"Strange Clouds" is a song by American rapper

B.o.B Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. (born November 15, 1988), known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons was signed to Jim Jonsin's Rebel Rock Entertainment imprint in 2006. Two years later ...

featuring fellow American rapper

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining ...

. Produced by

Dr. Luke Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American record producer and songwriter. His professional music career began in the late-night television sketch comedy ...

and Cirkut, the song was announced by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most ...

to be released on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

on September 27, 2011, Wayne's 29th birthday. The song serves as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release str ...

from his second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

of the same name. In its first week, it sold 197,000 digital copies, debuting at #7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song has sold over 1.3 million digital copies worldwide.

Background

Before the song's release B.o.B. performed the song at

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety ...

on three occasions. He debuted the song at

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

in late August 2011, then performed the track again in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, Yonkers, and Rochester. At the 2020 census, the city's ...

on September 13, 2011 and on September 20, 2011, at Tennessee Tech University. On September 23, 2011, B.o.B released a trailer through his official website, depicting him in the studio playing the song. The song was written by Bobby Ray Simmons Jr., Dwayne Carter, Lukasz Gottwald and Henry Walter and was produced by

and

Cirkut Henry Russell Walter (born April 23, 1986), known professionally as Cirkut, is a Canadian record producer and songwriter. He has co-produced and co-written for Dr. Luke, Katy Perry, Becky G, Ava Max, Nicki Minaj, R. City, The Weeknd, Kesha, Cia ...

. It contains elements of

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...

and electro-hop. The official cover art for the single was released on September 26, 2011, on B.o.B's official website. The cover depicts an open grassy landscape on the bottom portion of the cover and a large open sky with a central mystical entity that resembles a

nebula A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming region ...

centered in the sky above. B.o.B included the song on his eighth

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

, ''E.P.I.C (Every Play Is Crucial)''.

Critical reception

Caryn Ganz of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its cov ...

'' gave the song three out of five stars, saying that "Wayne drops a wink-nudge verse about getting blitzed, but it’s B.o.B who lights up with a charming, tenacious flow."

Remix

The official

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

to "Strange Clouds" was released 12 January 2012 and features fellow Atlanta rappers T.I. and

Young Jeezy Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. Signing to Def Jam Recordings in 2004, his major label debut, '' Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101'', was released the followin ...

. The remix maintains the original production from Dr. Luke, however B.o.B performs a new verse and a slightly modified chorus. It was mentioned on February 6, 2012 by American rapper

Tech N9ne Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971), better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced "tech nine"), is an American rapper. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold over two ...

through his official blog and a tweet reply to a fan on his

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, an ...

account, that he was originally included in the remix. It was later confirmed on April 5, 2012 by B.o.B through a tweet reply to a fan on his Twitter account.

Remix video

The official music video for the remix to "Strange Clouds" was released on February 1, 2012. The video, directed by 1st Impressions, premiered on B.o.B's

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 most vis ...

page on January 31, 2012.

Chart performance

On the week of October 10, 2011 the song debuted at number seven on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 making it the "Hot Shot Debut" of the week. In the first week of the song's release it sold 197,000 digital copies debuting at number three on the U.S.

Hot Digital Songs The Digital Songs or Digital Song Sales chart (previously named Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally start ...

. "Strange Clouds" marks his best debut sales week for a single, previously held by the 137,000 launch of "

Airplanes An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectr ...

" on May 1, 2010. As of February 9, 2012, "Strange Clouds" has been certified platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2011 songs 2011 singles B.o.B songs Songs written by Lil Wayne Songs written by B.o.B Lil Wayne songs Songs about cannabis Song recordings produced by Dr. Luke Songs written by Dr. Luke Grand Hustle Records singles Atlantic Records singles Song recordings produced by Cirkut (record producer) Dubstep songs