"Demeanor" is a song by American rapper Pop Smoke, featuring English-Albanian singer

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( , ; born ) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco-pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Grammy ...

, from the former's posthumous second studio album, ''

Faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

'' (2021). The song was written by the two artists alongside Daniel Mlzrahi, Michael Gomes, Dru Decaro, Sarah Hudson, and

Coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

, while the production was handled by Mantra. It was released to

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses ...

and

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

formats in the United States on July 20, 2021, as the second single from the album. A

disco-pop Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describes a ...

and

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...

track, it features a rhythm guitar, bassline, drums, funky

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 * ...

, and bounce, alongside rhythmic verses. On "Demeanor", Pop Smoke discusses suffering from poverty, while mentioning how women like how he acts and being heavily intoxicated. Lipa pays tribute to him in her verse. Several music critics criticized the lyrics and thought the song was not something Pop Smoke would make. Commercially, it reached number 86 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 62 on the ''Billboard'' Global 200. Outside of the United States, the song peaked within the top 50 of charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. A

Nabil Elderkin Nabil Elderkin is an American-born Australian film and music video director and photographer, who is of Iranian and American descent. He is mononymously credited as Nabil in his videos. Elderkin has directed videos for musical artists such as: ...

-directed

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

for "Demeanor" was released on July 29, 2021. The video features Pop Smoke as a ghost and being seen on a painting that comes to life and depicts different versions of him, as well as showing white doves flying around. Lipa wears a vintage corset-style lace-trimmed ballgown from

Jean Paul Gaultier Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 April 1952) is a French haute couture and prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an " enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs including cors ...

's Spring 1998 couture collection, which was inspired by

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child ...

and the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

, as she does different activities and dances throughout. Several critics complimented its theme and production.

Background and release

On July 9, 2021,

teased a collaboration with Pop Smoke by posting a video on social media of the rapper listening to her 2018 single "

One Kiss "One Kiss" is a song by Scottish DJ and record producer Calvin Harris and English-Albanian singer Dua Lipa. The song was released for digital download and streaming as a standalone single, through Columbia Records and Sony Music on 6April 201 ...

". The video was accompanied with the caption "You can't say Pop without Smoke" in

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, along with specifying the album's release date. The track listing for ''Faith'' was later revealed on July 15, 2021, confirming Lipa's feature on the song. The lyrics and composition were written by Pop Smoke and Lipa alongside Dru Decaro, Sarah Hudson, and

with Daniel Mlzrahi and Michael Gomes also credited as composers. The production was handled by Mantra. Recording took place at Quad Recording Studios in New York City by Corey "Cutz" Nutile. The song was mixed by Jess Jackson and she also handled the mastering with Ciel Eckard-Lee and David Bone; both duties were done at London Town Studios in Los Angeles. Pop Smoke's second posthumous studio album ''Faith'' was released via

Victor Victor Worldwide Steven William Victor (born September 6, 1980) is a Haitian-American record executive, artist manager, music publisher, and A&R representative. He is the founder & CEO of Victor Victor Worldwide and SVP of A&R at Universal Music Group. He forme ...

and

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

on July 16, 2021, with "Demeanor" as the sixteenth track on ''Faith''. The song impacted

and

in the United States on July 20, 2021, as the album's second single. It also sent for

radio airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day ( spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in ...

in Italy on July 23, 2021.

Music and lyrics

Musically, "Demeanor" is a

and

song. The track features a rhythm guitar, bassline, drums, funky groove, and bounce, accompanied by "woozy" vibes, and rhythmic verses. It contains a spliced-in verse from an unreleased Pop Smoke track called "Face2Face". Writing for '' The Ringer'', Micah Peters opined the song is about "popping Perc 30s and shooting people". Mankaprr Conteh for ''

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 co ...

'' said Pop Smoke raps about "asserting a will not only to survive, but to thrive". On the song, Pop Smoke sings about his "baba treesha", which is

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

slang for a promiscuous woman. In connection with the slang, the rapper sings about how women like how he acts, and being heavily intoxicated. The late rapper then raps about suffering through poverty: "Look, eleven dollars a hour ain't enough to live/So I'ma go in every store and I'ma swipe this shit/They tryna lock a nigga up and I'm like, 'Fuck a pig'/'Cause either way, mommy still gon' love her kid." Lipa has her own verse, as she sings: "You can't say Pop without Smoke/So fill up your lungs, my diamonds'll make you choke/You like the way I move/My demeanor is meaner than yours/So clap for the encore", referring to Pop Smoke's line "You cannot say Pop and forget the Smoke" in his 2019 song "

Gatti Gatti is an Italian name. Notable people with the surname include: *Alessandra Mirka Gatti, Italian Eurobeat singer * Annibale Gatti, Italian 19th-century fresco painter *Armand Gatti (1924–2017), French playwright *Arturo Gatti, Italian-Canadia ...

" with

JackBoys ''JackBoys'' (stylized in all caps) is a collaborative compilation album by American record label Cactus Jack Records, under the name JackBoys, and American rapper Travis Scott, its leader. It was released through the label alongside Epic Rec ...

and Travis Scott.

Critical reception

David Crone of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

said even though Lipa is "ostensibly at home on the slick grooves of 'Demeanor'", she "stumbles out" during the couplet: "You can't say Pop without Smoke/So fill up your lungs, my diamonds will make you choke", and described it as "excruciating". Robin Murray from '' Clash'' stated the song "shows the potential Pop

moke Moke may refer to: Places * Moke (Bihar, India), a village * Moke Lake, South Island, New Zealand * Na Mokulua, two small Hawaiian islands known together as "The Mokes" People * Hans Moke Niemann (born 2003), American chess grandmaster * Moké ...

had to cross over", but called it one of the weaker tracks on the album. For ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'', Antoine-Samuel Mauffette Alavo viewed "Demeanor" as an "improbable duet" and thought Pop Smoke's fans will "undoubtedly be frustrated".