"Panda" is a
hip hop and
trap song.[3][4] The hook was written about a white
BMW X6, a luxury CUV which he likens to the appearance of a
panda bear. The black X6 is compared to a phantom. "I'm just putting it in a greater way of how I say and the way I live."[5] Desiigner discovered the song's
beat on
YouTube, which was produced by up-and-coming
Rochdale-based[6] producer Menace.[7][8][9] Menace has stated the track takes influence from the UK
grime scene.[10]
Critical reception
Rolling Stone named "Panda" one of the 30 best songs of the first half of 2016, writing "The
Future-esque rapping and menacing
trap beat that underlies 'Panda''s ridiculous repetition were already making Internet waves, but a prominent sample on Kanye West's The Life of Pablo made Desiigner a fixture everywhere from car stereos to Vogue shoots."[11]Billboard ranked "Panda" at number 24 on their "100 Best Pop Songs of 2016" list: "Visions of a black-and-white BMW X6 sparked Desiigner's breakout joyride anthem 'Panda'. The
Brooklyn upstart's spazzy, high-octane bars may have required a
Genius.com lyric video to decipher, but the energy was so contagious that Kanye West had to tap the melodic G.O.O.D. Music MC's smash for his own
zeitgeist-capturing album."[12]Pitchfork listed "Panda" on their ranking of the 100 best songs of 2016 at number 56.[13]
Commercial performance
"Panda" debuted at number 96 on the US
Billboard Hot 100 for the chart issue dated March 12, 2016,[14] and reached the top five in its seventh week.[15] On its ninth week, "Panda" reached number one on the Hot 100 for the chart dated May 7, 2016, ending the nine-week reign of "
Work" by
Rihanna featuring
Drake. The feat ended a record-setting 41-week streak of non-Americans topping the chart. It stayed at number one for two weeks, until it was replaced by "
One Dance" by Drake featuring
Wizkid and
Kyla on the chart issue dated May 21, 2016.[16] Desiigner is the first rapper to crown the Hot 100 with a debut chart entry since
Iggy Azalea arrived with "
Fancy" (featuring
Charli XCX), which ruled for seven weeks beginning June 7, 2014.
At 18 years and 11 months old, Desiigner is the youngest artist to top the Hot 100 since
Lorde, who was 16 years and 11 months old when "
Royals" assumed the top spot (for nine weeks) on October 12, 2013.[16] The song spent seventeen weeks in the top ten of the Hot 100 before dropping out. It also reached number one on
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Among the Hot 100's component charts, "Panda" peaked at number 2 on
Digital Songs and 10 on
Radio Songs, and topped
Streaming Songs.[17][18] As of December 2016, it has sold 1,524,000 copies in the United States.[19] The song had the most on demand streams (audio and video combined) in the US in 2016 (791,000).[20]
A Spanish version was released by Cuban
Latin trap artist
Almighty on the Miami-based label Carbon Fiber Music.[23] Borrowing the original version's beat, it features
Farruko, owner of said label, while a subsequent remix adds
Daddy Yankee and
Cosculluela.[21] Additionally, fellow Latin trap artist
Anuel AA released a scathing
diss track towards Almighty, entitled "RIP Panda", after being taken down from the remix.[24]
Kanye West sampled the song for his song "Pt. 2" which appeared on his seventh studio album, The Life of Pablo (2016). In an interview with
Big Boy on June 3, 2016, Kanye West announced an official "15 minute" Panda remix, featuring verses from all GOOD Music artists.[25] However, as of 2022, the remix has not seen any release.
The song's official
music video was released on May 10, 2016, through the subscription-based digital music streaming platform
Tidal. The YouTube video came out on May 17 and has over half of a billion views as of 2023. The night time music video features an urban theme and close-ups of Desiigner himself, with a
cameo appearance by
Ye (formerly Kanye West).[2] Desiigner carjacks a stopped black
BMW X6 and cruises the streets; he then rides shotgun as he raps with Ye driving. At the end, he watches a white X6
doing donuts.