"Down with the Clique" is a song recorded by American singer

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 ...

for her debut studio album ''

Age Ain't Nothing but a Number ''Age Ain't Nothing but a Number'' is the debut studio album by American singer Aaliyah. It was released on May 24, 1994, by Blackground Records and Jive Records. After being signed by her uncle Barry Hankerson, Aaliyah was introduced to reco ...

'' (1994). It was written and produced by

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967), known as R. Kelly, is an American former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is credited with prolific commercial success in R&B, hip hop, and pop music recordings, earning nicknames suc ...

. The song was released as the fourth single from ''Age Ain't Nothing but a Number'' exclusively in the United Kingdom on May 1, 1995, by

Blackground Records Blackground Records 2.0 (legal name Blackground Records, LLC, formerly known as Blackground Records, also known as Blackground Entertainment) is an American record label founded and owned by Jomo and Barry Hankerson. Initially named Blackground ...

and

Jive Records Jive Records (later stylized as JIVE Records) was a British-American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary of the Zomba Group of Companies, Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chic ...

. "Down with the Clique" was met with mixed reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

, who praised Aaliyah's vocal delivery on the song but dismissed its lyrical content. A moderate commercial success, the song peaked at number 33 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Aaliyah's fourth consecutive top-40 single in the United Kingdom.

Recording and production

While recording "Down with the Clique", Aaliyah developed an interest in producing, and she watched and helped

develop the song. She said: "When we were recording 'Down With the Clique', I watched how Robert ellylaid the

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

and everything. He taught me to play the

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

a bit, and I'm also trying to learn the mixing board, though it looks complicated. The studio is my first love."

Music and lyrics

"Down with the Clique" is a

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- ...

song in which Aaliyah displays a "silky cooing" with her vocals. In his biography ''Aaliyah'' (2021) author Tim Footman said the song was "macho hip-hop posturing over a cheesy, pseudo–Caribbean rhythm track". In February 1995, British producers

Mafia & Fluxy Mafia & Fluxy are a British reggae rhythm section and production team, consisting of the brothers Leroy (bass) and David Heywood (drums), whose careers began with London reggae band The Instigators in 1977. They backed Jamaican artists on UK to ...

produced a

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

remix of the song. Lyrically, the song sees her committing to a "junior- gangsta persona" with lines such as "Well now I guess it's time for me to wreck shop". Footman analyzed the lyrics explaining that, "Kelly's egomania really goes to town here, as Aaliyah entreats, 'all the dolls in the house' to recognize how cool her mentor/songwriter/producer truly is".

YardBarker Yardbarker is a digital media property focused on the publishing of sports and entertainment news and information. Founded in 2006, the property distributes content on Yardbarker.com, social media platforms and via third party syndication partn ...

said the lyrics were about "finding out which friends are true blue", and that Aaliyah was "adamant about finding out who's really down to support her".

Critical reception

Kenneth Partridge from ''

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 ...

'' gave "Down with the Clique" a mixed review, saying Aaliyah sounded unnatural singing lines such as "I guess it's time for me to wreck shop" and that the song was too much like an R. Kelly song, but described Aaliyah's performance as "adorable".

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worke ...

wrote in his weekly UK chart commentary,"Why do Americans pronounce it to rhyme with 'stick'? Its 'cleek' as everyone here knows it which perhaps unfairly makes for rather grating listening as Aaliyah croons her way through her fourth UK hit." Bianca Gracie from

Fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protec ...

felt that Aaliyah was embodying an "effortless swagger that guys twice her age could only dream of having", also praising Aaliyah's "mellow" and "deep" vocal performance. Nakita Rathod from

HotNewHipHop ''HotNewHipHop'' (HNHH) is an online publication that covers daily news about hip hop and pop culture, including streetwear, sports, and Sneaker collecting, sneakers. In addition to its editorial content, HotNewHipHop also produces the video seri ...

mentioned that despite the controversy surrounding Aaliyah's debut album, she was still able to be a young, free teenager with songs like "Down with the Clique".

MTV.com MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

felt that "Down With The Clique" was one of the album's highlights, along with "At Your Best (You Are Love)," "Young Nation," and "Age Ain't Nothing But A Number". The ''

New Sunday Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as a local offshoot of Singapore-based ''The Straits Ti ...

'' said the song was a "shout out from Aaliyah to her friends at the mall hangouts." In a review for ''Age Ain't Nothing but a Number'', Tonya Pendleton from ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' praised the production of the song by saying: "Kelly's hip-hop inserts provide a funky contrast that carries over to "Throw Your Hands Up" and "Down With the Clique", all paeans to the fun-loving good times of adolescence".

Commercial performance

"Down with the Clique" was released as the fourth UK single from ''Age Ain't Nothing but a Number''. It peaked at number 33 on the UK Singles Chart dated May 13, 1995. The song also peaked at number five on the

UK R&B Singles Chart Official Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, and previously the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and ...

, and at number 25 on the

UK Dance Singles Chart The Dance Singles Chart and the Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synth-pop) in record stores ...

, both on May 7.

Track listings and formats

UK 12-inch vinyl # "Down with the Clique" (Madhouse Mix Radio Edit I) – 3:10 # "Down with the Clique" (Madhouse Mix) (instrumental) – 3:13 # "Down with the Clique" (Dancehall Mix) – 3:30 # "Down with the Clique" (Madhouse Mix Radio Edit II) – 3:28 UK maxi CD single # "Down with the Clique" (Madhouse Mix Radio Edit I) (no chat) – 3:01 # "Down with the Clique" (album version) – 3:24 # "Down with the Clique" (Dancehall Mix) – 3:30 # "Down with the Clique" (Madhouse Mix Radio Edit II) – 3:28 # "Down with the Clique" (Madhouse Mix) (instrumental) – 3:13

Charts

Release history

References

Bibliography

* {{authority control 1994 songs 1995 singles Aaliyah songs Songs written by R. Kelly Song recordings produced by R. Kelly Blackground Records singles Reggae fusion songs