The Man (Aloe Blacc song)

"The Man"
Single by Aloe Blacc
from the album Lift Your Spirit
ReleasedJanuary 21, 2014
Recorded2013
Genre
Length
  • 4:16 (album version)
  • 3:29 (radio edit)
LabelInterscope
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Aloe Blacc singles chronology
"Wake Me Up"
(2013) 		"The Man"
(2014) 		"Here Today"
(2014)

"The Man" is a song by American singer Aloe Blacc. First included on his EP Wake Me Up, the song was later released as the second single from his third studio album, 2014's Lift Your Spirit, on Interscope Records. Blacc co-wrote the track with Sam Barsh, Daniel Seeff, and its producer DJ Khalil and Alex Finkin. Additionally, Elton John and Bernie Taupin are credited as songwriters as the song interpolates the melody and the lyric "you can tell everybody" from John's 1970 song "Your Song".[1]

"The Man" is Blacc's most successful single as a solo artist to date; it sold 2.5 million copies in the United States as of December 2014,[2] peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. Outside of the United States, "The Man" topped the charts in the United Kingdom, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and Sweden. On January 22, 2014, a remix of "The Man" featuring American rapper Kid Ink was released.

Music video

A lyric video to accompany the release of "The Man" was first released to YouTube on January 10, 2014.[3]

The song's official music video followed on March 3, 2014.[4] The video takes place in the 1960s and 1970s and gives tribute to figures and events significant to African American culture during that era.

Below is a list of tributes to people/events in the music video.

0:39 Marvin Gaye What's Going On album cover
0:39-0:54 Violence and racial injustice at the time
0:54-1:12 Civil Rights and Vietnam war protest
1:12-1:45 Louis Armstrong or Clifford Brown
1:45-2:25 Marvin Gaye
2:25-2:57 Muhammad Ali
2:57-3:05 Soul Train
3:19-3:37 Malcolm X
3:37-3:49 Martin Luther King Jr.
3:49---- Martin Luther King Jr. (continued until the end)
3:59---- Selma to Montgomery marches aka "Bloody Sunday"
4:18---- 1968 Olympics Black Power salute (back, right corner)

The song was featured in the end credits of the 2014 film Brick Mansions.

This song was also famously used in a video on TikTok that featured NBA player Patrick Beverley celebrating after defeating the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2022 NBA Play-In.

The song was featured in the end credits of the 2023 Netflix original stand-up comedy special Dave Chappelle: The Dreamer.

Commercials

In December 2013, "The Man" was used as the soundtrack for a series of Beats by Dre commercials promoting the company's "Hear What You Want" campaign, which featured several notable sports personalities, including NFL players Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks and Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers, NBA player Kevin Garnett of the Brooklyn Nets, and Chelsea FC football player Cesc Fabregas, wearing Beats headphones to block out the sound of heckling from disgruntled fans.[5]

The song was used extensively at the 2014 NFL draft, being played 108 times over the course of the three-day event.[6] MLB also used the song for its ads for the 2014 MLB All-Star Game. The ad shows different highlights and celebrations of possible All-Stars for 2014.

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[57] Platinum 70,000^
Germany (BVMI)[58] Gold 150,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[59] Gold 15,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[60] Gold 7,500*
Sweden (GLF)[61] 2× Platinum 80,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[62] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[63] Platinum 2,500,000[2]
Streaming
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[64] 2× Platinum 5,200,000†

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format Label
United States[65][66][67] January 21, 2014 Contemporary hit radio Interscope Records
Rhythmic contemporary radio
February 4, 2014 Urban adult contemporary radio
United Kingdom[68] March 28, 2014 Digital download
United States[69] June 10, 2014 Digital download (Draft Day mix)

References

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