Mo Bamba (song)

"Mo Bamba" is a single by American rapper Sheck Wes. It was released on June 16, 2017, by Cactus Jack Records, GOOD Music and Interscope Records.[1] It serves as a single from his debut studio album, Mudboy. The song was produced by 16yrold and record production duo Take a Daytrip. The song was a sleeper hit, going viral in mid-2018, approximately a year after its release.

"Mo Bamba"
Single by Sheck Wes
from the album Mudboy
Released	June 16, 2017
Recorded	2017
Genre	Trap hardcore hip hop
Length	3:01 (single version) 3:04 (album version)
Label	Cactus Jack GOOD Interscope
Songwriter(s)	Khadimou Fall Jerry Cruz Denzel Baptise David Biral
Producer(s)	16yrold Take a Daytrip
Sheck Wes singles chronology
"Live SheckWes Die SheckWes" (2017) "Mo Bamba" (2017) "Do That" (2018)
Music video
"Mo Bamba" on YouTube

Background

The song is named after then Texas Longhorns and now Orlando Magic player Mohamed Bamba, who grew up with Sheck Wes in his Harlem, New York neighborhood. The two spent some of their childhoods together.[2]

Producers 16yrold and Take a Daytrip consisting of Denzel Baptise and David Biral, who had met online, collaborated on the track's beat and composition.[3] 16yrold invited Wes to record in the studio with them.[4] Wes recorded the majority of the song in one take,[3][5] with additional ad-libs recorded afterwards.[5]

Baptise of Take a Daytrip looped the beat as Wes recorded his vocals. The beat cutting off at the 1:38 minute mark of the song was the result of the laptop used to record Wes’ vocals freezing. This caused concern among the producers who feared that the song would be ruined because the entire song up until that point had been recorded in one take without any issues. At the 1:40 minute mark of the song, Ali can be heard in the background saying "woah".[4] Wes shouting out, "Oh! Fuck! Shit! Bitch!", was his actual reaction to the beat freezing by accident. Shortly after, the beat unfroze as Wes proceeded to record a new verse on the spot.[4][5]

Music video

The song's music video was released on January 30, 2018 via YouTube and was directed by White Trash Tyler, Nick Walker and Wes himself. It is a music video in black and white and finds Wes on a basketball court.[6]

Personnel

Credits adapted from The New York Times.[3]

• Sheck Wes – vocals
• 16yrold – production
• Take a Daytrip – production, recording, mixing, mastering

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2018–19) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[7] 29 Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[8] 22 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[9] 5 Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[10] 69 France (SNEP)[11] 147 Greece International Digital Singles (IFPI)[12] 8 Ireland (IRMA)[13] 25 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] 87 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] 16 Portugal (AFP)[16] 34 Scotland (OCC)[17] 87 Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[18] 54 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[19] 68 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 56 UK Singles (OCC)[21] 26 UK R&B (OCC)[22] 10 US Billboard Hot 100[23] 6 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[24] 2 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[25] 10

Year-end charts Chart (2018) Position US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[26] 59 Chart (2019) Position Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[27] 33 Portugal (AFP)[28] 158 US Billboard Hot 100[29] 49 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[30] 26 US Rolling Stone Top 100[31] 80

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[32]	3× Platinum	240,000
France (SNEP)[33]	Gold	100,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[34]	Gold	15,000
Portugal (AFP)[35]	Gold	5,000
United States (RIAA)[36]	5× Platinum	5,000,000
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Mo Bamba – Single by Sheck Wes on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
2. "Sheck Wes: Here's Why I Named My Hit Song After A Hoops Phenom!". TMZ.com. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
3. Coscarelli, Joe (2018-09-04). "The Story of 'Mo Bamba': How a SoundCloud Rap Track Goes Viral". The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
4. "The Making of Sheck Wes' "Mo Bamba" With Take A Daytrip & 16yrold". Genius. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
5. "The Amazing Story Behind Sheck Wes' "Bitch!" Ad-Lib on "Mo Bamba"". DJBOOTH. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
6. "Sheck Wes Turns Up In "Mo Bamba" Video". XXL. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
7. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
8. "Ultratop.be – Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
9. "Canadian Hot 100: December 8, 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
10. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 20193 into search. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
11. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles (téléchargement + streaming) – SNEP (Week 3, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
12. "Official IFPI Charts – Digital Singles Chart (International) – Week: 47/2018". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
13. "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
15. "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. December 3, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
16. "Portuguesecharts.com – Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
17. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
18. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201848 into search. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
19. "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
20. "Swisscharts.com – Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
21. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
22. "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
23. Trust, Gary (December 3, 2018). "Travis Scott Scores First Billboard Hot 100 Leader: 'What's More 'Sicko Mode' Than Going No. 1?!'". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
24. "Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs: December 8, 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
25. "Rhythmic Songs: January 12, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
26. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
27. "Canadian Hot 100 – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
28. "Top AFP - Audiogest - Top 3000 Singles + EPs Digitais" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
29. "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
30. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
31. "Top 100 Songs of 2019". Rolling Stone. January 10, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
32. "Canadian single certifications – Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba". Music Canada.
33. "French single certifications – Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
34. "New Zealand single certifications – Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
35. "Portuguese single certifications – Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
36. "American single certifications – Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 5, 2018. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH.