"Snack" is a song by American singer

Keke Palmer Lauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer ( ; born August 26, 1993) is an American actress, singer, and television personality. She has received numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards and nominations for a Daytime Emmy Award and a Screen Act ...

. It was released on July 10, 2020, through her label Big Bosses and Poetic Pen Music Group. Tasha Catour produced "Snack" and co-wrote it with Palmer, Che Olsen and Alexander Lloyd. An accompanying

lyric video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to promote the sale of m ...

was released on the same day of the song's release. It was released as the third single for her third

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(EP) '' Virgo Tendencies, Pt. 1''. "Snack" was praised by critics, partially for its sexual lyrics and instrumental. A music video, directed by Rosero McCoy, was released on July 15, 2020, through Palmer's official

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account.

Release and promotion

Palmer co-wrote "Snack" with its producer Tasha Catour and songwriter Che Olson. It was released on July 10, 2020, alongside an accompanying

. "Snack" was the follow-up to her previous singles "Sticky" and "Thick". Two weeks before the song's release, Palmer posted the single cover on her

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account and announced the song's release date. Many

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users and fans compared Palmer's look in the song's artwork cover to

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. Palmer posted a short clip of her in a swimming pool with half of the second verse of "Snack" playing on July 7, three days prior to the song's official release. Although Palmer promoted it as a "new single" on her social media, the song was originally released in 2018. Palmer performed the song on

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's new artist initiative series ''Primed'' in June 2018. Palmer performed "Snack" live for the first time on August 28, 2020 at the

2020 MTV Video Music Awards The 2020 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 30, 2020. Keke Palmer hosted the 37th annual ceremony, which was presented primarily from New York City, but with a virtual ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lady Gaga was the most award ...

Composition and lyrics

"Snack" is an

uptempo A variety of musical terms is encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special musical meanings ...

trap-influenced

urban pop Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary rad ...

and R&B song that lasts three minutes and 15-seconds. The song is written in the key of

G-flat major G-flat major is a major scale based on G♭ (musical note), G, consisting of the pitches G, A♭ (musical note), A, B♭ (musical note), B, C♭ (musical note), C, D♭ (musical note), D, E♭ (musical note), E, and F (musical note), F. Its key si ...

and is set in

common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...

with a moderate dance

groove Groove or Grooves may refer to: Music * Groove (music) * Groove (drumming) * The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s * The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station * Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station ...

with 160

beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

(BPM). Marquin Stanley of

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described "Snack" as an "upbeat

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- ...

and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

infused record" and praised the lyrics, describing them as "confident" and "sultry". Stanley also said that "Snack" was a "perfect addition" to a summer playlist. Ana Reis of Papelpop wrote that Palmer sings sexual lyrics, saying she wants to look like "a snack". Daniel Pacônio of Febre Teen described the song as "daring" and added that the song's instrumental and beats "will drive you crazy". Jazmin Williams of The Honey Pop! said the track opens with a "really fun beat". Williams also deemed the chorus as "really really catchy".

Critical reception

Upon its release, "Snack" received positive reviews from music critics. Brittany Burton of ''

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'' described "Snack" as an "impressive track". Meredith B. Kile‍ of ''

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'' described it as a "mid-summer bop about looking so good you feel delicious". Keithan Samuels of ''

Rated R&B ''Rated R&B'' is an independent online magazine based in the United States, which is dedicated and devoted to news, topics and almost all things related to rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, ...

'' described "Snack" as an "anthemic tune". Soul-Addict.com deemed the song "very effective and energetic". Bryant Lydell of ''The Top Tea'' wrote that Palmer "offers up catchy lyrics over a refreshing beat".

Music video

On July 15, 2020, Palmer posted a preview of the single's music video and announced its release via her

account. The official music video exclusively premiered on

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the next day. It was later uploaded to Palmer's

account. Rosero McCoy directed the single's music video while production was handled by Quenton Burdette and Daniel Button. The video begins with a '90s-inspired retro

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

effect with the title "KEKE" quickly appearing on it and then showing Palmer in a Giuseppe di Morabito-designed

double breasted A double-breasted garment is a coat, jacket, waistcoat, or dress with wide, overlapping front flaps which has on its front two symmetrical columns of buttons; by contrast, a single-breasted item has a narrow overlap and only one column of button ...

purple

blazer A blazer is a jacket worn as part of a smart casual or business casual look. Similar to a sport jacket, a blazer is not part of a formal suit, and the terms "sport coat" and "blazer" may be used interchangeably in daily life. A nautical bl ...

dress as the camera begins to close up on her, with the song title "SNACK" appearing soon after. Throughout the video, Palmer is shown in front of airbrushed background swearing

girly girl Girly girl is a term for a girl or woman who presents herself in a traditionally feminine way. This may include wearing pink, using make-up, using perfume, having long hair, having long nails, dressing in dresses, skirts, pantyhoses and heels, an ...

-styled outfits (one including an

airbrush An airbrush is a small, air-operated tool that atomizes and sprays various media, most often paint, but also ink, dye, and make-up. Spray painting developed from the airbrush and is considered to employ a type of airbrush. History Up unt ...

t-shirt) along with shimmery liquid-and-stick

eyeshadow Eye shadow (or eyeshadow) is a cosmetic applied primarily to the eyelids to attract attention to the wearer's eyes, making them stand out or look more attractive. Eye shadow can also be applied under the eyes, on the cheeks, or to brow bones. ...

and high-festive

asymmetrical Asymmetry is the absence of, or a violation of, symmetry (the property of an object being invariant to a transformation, such as reflection). Symmetry is an important property of both physical and abstract systems and it may be displayed in pre ...

hairstyles, which critics later assumed were inspired by those of the 1990s. A day after the music video was released, Palmer posted a video via her Instagram account of her backstage during the filming for the music video. She also captioned the clip with a "cheeky message" and asked fans their opinion on how she looks in the video. "Whew chiiiiiiiile!! THE DOLL IS HERE—What's ya favorite look from #SNACK video?? 🤩," she wrote.

Release history

References

External links

* {{Keke Palmer 2020 singles 2020 songs Keke Palmer songs Songs written by Tasha Catour Song recordings produced by Tasha Catour