"Super Rich Kids" is an R&B and neo soul ballad[10] set in common time and a slow half-time groove tempo of 60 beats per minute. The key the song was composed in is E♭major,with a chord progression of E♭maj9−A♭13sus4−D♭maj9−B♭9sus4−B♭7#5b9 followed throughout the song. The song includes a piano part that references the thumping piano line of Elton John's 1973 song "Bennie and the Jets",[11][12] and horns and syntharpeggios are also present.[13] According to The Quietus,"a stomping piano and the steady smack of kickdrum anchors the ghostly crowd noise from a vast débutantes ball,as the synths quiver both nauseously and as subtly as candle-smoke in a floor draft."[14]
Lyrics
"Super Rich Kids" addresses young,wealthy/rich characters' ennui and fears of the financial crisis with dry humor.[11][12] The song's chorus takes its lyrics and melody from Mary J. Blige's "Real Love".[15] The track includes a verse from Earl Sweatshirt,which,according to Complex,is a reminder of Ocean as "OFWGKTA at the end of the day."[16]Paste magazine said that "Earl's low verses push Ocean way up into his vocal range."[17]
According to Sound and Motion magazine,the track
"is exactly as the title suggests; Frank’s view on the children of parents who have inherited massive trust funds without the grasp of what a huge responsibility it is and the good they could do. From expensive cars to a different woman every night, the alleged social elite stumble through a charmed existence where the real world is buffered from them and then they breed a new generation with the same attitude. The track also contains brief glimpses into what he perceives as an alternative view of loneliness and isolation where all the super rich want is a love that’s not about money or anything material."[18]
The single received acclaim from critics. Sound and Motion magazine said that it "could easily be listened to repeatedly or just set on in the background for an evening's entertainment."[18]Muso's Guide said the song "could be viewed as one of those tail end singles from a brilliant album that doesn't stand strong on its own (Can anyone remember 'Until The End of Time' from FutureSex/LoveSounds or 'Broken-Hearted Girl' from I Am... Sasha Fierce?). Ocean, proving his talent as a songwriter, and a jaded voice for this frustrated introspective generation is able to find something profound from a superficial world."[19] The song became an Editor's Pick on DJBooth.net.[4]
Critical reactions of the song in reviews of Channel Orange were also positive. Time called the track a "stand out, tying together the album’s two themes of class and love."[22]Billboard, in a track-by-track review, said that "the steadiness of the beat is immediately familiar but wholly fresh – it's like Ocean snatched 'Benny and the Jets' and threw the composition down a trap door into another universe."[23]No Ripcord said that "it's so incongruous against the crass commercialism and consuming greed that pervades so much of popular culture that it's astonishing."[24]
Complex listed Earl Sweatshirt's appearance in the song number 15 on their "25 Best Guest Verses of 2012".[16]
In 2014, record label TufAmerica filled a copyright lawsuit against Vivendi and Universal Music Group for the sampling of Mary J. Blige's "Real Love" in "Super Rich Kids". This was because, according to the lawsuit, the sample included a sample of the Honey Drippers song "Impeach the President".[28]
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