"Black and Yellow" is a song by American rapperWiz Khalifa from his third studio album,Rolling Papers. It was released on September 14, 2010, as thelead single from the album. The song was written by Khalifa, along withStargate, who produced it. It was released as aCD single in honor ofRecord Store Day.[2] The song peaked at number one on theBillboard Hot 100, becoming Wiz Khalifa's first number-one single in the US.[3]
The song is about growing up inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and also Khalifa's car, a yellowDodge Challenger 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'smusic video made the connection to Pittsburgh explicit, showing various iconic locations in the city, as well as apparel associated with thefootball team thePittsburgh Steelers, the hockey team thePittsburgh Penguins, and thebaseball team thePittsburgh 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] AtSuper Bowl XLV in 2011, which featured the Steelers competing against theGreen Bay Packers, the Steelers used "Black and Yellow" as theirfight song, while the Packers used a remix byLil 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 firstGrammy nominations, forBest Rap Song andBest Rap Performance at the2012 ceremony.[9]
On the issue dated October 2, 2010, "Black and Yellow" debuted at No. 100 on theBillboard 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 gameMadden NFL 13,Paul Rudd sings the song while playing the game as the Pittsburgh Steelers againstRay 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 rappersSnoop Dogg andJuicy J, and singerT-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][14][15] A video for the remix was shot and was released on January 8, 2011.[16] 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 andHidamari Sketch's opening music, "Sketch Switch". A remix created forMalaysia national football team titled "Harimau Malaya" (Malayan tiger) was performed by AUB featuring Mr. Dan and MC Syze contains some of the original song lyrics with major change to adapt with Malaysia.
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" byThe Game, Snoop Dogg, andYG, representing theLos Angeles Lakers.[3] This version also had a remix produced byDJ Skee, with arock-instrumented backing track; a music video for the DJ Skee remix featured the artists as well as members of the Lakers.[19] An extended mix was released the next day, also featuringKendrick 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 clubAC Milan.
"Eff Australia" byRucka Rucka Ali – an anti-Australian song parody to the tune of the original.
"BlackCamaro" by T-Pain, Fabolous, Maino andYoung Jeezy representing the return of the Camaro in 7 years for the 2010 Fifth Generation Camaro.
"Byalo, Zeleno i Cherveno (White, Green, and Red)" byBig Sha ft. Sarafa, Xplicit, Konsa representing theFlag of Bulgaria. In 2012, the song caused nationwide controversy culminating in a government lawsuit against the artist, subsequently dropped in 2013.[29][30]
"Red and Yellow" by IRV DA PHENOM – a parody to the tune of the original. It was used in the "Best Friends Day" promotional of the 2024Marvel Cinematic Universe filmDeadpool & Wolverine.
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. † Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 12. týden 2011 in the date selector. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
