"Make Her Say" is a song by American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

recording artist

Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ; formerly stylized as KiD CuDi), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Clevelan ...

, released as the second single from his debut album '' Man on the Moon: The End of Day'' (2009). The single was digitally released to

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

on June 9, 2009. It features fellow American rappers

Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

and

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

, the latter of whom also produced the song. The song is perhaps best known for its sample of the US number-one hit single " Poker Face", as performed by American singer

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

. The song received a nomination for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the

52nd Annual Grammy Awards The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares P ...

Background and lyrical content

"Make Her Say" is performed by

, and

. It was originally titled "I Poke Her Face", but was changed to make it more acceptable for radio. The song was written by all three artists, produced by West, and features scratches from DJ

A-Trak Alain Macklovitch (born March 30, 1982), known professionally as A-Trak, is a Canadian DJ, record producer, and record executive. He came to prominence in the late 2000s as an international club DJ and remix artist, known for incorporating highl ...

(of whom West is a fan) and producer

RedOne Nadir Khayat (, Latn, ar, Nādir Ḵayyāṭ; born 9 April 1972), also known as RedOne, is a Moroccan-Swedish record producer, record executive, singer and songwriter. He has worked in production for high-profile recording artists including La ...

are credited as co-writers, because an acoustic version of Gaga's song " Poker Face" from '' The Cherrytree Sessions'' EP is sampled throughout the song. Gaga voiced approval of the track, saying that West "had so much insight into what the song was about." Incidentally, just a few weeks later, the two revealed plans to tour together; however, the tour was later canceled. In addition to the Lady Gaga sample, the song also makes musical references to

T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...

's " Whatever You Like", Asher Roth's " I Love College", and

Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. Known for his work in both the screen and music industries, his accolades include an Academy Award, a Grammy Award ...

's " Blame It".

Music video

The music video for "Make Her Say" was directed by Nez Khammal and released on July 20, 2009. The video carries a minimal aesthetic, with scenes taking place in empty, wide-open spaces. Although Kid Cudi, Kanye West, and Common all appear in the video, they never attended a film shoot together. The music video utilizes a split screen effect to create the illusion that the three artists were all filmed in the same location. In reality, they had shot their individual scenes on opposite coasts of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

; Common and Kid Cudi were filmed in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

while Kanye was filmed in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The group had wanted Lady Gaga to be included in the video, but she was too busy to make the appearance. The video uses a shortened version of the song that cuts out the outro. The "Make Her Say" video is also the first music video to feature the hardware from

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...

's '' DJ Hero''.

Live performances

Kid Cudi performed the song solo during his set at the 2009 Bamboozle music festival. Kid Cudi also performed the song on June 13 in Chicago at The B96 Pepsi Summer Bash and in London at the 2009 O2 Wireless Festival. He also performed his verse of the song at Lollapalooza 2009 in Chicago, IL. He performed the song with Lady Gaga on her Monster Ball tour in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Track listing

Man on the Moon CD: The End of Day #"Make Her Say" - 3:36 Digital single #"Make Her Say" – 3:57 Promotional CD single #"Make Her Say" (Clean) – 3:58 #"Make Her Say" (Dirty) – 3:58 #"Make Her Say" (Instrumental) – 3:57 Promotional CD single 2nd Version #"Make Her Say" – 3:58 #"Make Her Say" (Instrumental) – 3:57 #"Make Her Say" (

Afrojack Nick Leonardus van de Wall (; born 9 September 1987), known professionally as Afrojack (stylized in all caps), is a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer. In 2007, he founded the record label Wall Recordings; his debut album ''Forget the World ( ...

Remix) – 4:20 #"Make Her Say" (Nadastrom 88 Dub) – 6:10 U.S. CD single #"Make Her Say" – 3:59 #"Day 'N' Night" – 3:42 #"Day 'N' Night" (Crookers Remix) – 4:41

Chart performance

In the

, "Make Her Say" debuted at number fifty-one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on June 18, 2009. That same week, it also entered the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

at number seventy-eight. The song entered the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart at number six for the issue date of July 4. The following week, it appeared on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart at number seventy-three.

Charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2009 songs 2009 singles Kid Cudi songs Kanye West songs Common (rapper) songs Song recordings produced by Kanye West Songs written by Kid Cudi Songs written by Kanye West GOOD Music singles Universal Motown Records singles Songs written by Lady Gaga Songs written by Common (rapper) Songs written by RedOne Dirty rap songs