"Industry Baby" is a song by American rappers

Lil Nas X Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), known by his stage name Lil Nas X ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his country rap single " Old Town Road", which first achieved viral popula ...

and

Jack Harlow Jackman Thomas Harlow (born March 13, 1998) is an American rapper from Louisville, Kentucky. He started his career in 2015 and released several EPs and mixtapes before he was signed to Don Cannon and DJ Drama's record label Generation Now in ...

, released on July 23, 2021, through

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

. The song features co-production by American rapper and record producer

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

and production duo

Take a Daytrip Take a Daytrip is an American record production and songwriting duo composed of Denzel Baptiste (born January 9, 1993) and David Biral (born February 22, 1993). They are best known for producing singles such as Sheck Wes' " Mo Bamba", Lil Nas ...

. It is the third single from Lil Nas X's debut studio album, '' Montero'' (2021), following up the international success of lead single "

Montero (Call Me by Your Name) "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" is a song by American rapper and singer Lil Nas X. First previewed in a Super Bowl LV commercial in February 2021, the song was released on March 26, 2021, through Columbia Records as the lead single and title ...

". The song debuted at number 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the week of August 7, 2021, and became Lil Nas X's third and Harlow's first number-one single on the chart on the week of October 23, 2021 after a massive gain in digital sales. On October 9, 2021, an extended version was released that features a short verse from Lil Nas X during the outro. The song received a nomination for Best Melodic Rap Performance at the

64th Annual Grammy Awards The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 3, 2022. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 2020, to September 30, ...

Background and release

In March 2021, Nike, Inc. filed a lawsuit against the art collective

MSCHF MSCHF (pronounced "mischief") is an American art collective based in Brooklyn, New York, United States. MSCHF has produced a wide range of artworks, ranging from browser plugins to sneakers, physical products, social media channels and AI generat ...

, who designed the

Satan Shoes Satan Shoes were a series of custom Nike Air Max 97 shoes, created in 2021 as a collaboration between musician Lil Nas X and MSCHF, an art collective. Their design and marketing gained controversy through prominent satanic imagery. Nike, Inc. s ...

as promotion for Lil Nas X's song, "

". The case was

settled A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...

in April, though on July 16, Lil Nas X posted a video on

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claiming that he had an upcoming

court hearing In law, a hearing is a proceeding before a court or other decision-making body or officer, such as a government agency or a legislative committee. Description A hearing is generally distinguished from a trial in that it is usually shorter and ...

regarding it on July 19. The date of this supposed court hearing, however, turned out to be the release date of the teaser for "Industry Baby" in the form of a skit parodying the lawsuit, with him ostensibly appearing on trial for the Satan Shoes, but quickly shifting focus towards his

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied wit ...

. The teaser was accompanied by a website. In late June, a demo version of the song with slightly different

instrumentals A backing track is an audio recording on audiotape, CD or a digital recording medium or a MIDI recording of synthesized instruments, sometimes of purely rhythmic accompaniment, often of a rhythm section or other accompaniment parts that live music ...

was leaked online. The demo version included no features. Ahead of the song's release, Lil Nas X shared a letter addressed to his 20-year-old self noting that the song is one "for us". Among other things, he writes of his stagnation during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, ostracization due to his sexuality, and staying strong in the face of adversity to witness his future success. Alongside the release of the song and music video on July 23, 2021, Lil Nas X also partnered with the non-profit organization The Bail Project through the ''Bail X Fund'', raising money with the goal of ending

cash bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countries, ...

in the United States in mind.

Composition

'' Clash'' described the song "as a bubbling piece of pop-edged rap". ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' described the song as an "expertly crafted rap anthem". The song is written in the key of E-flat minor with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

of 150 BPM with a

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note va ...

of 4/4 in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note val ...

, using a iv-V-i chord progression. It was originally planned to feature a guest appearance from

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accents ...

; however, Lil Nas X did not receive a response from her.

Accolades

Music videos

"Industry Baby (Prelude)"

The trailer video for "Industry Baby" was released on July 19, 2021 on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

. The story was written by

, and he also plays all the main roles in the video (judge, attorney, prosecutor, himself, as well as an audience member). The video is a fake "Nike vs. Lil Nas X" trial taking place in the Supreme Court, in reference to the Satan Shoes Court case. It starts with Lil Nas X's attorney saying that his client has "nothing to do with this", before the prosecution passes around one of the

while asking the singer about his sexuality. Lil Nas X starts to counter that his sexuality has nothing to do with the case, before admitting that he is gay. The judge then proceeds to sentence him to 5 years in Montero State Prison - a fictional prison named after the singer's real name, Montero Hill.

"Industry Baby"

The music video for the song "Industry Baby" was uploaded on July 23, 2021 on Lil Nas X's

channel through

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...

, and as of May 9, 2022, it had more than 341 million views (341,095,155). It was directed by Christian Breslauer and produced by Andrew Lerios, based on a story by Lil Nas X. Other credits include Luis Caraza as the video editor and Bryson Pintard as the art director. The video starred Lil Nas X,

, Colton Haynes as head of security and Vanessa Buchholz as a prison guard.

Jason Momoa Joseph Jason Namakaeha Momoa (; born August 1, 1979) is an American actor. He made his acting debut as Jason Ioane on the syndicated action drama series '' Baywatch: Hawaii'' (1999–2001), which was followed by portrayals of Ronon Dex on the S ...

lookalike Phil Brandt is also visible in the prison yard. The dancing was choreographed by Sean Bankhead. According to the video credits, it also incorporated 20 dancers, 9 "prison guards" and 29 "prisoners". The video starts with Lil Nas X being incarcerated in the Montero State Prison, 3 months after being sentenced in the prelude video. He is seen polishing his musical awards, walking around the prison and lifting weights in the courtyard, surrounded by the other inmates wearing bright pink uniforms. Jack Harlow brings a "Book of Montero" to Lil Nas X which contains a hammer, and the singer uses it to dig a tunnel in his cell wall. He manages to knock out the security guard, who is distracted by the

music video playing on his phone, and pushes a button to open all the prison cells. The video switches to Harlow, who walks calmly through the prison as all the inmates escape. The video ends with the inmates leaving the prison aboard a prison bus, driven by Harlow and with Lil Nas X sitting on its roof, the prison in flames behind them. The video pays homage to the 1994 film '' The Shawshank Redemption'' and the 1979 film '' Escape from Alcatraz''.

"Industry Baby (Uncensored Video)"

Five days later, on July 28, 2021, Lil Nas X trolled fans by releasing the "uncensored" version of his "Industry Baby" music video. The title refers to the censoring of the naked shower dancing scene from the original. This version starts the same as the original, but when the shower head is shown just before the dance starts, the video appears to buffer, showing a spinning circle. The video stays this way for the remaining duration of the music video, never actually showing the rest of the video or uncensoring the censored scene.

Track listings

*Digital download and streaming # "Industry Baby" – 3:32 *Digital download and streaming – 2.0 # "Industry Baby" – 3:32 # "Industry Baby" (Extended) – 3:47

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. *

vocals *

production, vocal production *Denzel Baptisterecording engineering *

production, horns * Nick Leeco-production, trombone * Roy Lenzorecording engineering * David Dickensonrecording assistant * Drew Sligerrecording assistant, miscellaneous producer * Raul Cubinaprogramming * Mervin Hernandezrecording assistant * Eric Laggmastering * Patrizio "Teezio" Pigliapocomixing * Ryan Svendsentrumpet * Blunt Action cover art

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2021 songs 2021 singles Lil Nas X songs Jack Harlow songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Columbia Records singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Songs about fame Songs written by Lil Nas X Songs written by Jack Harlow Songs written by Kanye West Song recordings produced by Kanye West Song recordings produced by Take a Daytrip