Knockout (Lil Wayne song)
Encyclopedia
"Knockout" is a song by Lil Wayne
from his album Rebirth
. It features Nicki Minaj
rapping near the end of the song and singing the chorus. The song charted on the US Billboard Hot 100 due to strong digital sales with the albums release. This song revolves around Lil Wayne's personal relationships with a diverse group of women.
The song received generally negative reviews from critics, most of which stated that the song was better meant for other rock artists and Wayne does not have a place in the song. Most critics also gave Minaj a negative review in the song stating that the song went by too fast for her to deliver a worthy verse. The song debuted at forty-four on the Billboard Hot 100 due to strong digital sales along with the album's release date.
As of October 2010 the song sold 519,000 digital copies according to Nielsen SoundScan.
stated that the song "possesses a fair balance of rock influenced music, but not offensive to his core base." Consequence of Sound commented that Minaj did a passable job and called the song a "tween rock anthem". Planet Ill disagreed with Minaj's assistance on the track and stated "The former should have been left on the cutting room floor. 'Knockout' minus all of that Barbie talk is pretty enjoyable. The track is too fast for Minaj to inject all of her delivery quirks, so her verse is straight up with no chaser." Rolling Stone stated that the only reason the album was given a generous review is because of this track (along with others) although there is an overly heavy use of auto-tune. Entertainment Weekly
felt the song wasn't suited for Wayne stating "Wayne turns his efforts to blink-182-style pop-punk bounce ('Get a Life,' 'Knockout') and Prince-ly funk fervor ('I'll Die for You'), neither of which suits him much better." The New York Times
called the song a parody stating "The songs might have been better as parodies than as imitations, although 'Knockout' — a Coldplay
homage backing a raunchy lyric — comes close to being both."
weekend along with videos of other singles from the Rebirth album including "Da Da Da", "Runnin' " with Shanell, and "Get a Life". The entire video was shot in front of a green-screen.
The video features Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj living out a high school fantasy were Minaj plays Wayne's Barbie
love interest. During the chorus Minaj sings into the camera wearing a wig that is split in half of blonde hair and green hair with pink hair underneath in the back. Lil Wayne makes a wardrobe change during his second verse and during Minaj's verse they are both in a boxing arena with a large crowd performing. The video ends with both artists in the boxing ring with Wayne shouting the final lyrics. Birdman makes a cameo in the video around the end.
! Country
! Certifications
|-
| United States
| style="text-align:center;"|Gold
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
from his album Rebirth
Rebirth (Lil Wayne album)
Rebirth is the seventh studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released February 2, 2010, on Cash Money Records, Young Money Entertainment and Universal Motown. Originally set to be released in early 2009 before several delays, the album was produced primarily by Cool & Dre, DJ Infamous, DJ...
. It features Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...
rapping near the end of the song and singing the chorus. The song charted on the US Billboard Hot 100 due to strong digital sales with the albums release. This song revolves around Lil Wayne's personal relationships with a diverse group of women.
The song received generally negative reviews from critics, most of which stated that the song was better meant for other rock artists and Wayne does not have a place in the song. Most critics also gave Minaj a negative review in the song stating that the song went by too fast for her to deliver a worthy verse. The song debuted at forty-four on the Billboard Hot 100 due to strong digital sales along with the album's release date.
As of October 2010 the song sold 519,000 digital copies according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Reception
The song received mixed to generally negative reviews by critics. Behind the Hype gave the song a negative review, stating " 'Knockout' sounds like it's set to an old Blink-182 drumbeat and guitar riff, but without any of the fun. That’s a good analogy for the record as a whole." Culture Bully called it the worst track of the album, along with "The Price is Wrong", and added " 'Knockout' stands as one of the best examples as to why vocoderized pop punk should not exist." AllHipHopAllHipHop
AllHipHop.com is a hip hop news website. It was founded in 1998. At five million visitors a month, it is the world's most popular hip hop website. Essence magazine has dubbed it "the CNN of hip-hop". In 2006, AllHipHop won the Rising Stars Award from Black Enterprise magazine. In 2007, PC Magazine...
stated that the song "possesses a fair balance of rock influenced music, but not offensive to his core base." Consequence of Sound commented that Minaj did a passable job and called the song a "tween rock anthem". Planet Ill disagreed with Minaj's assistance on the track and stated "The former should have been left on the cutting room floor. 'Knockout' minus all of that Barbie talk is pretty enjoyable. The track is too fast for Minaj to inject all of her delivery quirks, so her verse is straight up with no chaser." Rolling Stone stated that the only reason the album was given a generous review is because of this track (along with others) although there is an overly heavy use of auto-tune. Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
felt the song wasn't suited for Wayne stating "Wayne turns his efforts to blink-182-style pop-punk bounce ('Get a Life,' 'Knockout') and Prince-ly funk fervor ('I'll Die for You'), neither of which suits him much better." The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called the song a parody stating "The songs might have been better as parodies than as imitations, although 'Knockout' — a Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
homage backing a raunchy lyric — comes close to being both."
Music video
The video was shot by director David Rousseau on February 6, 2010, where Lil Wayne spent 48 hours shooting a variety of music videos for multiple songs. A sneak peek of the video was shown on May 26, 2010. The video premiered on May 29 of Memorial DayMemorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
weekend along with videos of other singles from the Rebirth album including "Da Da Da", "Runnin' " with Shanell, and "Get a Life". The entire video was shot in front of a green-screen.
The video features Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj living out a high school fantasy were Minaj plays Wayne's Barbie
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration....
love interest. During the chorus Minaj sings into the camera wearing a wig that is split in half of blonde hair and green hair with pink hair underneath in the back. Lil Wayne makes a wardrobe change during his second verse and during Minaj's verse they are both in a boxing arena with a large crowd performing. The video ends with both artists in the boxing ring with Wayne shouting the final lyrics. Birdman makes a cameo in the video around the end.
Charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
44 |
Certifications
{| class="wikitable sortable"! Country
! Certifications
|-
| United States
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
| style="text-align:center;"|Gold