Speed Me Up

Last updated

"Speed Me Up"
Wiz Khalifa - Speed Me Up.webp
Song by Wiz Khalifa, Ty Dolla Sign, Lil Yachty and Sueco the Child [1]
ReleasedJanuary 24, 2020 (2020-01-24)
Genre
Length3:34
Label Atlantic Records
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Take a Daytrip
Music video
"Speed Me Up" on YouTube

"Speed Me Up" is a song by American rappers Wiz Khalifa, Ty Dolla Sign, Lil Yachty, and Sueco the Child. Produced by Take a Daytrip, it was released by Atlantic Records on January 24, 2020 and featured on the soundtrack to the film Sonic the Hedgehog . The song was praised for its "catchy" chorus and "surprisingly chill groove", as well as its accompanying pixel art-based music video.

Contents

Background

"Speed Me Up" was released on January 24, 2020 by Atlantic Records, [1] and was produced by Take a Daytrip. [2] The song appears in the film Sonic the Hedgehog and was also released as a promotional track for it. [3] [4]

A demo of the song, titled "Keep Up", was recorded by American rapper Juice Wrld and uses the instrumental of "Speed Me Up". Another demo of the song contains an unused verse from Wiz Khalifa, and omits Suceo the Child. Both versions were leaked in August 2020. [5]

Reception

Reid McCarter of The A.V. Club described the song as being "catchy as hell" but also "littered with goofy references to the Sonic games". He wrote that its music video, "while incredibly dumb, is a cornucopia of hilarious imagery". [4] Napier Lopez of The Next Web wrote that the song had a "surprisingly chill groove", while also noting the recurring sounds of ring jingles and pixelated art present in the song's music video. [6] Emma Kent of Eurogamer also described the chorus as "surprisingly catchy". [7] Christopher Rosen of Vanity Fair wrote, "you won't need all the rings to make it through this one". Julia Alexander of The Verge praised the song's music video and its use of pixelation. [8] [9] Bryn Gelbart wrote that the song was "loaded with talent". [10] "Speed Me Up" received more than 15 million streams and 1.8 billion views overall as part of a TikTok challenge that promoted the song. [11]

Music video

The music video features clips of the film Sonic the Hedgehog , and 16-bit versions of the movie sets shown in the clips. [10] [4] It starts with Wiz Khalifa sitting on a couch playing Sonic the Hedgehog on a Sega Genesis. Sonic opens up a ring portal and Khalifa enters the game as a 16-bit version of himself. He joins Sonic in his adventures, running across Green Hills and picking up gold rings along the way. Lil Yachty, Ty Dolla Sign, and Sueco all join shortly thereafter as 16-bit versions of themselves. All five of them run through several landmarks and areas, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Wall of China, while also encountering and attacking Robotnik's weapons and drones. After one final clip from the film showing Sonic and Robotnik duelling on a street in Green Hills, the video ends with the four singers sitting on the couch playing the game from the start of the video, and then being whisked away by Sonic himself.

Lyrics

Khalifa and Lil Yachty include lyrical references to Sonic franchise characters Tails and Knuckles in their verses. [10] Ty Dolla Sign also mentions a few notable personalities in the song, including National Basketball Association (NBA) star LeBron James and American rappers Nipsey Hussle and Tay-K. [12]

All four singers performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! , with Ty Dolla Sign switching the lyrics in the original song that mention LeBron James to instead mention another NBA star, Kobe Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash two days after the song's release. [2] [13] [14]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Speed Me Up (From "Sonic the Hedgehog") - Single". Apple Music . Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Mahadevan, Tara (February 11, 2020). "Wiz Khalifa Performs "Speed Me Up" on 'Kimmel,' Drops New Mixtape 'It's Only Weed Bro'". Complex . Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  3. ↑ Zemler, Emily (February 11, 2020). "Watch Wiz Khalifa, Lil' Yachty, Ty Dolla $ign, Sueco the Child Perform 'Speed Me Up' on 'Kimmel'". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on December 14, 2024. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 McCarter, Reid (January 24, 2020). "Sonic gets far better music video movie tie-in than he deserves, courtesy of Wiz Khalifa and friends". The A.V. Club . Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Tails' Channel on Twitter: "An unreleased copy of #SonicMovie's soundtrack "Speed Me Up", performed by late rapper Juice WRLD, was apparently uncovered in a series of leaks published online. Take a listen. #SonicNews"". Twitter.com.
  6. ↑ Lopez, Napier (January 24, 2020). "Watch this Sonic movie-themed Wiz Khalifa music video you didn't know you needed". The Next Web . Archived from the original on December 14, 2024. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
  7. ↑ Kent, Emma (January 24, 2020). "The Sonic movie theme song is here, and it's by Wiz Khalifa". Eurogamer . Archived from the original on December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  8. ↑ Rosen, Christopher (January 24, 2020). "Wiz Khalifa and Friends Made a Sonic the Hedgehog Song That's…Good?". Vanity Fair . Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  9. ↑ Alexander, Julia (January 24, 2020). "Wiz Khalifa made a Sonic music video, and it's pure nonsensical fun". The Verge . Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 Gelbart, Bryn (January 24, 2020). "Sonic the Hedgehog Movie Song 'Speed Me Up' Features Tails, Knuckles References". Game Rant . Valnet . Retrieved December 14, 2024.
  11. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 17, 2020). "'Sonic The Hedgehog' Breaks Video Game Pic Opening Record With $70M & Reps 4th-Best Presidents' Weekend Debut – Monday Update". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 19, 2025.
  12. ↑ Marie, Erika (January 24, 2020). "Wiz Khalifa, Ty Dolla $ign, Lil Yachty & Sueco the Child Link Up On "Speed Me Up" From "Sonic The Hedgehog" Soundtrack". HotNewHipHop . Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  13. ↑ Saponara, Michael (February 11, 2020). "Wiz Khalifa, Lil Yachty, Ty Dolla $ign & Sueco the Child Connect For 'Speed Me Up' Performance on 'Kimmel'". Billboard . Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  14. ↑ Droke, Carolyn (February 11, 2020). "Wiz Khalifa, Lil Yachty, And Ty Dolla Sign Perform 'Speed Me Up' On 'Kimmel'". Uproxx . Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
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