"Blow That Smoke" is a song by American

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

group

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music and DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. They were founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after three years in 2011. He was the ...

featuring Swedish singer

Tove Lo Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson (born 29 October 1987), known professionally as Tove Lo (), is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She is known for her raw, grunge-influenced take on pop music. Referring to her autobiographical lyrics, ''Out (magazine), O ...

, released on October 17, 2018, as the seventh and final single from

Major Lazer Essentials ''Major Lazer Essentials'' is a compilation album released by American electronic dance music trio Major Lazer. It was initially released on October 19, 2018, through the groups record label Mad Decent Records. It includes the singles " Cold Wat ...

, released two days later. It was premiered on

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through pr ...

's show on

Beats 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), ...

. It marks the first collaboration between the group and Lo.

Composition

"Blow That Smoke" is a tropical

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

and

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

song rooted in

Afropop African popular music (also styled Afropop, Afro-pop, Afro pop or African pop) can be defined as any African music, regardless of genre, that uses Western pop musical instruments, such as the guitar, piano, trumpet, etc.Olabode, O. (2023, J ...

with elements of

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

and

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ) is a modern style of popular music, popular and electronic music that originated in Panamanian reggaetón, Panama during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puert ...

. Tove Lo said she and the group "had a few sessions and tried to find more days together, but we're never in the same place long enough to actually make it work", so she sent Diplo her vocals for a song, which he liked and put to a track. Lo told Zane Lowe that she later heard the finished version of the song, which had been sped up about 10 BPM from what was a "very slow, moody song to begin with".

Critical reception

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 ...

''s Marina Pedrosa called the song a "tropical dance anthem" as well as an "electropop tune" containing a "sultry beat with a dash of reggaeton" that Lo's "angelic voice" sings lyrics like "I got the keys to heaven now/Babes all around and they got my mind spinning" over. 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 ...

'' positively contrasted the song with Lo's solo material, noting that on "Blow That Smoke" it sounds like she is having fun. Wass also stated that the song "sounds like a hit" and said Lo "coos over a mellow, island-inspired beat". Writing for ''

Dancing Astronaut Dancing Astronaut is an American media platform founded in 2009 that primarily covers the electronic dance music industry. The website covers concerts and festivals, reports on entertainment news, reviews music, and publishes original content syn ...

'', Chris Stack named it a continuation of Major Lazer's recent output "celebrating their

Afrobeat Afrobeat (also known as Afrofunk) is a West African music genre, fusing influences from Nigerian (such as Yoruba) and Ghanaian (such as highlife) music, with American funk, jazz, and soul influences. With a focus on chanted vocals, complex i ...

roots" and also judged it had a "sultry island beat". Patrick Doyle 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. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' felt that the song had "

roots" as well as being a "bouncey stomper with a West African guitar riff and heavy groove". Winston Cook-Wilson of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' named it a "Caribbean-flavored track that fits with Major Lazer's usual stylistic M.O. more closely than Tove Lo's usual, more acerbic sensibility". Jael Goldfine of ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'' said it "might just be the lowest-key song either artist has ever made".

Promotion

Both Lo and Major Lazer announced on social media that they would be releasing a collaboration in the same week, with Lo calling it a "sweet surprise" and sharing a snippet of the track.

Charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2018 singles 2018 songs Major Lazer songs Tove Lo songs Song recordings produced by Diplo Songs written by Diplo Songs written by Ludvig Söderberg Songs written by Tove Lo Songs written by Jr Blender Songs written by Jakob Jerlström Songs written by Sibel Redžep