"Brad Pitt's Cousin" is a hip hop song by American hip hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring American rapper Xperience from their third studio album This Unruly Mess I've Made (2016). The song was released as a promotional single on April 12, 2016, only in Australia and New Zealand.

"Brad Pitt's Cousin"
Promotional single by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Xperience
from the album This Unruly Mess I've Made
ReleasedApril 12, 2016 (2016-04-12)[1]
RecordedJuly 2015
GenreComedy hip hop
Length3:11
LabelMacklemore LLC
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Ryan Lewis

Background and release

edit

Following the large success of the duo's debut album The Heist (2012), Macklemore revealed the This Unruly Mess I've Made release with an Instagram post on January 15, 2016.[2] "Brad Pitt's Cousin" was released as the third single off of the album on April 12, 2016, succeeding "Dance Off".[2] The song cites the American actor Brad Pitt.[3]

Critical reception

edit

The song received mixed reviews from music critics. Killian Young of Consequence of Sound gave the album overall a 'C−', and said of "Brad Pitt's Cousin": "we have hip hop culture: the awkward interjection from God, and the awful reference to the long-expired “deez nuts” meme."[4] Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic commented that Macklemore "tries to make it seem like he loves being called the actor’s ugly relative, and opens with him bragging about his cat’s Instagram followers".[5]

Music video

edit

The song's music video was released on April 11, 2016, exclusively to Macklemore's Facebook page.[6] It was recorded in London and directed by Lewis.[7]

Chart performance

edit

In Australia, "Brad Pitt's Cousin" entered the Australian Singles Chart at number 40 on August 6, 2016.[8] The song did not enter the New Zealand Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 9 on the Heatseekers Singles Chart.[9]

Track listing

edit
Digital download[10]
No.TitleLength
1."Brad Pitt's Cousin" (featuring Xperience (XP))3:11

Charts

edit
Chart (2016) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[11] 40
New Zealand Heatseekers (Recorded Music NZ)[9] 9

Release history

edit
Region Date Label Format
Australia April 12, 2016[1] Macklemore LLC Airplay

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Major Lazer spend second week at #1". ARIA Charts. August 27, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Spanos, Brittany (January 15, 2016). "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Announce new album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  3. ^ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Talk Vulnerability, Cultural Appropriation & The Polarising Response To Their Music". Music Feeds. August 27, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  4. ^ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – This Unruly Mess I've Made". Consequence of Sound. August 27, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  5. ^ "This Unruly Mess I've Made uses novelty rap to disguise self-loathing, barely". The Atlantic. August 27, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  6. ^ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Drop New Video For Infectious Single 'Brad Pitt's Cousin'". Much. September 21, 2015.
  7. ^ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Drop New Video For Infectious Single 'Brad Pitt's Cousin'". Billboard. September 21, 2015.
  8. ^ "MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS FEAT. XP - BRAD PITT'S COUSIN (SONG)". ARIA. September 21, 2015.
  9. ^ a b "NZ Heatseekers Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  10. ^ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Brad Pitt's Cousin". iTunes. August 27, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  11. ^ "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. XP – Brad Pitt's Cousin". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved August 14, 2016.