Surfin' (Kid Cudi song)

"Surfin'"
Single by Kid Cudi featuring Pharrell Williams
from the album Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin'
ReleasedSeptember 30, 2016 (2016-09-30)
Recorded2016
GenrePop rap
Length
  • 3:58 (single version)
  • 6:15 (album version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Pharrell Williams
Kid Cudi singles chronology
"Frequency"
(2016) 		"Surfin'"
(2016) 		"Leader of the Delinquents"
(2020)
Pharrell Williams singles chronology
"Safari"
(2016) 		"Surfin'"
(2016) 		"Heatstroke"
(2017)
Music video
"Surfin'" on YouTube

"Surfin'" is a song by American rapper Kid Cudi. It was released on September 30, 2016, as the lead single from his sixth studio album, Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin'. The song was written alongside Pharrell Williams, who also makes a vocal appearance on the extended outro of the album version of the song. The song was later included on Cudi’s first greatest hits album The Boy Who Flew to the Moon, Vol. 1 (2022).

Release and composition

The song was released alongside "Frequency", for download as dual singles on September 30, 2016.[1] "Surfin'" runs for a duration of three minutes and 58 seconds.[1] The album version of the song runs for a length of six minutes and 15 seconds. Vulture.com called Pharrell's production "sunny, upbeat electronic brass".[2] The song bears elements of African drums, with a styling of sea shanties. After five minutes of rapping between a chorus with A-A rhyme scheme, Cudi closes out the track and the album with 15 seconds of a capella yodeling.[3][4]

Music video

The music video for the song, directed by Cudi himself, premiered on October 31, 2016, via his Vevo.[5] The video features cameo appearances from King Chip, Jaden and Willow Smith, A$AP Nast and A$AP Rocky, and others.[6][7][8]

In other media

In 2017, "Surfin'" was featured in a television advertisement issued by Adidas.[9] The song was also featured in season three of HBO's series Ballers.[10] It was also featured in the 2017 video games NBA Live Mobile and NBA Live 18 The One. The song was also featured in the TV series Inhumans. The instrumental was also used in the TV series How to Get Away with Murder.

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[11] 77

References

  1. ^ a b "Surfin' - Single by Kid Cudi". iTunes. 30 September 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  2. ^ "Kid Cudi Couldn't Release His Album in Time, So Please Enjoy 'Surfin Featuring Pharrell Williams". October 2016.
  3. ^ "'Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin' Proves Kid Cudi Needs Real Friends". 20 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Twitter Reacts to Kid Cudi's "Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin" Album Release". HNHH. 16 December 2016.
  5. ^ channel.http://www.ew.com/article/2016/10/31/kid-cudi-surfin-music-video
  6. ^ Times, Music (1 November 2016). "Kid Cudi Dances With A$AP Rocky, Pharrell, Jaden Smith & More In Trippy 'Surfin' Video".
  7. ^ "Watch Kid Cudi Jam Out With His Crew in New "Surfin'" Video f/ Pharrell". Complex Networks.
  8. ^ "Kid Cudi – "Surfin'" Video (Feat. Jaden Smith, Willow Smith, & A$AP Rocky)". 31 October 2016.
  9. ^ "Adidas TV Commercial, 'Create Positivity' Featuring Joel Embiid, Song by Kid Cudi".
  10. ^ |"Ballers Season 3 Soundtrack". Cassius Life. 24 July 2017. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  11. ^ "Kid Cudi feat. Pharrell Williams – Surfin'". ARIA Top 50 Singles.