"Walk Em Down (Don't Kill Civilians)" | |
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Song by Metro Boomin and 21 Savage featuring Mustafa | |
from the album Heroes & Villains | |
Released | December 2, 2022 |
Genre | |
Length | 5:11 |
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Songwriter(s) |
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Music video | |
"Walk Em Down (Don't Kill Civilians)" on YouTube |
"Walk Em Down (Don't Kill Civilians)" is a song by American record producer Metro Boomin and Atlanta-based rapper 21 Savage featuring Canadian poet and singer Mustafa from the former's second studio album Heroes & Villains (2022). It was produced by Metro, Honorable C.N.O.T.E., Peter Lee Johnson, and Simon on the Moon.
The song contains audio from Gucci Mane's 2007 documentary Hood Affairs. Over "sinister"-sounding piano keys in his signature horrorcore style and an "icy, monotone delivery", [1] [2] 21 Savage lyrically depicts gun and street violence [2] [3] and his determination to retaliate against the opposition. [4] Midway through, the production shifts to a piano-backed, choir-lined instrumental, over which Mustafa sings about the trauma and turmoil that occurs as a result of the violence. [3] [5]
The song received generally positive reviews. Hamza Riaz of Mic Cheque considered it one of the "bone-chilling cuts" from Heroes & Villains, although also an example of which "When there is a new voice, they are shoehorned onto a disconnected strand of a track that would've benefited without it". [1] Wongo Okon of Uproxx commented that Metro Boomin "shines as a conductor" in the song. [4] Complex 's Peter A. Berry regarded the hook (performed by 21 Savage) as "simple, yet symbolic enough to be anthemic". [2] Slant Magazine 's Charles Lyons-Burt was favorable toward the song spotlighting a lesser-known artist (Mustafa), writing that through this approach, "the album might have felt a bit less redundant with 2018's Not All Heroes Wear Capes , which featured many of the same artists." [5]
A music video for the song was released 2 years and 1 day after the album was originally released, on December 3, 2024.
Chart (2022) | Peak position |
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Canada (Canadian Hot 100) [6] | 28 |
Global 200 ( Billboard ) [7] | 59 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [8] | 52 |
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard ) [9] | 19 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Canada (Music Canada) [10] | Gold | 40,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |