"Bed Peace" is a song by American recording artist

Jhené Aiko Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo (; born March 16, 1988) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer and rapper. Aiko embarked on her musical career in 2002, as a backing vocalist and music video performer for the R&B group B2K. She was signed by the ...

, taken from her debut EP, ''

Sail Out ''Sail Out'' is the debut extended play (EP) by American recording artist Jhené Aiko, released on November 12, 2013 through Def Jam Recordings. It was Aiko's first release under the label after leaving her contract with Sony Music in 2003. Afte ...

'' (2013). The song was first premiered in July 2013 during a performance for Rap-Up Sessions, "Bed Peace" was later released as the EP's

lead single A lead single (or first 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. A similar term, "debut ...

on September 17, 2013, through ARTium record and

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

. The song was produced by frequent collaborator Fisticuffs and features a guest appearance from American rapper

Childish Gambino Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his musical stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American actor, comedian, musician, and filmmaker. While he studied at New York University and after working in Derrick ...

, who co-wrote the song along with Aiko. Bed Peace is a mid tempo minimalist R&B song, with lyrics revolving around smoking marijuana and having sex, as she describes her ideal day. Upon its release, Bed Peace was met with generally positive reviews from music critics; whom praised Aiko's vocals and compared the song to the work of

Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton ( ; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer, actress, dancer, and model. Known as the " Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop", she is credited with helping to redefine contemporary R&B, p ...

and

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. She was discovered by record producer Jazze Pha in the early 2000s, and rose to prominence with her debut studio album, ''Goodies ...

. Commercially the song did not fare well, making no appearances on major charts but did chart at number one on the US ''

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 advertis ...

Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles 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 po ...

. The cover artwork and music video for "Bed Peace", pay homage to and feature many references to

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

Bed-Ins for Peace A bed-in is a nonviolent protest against wars, initiated by Yoko Ono and her husband John Lennon during a two week period in Amsterdam and Montreal as an experimental test of new ways to promote peace. As the Vietnam War raged in 1969, artists On ...

protest against the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. The song's accompanying music video was released on October 28, 2013, and was directed by longtime collaborator Topshelf, the song's video was met with positive reviews from critics. The song was further promoted by various live performances including at the Live Byte series and BBC Radio 1's Future Festival.

Background

It was revealed in 2012 that Aiko's debut EP would feature production from producer Fisticuffs, who helped produce the majority of Aiko's 2011 mixtape Sailing Soul(s). ''Bed Peace'' was written by Aiko herself, along with her frequent collaborators Mac Robinson and Brian Warfield while the latter two handled the song's production under their production name Fisticuffs. During the writing and recording of ''Bed Peace'' Aiko purposely left a verse free, as she felt a feature was necessary. When looking for a feature she had the idea to find her "John Lennon" and began to send out requests to other artists, but a lot of the musicians were busy or had overlapping schedules. During an interview Aiko commented on the song's recording process and the choice to include Gambino;

"What ended up happening was, I was performing with Big Sean on Jimmy Kimmel and my publisher took me out to eat afterward. Childish Gambino came because he’s friends with one of my brother’s friends. That’s where we met, and we just talked and clicked. I really know him from his acting, from Community, and I knew that he rapped, but I never really listened and then, of course, I did my homework and I was like ‘You’re dope.’ We sent him the song maybe the next day, and he sent it back within the same day and he was the only person who did that—the only one that was excited about it. I told him my idea about John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and really just creating, like ‘You have to know that this means you’re my John Lennon now’ and he was down. He’s really cool. We’re good friends."

On July 12, 2013,

premiered an acoustic version of "Bed Peace" during a performance for ''

Rap-Up ''Rap-Up'' is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on the ...

'' Sessions. "Bed Peace" was released as the

from her debut EP ''

'' on September 17, 2013. The source of inspiration for Bed Peace's artwork are the

Bed-In A bed-in is a nonviolent protest against wars, initiated by Yoko Ono and her husband John Lennon during a two week period in Amsterdam and Montreal as an experimental test of new ways to promote peace. As the Vietnam War raged in 1969, artists On ...

s for Peace protest against the

and

Composition

''Bed Peace'' is a minimalist R&B song.B. Patrick, Ryan (December 9, 2013)
Jhené Aiko Sail Out
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

''. Retrieved December 14, 2013. ''Bed Peace'' is built over a "laid-back, mid tempo" production and contains a "breezy beat." The song contains a "soft melody" with Aiko "playfully singing", followed by a verse from Childish Gambino, which Edwin Ortiz of Complex magazine described as "calming." According to Rap-Up magazine the song has a "laidback vibe" which Aiko herself described as "It’s a very summer, feel-good type of song." Mike Wass of

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolator or Idolater may also refer to: * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), a 2005 album by Blood Stain Child * ''Idolator'', a 1986 album by Ole Evenrud * "Idolater", a ...

described the song as a "dreamy alt-soul" song, and noted Aiko's vocals on the track as being "silky smooth" and "jazz-tinged." The song's lyrics feature Aiko singing about smoking

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

and having sex, as she describes her ideal day. Commenting on the song's lyrics BJ of

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. History ''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...

stated the song's lyrics are "simplistic" and Aiko is clear on her "demands", with the concept being introduced with lyrics including; "You show up right away/ We make love then and then we fuck/ And then you’d give me my space."

Reception

Upon its release, Bed Peace was met with generally positive reviews from

music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...

s. Ryan B. Patrick of ''

'' praised the song and commended Aiko's vocals and she "breezes" over the "minimalist" track, Patrick continued to compare the song to the work of American R&B singer

and the late singer

. Jordan Sargent of

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...

also praised the song noting the song's lyrical content and Aiko's "fixation with weed'" Sargent continued to praise Aiko's use of intoxication as a metaphor. Edwin Ortiz of Complex magazine praised the single, and commended Aiko's choice to include

as a feature, Ortiz also praised the song's melody and playful lyrics. A reviewer at Huffington Post praised the song particularly its lyrical content, stating that this song is "her take on modern day love, in her unique style, the track is a concoction of heart filled and sensual yet sex driven, drug fuelled and passionate." David Jeffries of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

praised Aiko's "twist" on the work of Lennon calling it a "cheeky twist" and praised the song for being "light-stepping," Jeffries continued to praise the inclusion of rapper Gambino. Commercially the song did not fare well, making no appearances on major charts however Bed Peace did chart at number one on the US '

an extension of the US

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.

Music video

The song's accompanying music video was released on October 28, 2013, the video was directed by Topshelf who had previously working with Aiko on a number of videos including "Stranger", "My Mine" and "3:16AM". The song's video was premiered by American fashion magazine '' V''. During an interview Aiko spoke on the video's influence and her choice to reference Lennon and Ono;

"I am a fan of anything that has to do with peace because I grew up in LA where there is not always a lot of peace, except by the beach. When I became a teenager, I started reading about things like Buddhism, which made me find inner peace. John Lennon was like a spokesperson for world peace, so I just fell in love with him and Yoko’s relationship. They were always in pictures together, and you could just feel the love. That was something I really admired, because people are so afraid to admit when they’re in love with someone.

The music video pays homage to John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Bed-Ins for Peace protest, and the artists use sun-filled scenery of a beautiful morning and 1970s feel, in order to do that. The two artists are dressed in all-white pajamas, as they lay in the bed of a high-rise

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, ...

apartment performing their respective parts of the song. The song breaks multiple times in the video as Aiko answers questions from a reporter who is interviewing her. The video also features many comparisons to the videos of Lennon and Ono's Bed-In protests. In a later interview with ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

'', Aiko stated that her and Gambino were high on marijuana, using a portable vaporizer during the video's filming. Mike Wass of

praised the song's accompanying video, calling the video an "unexpectedly good fit" to its accompanying track. A reviewer at Rap-Up magazine praised the video for its "vintage" style, continuing to praise the influence and Aiko's idea to pay "homage" to John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Bed-Ins for Peace.

Live performances

On November 21, 2013, Jhené Aiko performed the song for The BoomBox's and

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

' Live Byte series. On January 21, 2014, Aiko performed "Bed Peace", " From Time" and "The Worst" during

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

's Future Festival.

Track listing

;Digital download * Bed Peace featuring Childish Gambino - 4:16

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

. *Jhené Aiko - primary artist, songwriting *Childish Gambino - featured artist, songwriting * Fisticuffs - production

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2013 songs 2013 singles Cultural depictions of John Lennon Cultural depictions of Yoko Ono Donald Glover songs Def Jam Recordings singles Jhené Aiko songs Songs about cannabis Songs written by Donald Glover Songs written by Jhené Aiko