth squiggles with the Thornton brothers’ stark immediacy and locked-down flow works wonders.
[8]

Chuck Eddy: Late summer atmosphere, blaxploitation soul backup, new car, good day. Proven formula, done to death over the years, tackled here in a way that doesn’t seem remotely special. But laziness is sort of the point, right? And it’s still warm.
[6]

Michaelangelo Matos: “It’s like the sun is out/And shinin’ on me”? Dude, that’s what the sun does.
[5]

Additional Scores

Spencer Ackerman: [4]
Martin Kavka: [6]