"Black and Yellow" is a song by American rapper
Wiz Khalifa from his third studio album, Rolling Papers. It was released on September 14, 2010, as the
lead single from the album. The song was written by Khalifa, along with
Stargate, who produced it. It was released as a
CD single in honor of
Record Store Day.[2] The song peaked at number one on the
Billboard Hot 100, becoming Wiz Khalifa's first number-one single in the US.[3]
The song is about growing up in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and also Khalifa's car, a yellow
Dodge Charger Hemi with black stripes.[4] He has stated that he got the car in those colors as a tribute to his hometown of Pittsburgh, whose official colors are black and gold, and its professional sports teams, all of whose colors are black and some variation of gold or yellow.[4] The song itself does not mention Pittsburgh or sports, although the song's
music video made the connection to Pittsburgh explicit, showing various iconic locations in the city, as well as apparel associated with the
football team the
Pittsburgh Steelers, the hockey team the
Pittsburgh Penguins, and the
baseball team the
Pittsburgh Pirates. In the year after it was released, "Black and Yellow" spawned dozens of remixes, parodies and remakes, both in the U.S. and internationally, many of them made in tribute to a local sports team.[5][6][7] At
Super Bowl XLV in 2011, which featured the Steelers competing against the
Green Bay Packers, the Steelers used "Black and Yellow" as their
fight song, while the Packers used a remix by
Lil Wayne called "Green and Yellow", marking the first time both teams at the Super Bowl had used the same song.[8] The song earned Khalifa his first
Grammy nominations, for
Best Rap Song and
Best Rap Performance at the
2012 ceremony.[9]
Chart performance
On the issue dated October 2, 2010, "Black and Yellow" debuted at No. 100 on the
Billboard Hot 100. It then dropped out the following week and re-entered at No. 64 on the issue dated October 30, 2010. On its eighteenth charting week, the song rose to No. 1 on the issue dated February 19, 2011, selling 198,000 digital copies that week.[10] "Black and Yellow" has sold 4,144,922 digital copies since release.[11]
In a 2012 commercial for the video game Madden NFL 13,
Paul Rudd sings the song while playing the game as the Pittsburgh Steelers against
Ray Lewis.[12]
On April 7, 2014, Jimmy Kimmel Live! held a skit called "American Sign Language Rap Battle." Khalifa performed the song as three ASL-certified interpreters competed.
The official remix, "Black & Yellow (G-Mix)" features fellow American rappers
Snoop Dogg,
Juicy J, and
T-Pain. Wiz Khalifa has a new verse on the track. The song leaked on December 12, 2010, but was officially released on December 16.[13] A video for the remix was shot and was released on January 8, 2011. A remix by just T-Pain, "Black & Yellow (T-Mix)", featured the verse that was later put on the official remix. An anime version fan remix was also made combining the song and Hidamari Sketch's opening music, "Sketch Switch".
Many remakes have been made, mostly in tribute to other sports teams, referring to their respective pair of colors. Some of the notable remakes include:
"Purp & Yellow" by
The Game,
Snoop Dogg, and
YG, representing the
Los Angeles Lakers.[3] This version also had a remix produced by
DJ Skee, with a
rock-instrumented backing track; a music video for the DJ Skee remix featured the artists as well as members of the Lakers.[16] An extended mix was released the next day, also featuring
Kendrick Lamar, Joe Moses and Thurzday.
"Rossonero (Red and Black)" by Denny La Home feat.
Jake La Furia – Italian version performed by two Italian rappers. The colors refer to Italian football club
AC Milan.
"Eff Australia" by
Rucka Rucka Ali – an anti-Australian song parody to the tune of the original.
"Black
Camaro" by
T-Pain,
Fabolous,
Maino and
Young Jeezy representing the return of the Camaro in 7 years for the 2010 Fifth Generation Camaro.
"Byalo, Zeleno i Cherveno (White, Green, and Red)" by
Big Sha ft. Sarafa, Xplicit, Konsa representing the
Flag of Bulgaria. In 2012, the song caused nationwide controversy culminating in a government lawsuit against the artist, subsequently dropped in 2013.[26][27]
In addition, a number of
freestyle versions have been released, of artists rapping over "Black and Yellow"'s instrumental track, without any overt reference to the song or to sports teams. These include versions by
Crooked I (who included a chorus of "packing metal"),
Donnis,
Young Jeezy,
Tyga, Novi Novak, and Layzie Bone and Flesh-n-Bone of
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.[18]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201112 into search. Retrieved 2018-11-09.