"Chum" is a song by American rapper Earl Sweatshirt, released as the lead single of his 2013 debut album Doris.
| "Chum" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Earl Sweatshirt | ||||
| from the album Doris | ||||
| Released | November 2, 2012[1] | |||
| Recorded | 2012 Paramount Recording Studios (Hollywood, California)[2] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:04 | |||
| Label | Tan Cressida | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| Earl Sweatshirt singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Chum" on YouTube | ||||
Production and composition
edit"Chum" deals with Earl Sweatshirt's feelings and thoughts after a week since his return from Samoa in 2012.[3][4] These would include his absent father, his relationship with his mom, and being raised with problems about his identity.[3] According to Syd tha Kyd, "Everybody had missed him so much and nobody really knew what to say. At the same time, Thebe had his own plans and he was kinda scared, cause he didn’t want to disappoint anyone."[4]
Production duo Christian Rich helped Sweatshirt produce "Chum". Sweatshirt had heard of the two before, and the duo met with Sony's A&R staff for Sweatshirt to hear their beats. According to a member of the duo Kehinde Hassan, "he was going nuts in the studio like, “Wow, okay listen, you guys got to do this project with me.”"[5] Sweatshirt's first album Doris was produced over the course of about four or five months, and "Chum" was created on its first three days of making the LP.[5] The song was produced using Logic Pro,[6] and the beat was the quickest and rawest made on the album.[6][7] The song was recorded by Julian Prindle at Paramount Recording Studios in Hollywood, California. Jaycen Joshua mixed the track at Larrabee Sound Studios in North Hollywood, and it was later mastered by Dave Kutch at the Mastering Palace in New York City.[2]
Taiwo Hassan wrote the chorus for "Chum", and Sweatshirt came up with the verses.[6][8] Kehinde Hassan said in an interview with MTV News that "Most of the sessions were about five hours of talking crap — what artists you like and you don't like, having fun — and then he'll just black out and be like, 'OK I got a verse.' That's how 'Chum' worked."[8] The song's instrumentation consists of a tumbling piano loop, a low-octave, fuzzy bass, drums, vocals, and other sampled sounds.[3][6] Christian Rich originally considered Thom Yorke to perform the hook to make it sound bigger, but Sweatshirt refused, as he didn't want to go for that sound.[6]
Sweatshirt came up with the piano and bass line,[6] and recorded his vocals in one take,[8] while Christian Rich made the drums.[6] The sampled sounds used in the track includes a scream sound effect played at the beginning, which was from a Wu-Tang Clan song the duo listened to years before and wanted to use, a looped recording of Taiwo Hassan saying to the song's engineer "Can you turn that up? Can you get that beat in my headphones louder?", and a sample of Chad Hugo laughing.[6]
Personnel
editCredits are from liner notes.[2]
Release history
edit| Region | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| United States | November 2, 2012[1] | Digital download |
Left Brain Remix
edit| "Chum" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Left Brain | |
| Released | May 15, 2014 |
| Recorded | 2012/14 |
| Genre | Alternative hip hop |
| Length | 3:24 |
| Label | Self-released |
| Songwriter(s) | Chad Hugo, Kehinde Hassan, Taiwo Hassan, Thebe Kgositsile |
"Chum: Remixed by Left Brain" is a remix song, of the song "Chum" American rapper Earl Sweatshirt, by American producer Left Brain.
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[9] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ a b Music - Chum - Single by Earl Sweatshirt Archived October 26, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. iTunes. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
- ^ a b c Doris (Media notes). Earl Sweatshirt. Columbia Records. 2013. 88883 75170 2.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b c Fitzmaurice, Larry (November 2, 2012). Earl Sweatshirt: "Chum". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
- ^ a b Naomi Zeichner, Duncan Cooper (May 7, 2013). Footnotes: Earl Sweatshirt. The Fader. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
- ^ a b Wete, Brad (June 5, 2013). Christian Rich Producer Talks Earl Sweatshirt Work, House EP, and Chris Brown's 'X'. Billboard.com. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Christian Rich - Off The Record: Earl Sweatshirt's "Chum" Archived 2013-11-09 at the Wayback Machine. HipHopDX. August 28, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
- ^ Inside The Making Of Our Favorite Songs From Earl Sweatshirt’s ‘Doris’: "Chum". XXL Magazine. August 19, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
- ^ a b c Alexis, Nadeska (July 31, 2013). Earl Sweatshirt 'Blacked Out'... And Created Doris. MTV News. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
- ^ "American single certifications – Earl Sweatshirt – Chum". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
- Alexis, Nadeska (July 31, 2013). Earl Sweatshirt 'Blacked Out'... And Created Doris. MTV News. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
- Naomi Zeichner, Duncan Cooper (May 7, 2013). Footnotes: Earl Sweatshirt. The Fader. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
- Klinger, Doug (December 11, 2012). Video Chats: Hiro Murai on ‘Chum’ by Earl Sweatshirt. IMVDb. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
- Inside The Making Of Our Favorite Songs From Earl Sweatshirt’s ‘Doris’: "Chum". XXL Magazine. August 19, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2013.