Panda (Desiigner song)

"Panda" is the debut single by American rapper Desiigner. The song premiered in December 2015 and was released for digital download on the iTunes Store as a single, before being re-released on February 22, 2016.[1] The song was written by Desiigner and the track's producer was Menace. "Panda" was heavily sampled by GOOD Music labelmate and founder Kanye West for "Pt. 2", a song on West's seventh studio album The Life of Pablo, and inspired a number of remixes. The single received a nomination for Best Rap Performance at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. A music video was released on May 10, 2016.[2] It was nominated for Best Hip Hop Video at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards.

"Panda"
Single by Desiigner
from the album New English
Released	December 15, 2015
Recorded	2015
Genre	Hip hop trap
Length	4:06 (album version) 3:46 (radio edit)
Label	GOOD Def Jam
Songwriter(s)	Sidney Selby III Adnan Khan
Producer(s)	Menace
Desiigner singles chronology
"Panda" (2015) "Champions" (2016)
Music video
"Panda" on YouTube

Composition

"Panda" is a hip hop song.[3][4] The hook was written about the BMW X6, specifically one in white, which he likens the appearance of to a panda. "I'm just putting it in a greater way of how I say and the way I live."[5] Desiigner discovered the song's beat on YouTube, which was produced by up-and-coming Rochdale-based[6] producer Menace.[7][8][9] Menace has stated the track takes influence from the UK grime scene.[10]

Critical reception

Rolling Stone named "Panda" one of the 30 best songs of the first half of 2016, writing "The Future-esque rapping and menacing trap beat that underlies "Panda"'s ridiculous repetition were already making Internet waves, but a prominent sample on Kanye West's The Life of Pablo made Desiigner a fixture everywhere from car stereos to Vogue shoots."[11] Billboard ranked "Panda" at number 24 on their "100 Best Pop Songs of 2016" list: "Visions of a black-and-white BMW X6 sparked Desiigner's breakout joyride anthem "Panda." The Brooklyn upstart's spazzy, high-octane bars may have required a Genius.com lyric video to decipher, but the energy was so contagious that Kanye West had to tap the melodic G.O.O.D. Music MC's smash for his own zeitgeist-capturing album."[12] Pitchfork listed "Panda" on their ranking of the 100 best songs of 2016 at number 56.[13]

Commercial performance

"Panda" debuted at number 96 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for the chart issue dated March 12, 2016,[14] and reached the top five in its seventh week.[15] On its ninth week, "Panda" reached number one on the Hot 100 for the chart dated May 7, 2016, ending the nine-week reign of "Work" by Rihanna featuring Drake. The feat ended a record-setting 41-week streak of non-Americans topping the chart. It stayed at number one for two weeks, until it was replaced by "One Dance" by Drake featuring Wizkid and Kyla on the chart issue dated May 21, 2016.[16] Desiigner is the first rapper to crown the Hot 100 with a debut chart entry since Iggy Azalea arrived with "Fancy" (featuring Charli XCX), which ruled for seven weeks beginning June 7, 2014.

At 18 years and 11 months old, Desiigner is the youngest artist to top the Hot 100 since Lorde, who was 16 years and 11 months old when "Royals" assumed the top spot (for nine weeks) on October 12, 2013.[16] The song spent seventeen weeks in the top ten of the Hot 100 before dropping out. It also reached number one on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Among the Hot 100's component charts, "Panda" peaked at number 2 on Digital Songs and 10 on Radio Songs, and topped Streaming Songs.[17][18] As of December 2016, it has sold 1,524,000 copies in the United States.[19] The song had the most on demand streams (audio and video combined) in the US in 2016 (791,000).[20]

Remixes, samples and media usage

"Panda" has been unofficially remixed several times by various rappers, including T-Pain, Lil Mama, Uncle Murda, Montana of 300, Dave East, Lupe Fiasco, Futuristic, Meek Mill, Lil' Kim, Cupcakke, Maino, Kash Doll, Fabolous, and Fat Trel among others.[21][22]

A Spanish version was released by Puerto Rican Latin trap artist Almighty on the Miami-based label Carbon Fiber Music.[23] Borrowing the original version's beat, it features Farruko, who also owns said label, and also serves as Almighty's signature song, as well as a slogan. A remix was also released and adds Daddy Yankee and Cosculluela.[21] Additionally, Latin trap artist and pioneer Anuel AA released a scathing diss track to Almighty, entitled "RIP Panda"; the reason being due to the latter allegedly underestimating the former and excluding him from the hit remix.[24]

Kanye West sampled the song for his song "Pt. 2" which appeared on his seventh studio album, The Life of Pablo (2016). In an interview with Big Boy on June 3, 2016, Kanye West announced an official "15 minute" Panda remix, featuring verses from all GOOD Music artists. However, as of 2019, the remix has not seen any release.[25]

"Panda" was used by NBA player Shaquille O'Neal as his WrestleMania 32 entrance music.[26]

The song is also heard in the television shows Empire, Rosewood, Black-ish, Son of Zorn, Skam,[27] and The Last Man on Earth.

The song is also heard in the films The Secret Life of Pets 2 (in which Kevin Hart briefly covers the track) and Baywatch.

Beyoncé used the song as part of a dance break during her song “Diva” in the Formation World Tour.

Music video

The song's official music video was released on May 10, 2016 through the subscription-based digital music streaming platform, Tidal. The music video features Desiigner himself, with a cameo appearance by American rapper Kanye West.[2]

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2016–17) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[28] 7 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[29] 19 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[30] 13 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[31] 31 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[32] 4 Denmark (Tracklisten)[33] 10 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[34] 10 France (SNEP)[35] 16 Germany (Official German Charts)[36] 13 Hungary (Dance Top 40)[37] 23 Hungary (Single Top 40)[38] 6 Ireland (IRMA)[39] 16 Italy (FIMI)[40] 25 Lebanon (Lebanese Top 20)[41] 16 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[42] 15 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[43] 8 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[44] 4 Norway (VG-lista)[45] 14 Portugal (AFP)[46] 9 Scotland (OCC)[47] 24 South Africa (EMA)[48] 9 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[49] 12 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[50] 12 UK R&B (OCC)[51] 2 UK Singles (OCC)[52] 7 US Billboard Hot 100[53] 1 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[54] 1 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[55] 21 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[56] 2

Year-end charts Chart (2016) Position Australia (ARIA)[57] 38 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[58] 43 Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[59] 42 Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia)[60] 84 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[61] 16 Denmark (Tracklisten)[62] 47 France (SNEP)[63] 15 Germany (Official German Charts)[64] 32 Hungary (Dance Top 40)[65] 92 Hungary (Single Top 40)[66] 69 Italy (FIMI)[67] 59 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[68] 67 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[69] 35 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[70] 25 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[71] 34 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[72] 26 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[73] 36 US Billboard Hot 100[74] 6 US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[75] 1 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[76] 2 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[77] 8 Chart (2017) Position Hungary (Dance Top 40)[78] 86 Decade-end charts Chart (2010–2019) Position US Billboard Hot 100[79] 96 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[80] 39

Certifications

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Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[82]	2× Platinum	140,000
Belgium (BEA)[83]	Platinum	30,000^*
France (SNEP)[84]	Diamond	400,000
Germany (BVMI)[85]	Platinum	400,000
Italy (FIMI)[86]	2× Platinum	100,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[87]	Platinum	15,000^*
United Kingdom (BPI)[88]	Platinum	600,000
United States (RIAA)[89]	5× Platinum	1,524,000[19]
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 2016
• List of Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles in 2016

References

1. "Panda - Single". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved April 18, 2016.
2. "THE VIDEO FOR DESIIGNER's "PANDA" IS FINALLY HERE". Pigeons and Planes. May 11, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
3. Pitchfork Staff (December 12, 2016). "The 100 Best Songs of 2016". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
4. Peltz, Jonathan (April 12, 2016). "'Panda' Rapper Desiigner on Why His Mind Operates in a 'Crazy' Way and Working With Kanye West". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
5. "Interview: Desiigner Talks About the Success of "Panda" and Comparisons to Future". Complex. February 18, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
6. Richardson, Sam (March 25, 2016). "Rochdale mobile phone shop worker features on Kanye West's new album (but it didn't pay that well)". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
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8. "Desiigner Bought the "Panda" Beat for $200 Off YouTube - DJBooth Article".
9. "Did Designer Make A Hit Out Of a "Future Type Beat" YouTube Search? - DatWAV.com". April 24, 2016. Archived from the original on June 18, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
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41. "Desiigner Lebanese Chart Top 20 History". The Official Lebanese Top 20. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
42. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 24, 2016" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved June 11, 2016.
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46. "Portuguesecharts.com - Singles (Week 21)". Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
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67. "Classifiche "Top of the Music" 2016 FIMI-GfK: La musica italiana in vetta negli album e nei singoli digitali" (Click on Scarica allegato to download the zipped file containing the year-end chart PDF documents) (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
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81. "#PANDA @LifeOfDesiigner certifié SINGLE DIAMANT avec + de 35 millions Equivalent ventes #download + #streaming #Congrats". SNEP. November 29, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
82. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2016 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
83. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2016". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
84. "French single certifications – Desiigner – Panda" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
85. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Desiigner; 'Panda')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
86. "Italian single certifications – Desiigner – Panda" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select "2016" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Panda" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli online" under "Sezione".
87. "New Zealand single certifications – Desiigner – Panda". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
88. "British single certifications – Desiigner – Panda". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Panda in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
89. "American single certifications – Desiigner – Panda". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 1, 2017. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 

External links

• Audio on YouTube