"Tequila Shots" is a song by American rapper

Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor and fashion designer. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Cudi would move to New Y ...

, released on December 11, 2020 as part of his seventh studio album '' Man on the Moon III: The Chosen''. The song was

produced Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Dot da Genius Oladipo Omishore, known professionally as Dot da Genius is an American record producer and audio engineer from Brooklyn, New York City. He first gained recognition in 2008 for producing " Day 'n' Nite" by American musician Kid Cudi, with whom ...

Take a Daytrip Take a Daytrip is an American record production and songwriting duo composed of Denzel Baptiste (born January 9, 1993) and David Biral (born February 22, 1993). They are best known for producing singles such as Sheck Wes' " Mo Bamba", Lil Nas ...

and Cudi himself. In June 2022, the song reached platinum status, selling over 1 million units in the US. The song was later included on Cudi’s first

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

album ''

The Boy Who Flew to the Moon, Vol. 1 ''The Boy Who Flew to the Moon, Vol. 1'' is the first greatest hits album by American musician Kid Cudi. It was released on July 8, 2022, by Republic Records and Cudi's Wicked Awesome imprint. The compilation includes tracks from seven of his p ...

'' (2022).

Background

In an interview with

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 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 thro ...

, Kid Cudi stated that "Tequila Shots" was the first song he made for ''Man on the Moon III'' which he finished before even deciding to make the album. He said of the song, "it sounds like such an

introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and ...

, it sounds like you pick right back up where we left off ten years ago", referring to the 2010 release of '' Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager''. The song was created on the day that Kid Cudi's collaboration with fellow American rapper Travis Scott, titled "

The Scotts "The Scotts" (stylized in all caps) is a song by American hip hop super-duo The Scotts, composed of rappers Travis Scott and Kid Cudi. It was released in various formats, including on 7-inch vinyl, cassette and as a CD single through Epic, Cac ...

", reached the peak of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, marking Cudi's first number-one hit single in the US. Its title derived from Cudi, Dot da Genius and Take a Daytrip drinking shots of

tequila Tequila (; ) is a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands (''Los Altos de Jalisco'') of the central western Mexican state ...

in celebration.

Composition

The song features "warped synths and distorted organs", as well as humming from Cudi. It has been described as reminiscent of his early music in style. Kid Cudi sings about facing internal conflicts relating to mental health which he thought had already been dealt with, and being ready to manage them.

Critical reception

The song received generally positive reviews from critics. Aron A. of ''

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

'' wrote that it "brings Cudi's long-time collaborator Dot Da Genius into the fold alongside Take A Daytrip for an exhilarating and psychedelic blast-off". Alphonse Pierre of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' called it the best song from ''Man on the Moon III''.

Live performances

Kid Cudi performed the song on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...

'' on April 10, 2021.

Other versions

In 2021, Kid Cudi released a alternate version of the song, which originally premiered on

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

’s Prime Day Show. The alternate version was included on an

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) titled ''Prime Day Show x Kid Cudi'', issued exclusively on

Amazon Music Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and online music store operated by Amazon. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights ma ...

, on June 17, 2021.

Charts

References

{{Kid Cudi songs 2020 songs Kid Cudi songs Song recordings produced by Kid Cudi Song recordings produced by Take a Daytrip Songs written by Kid Cudi Songs written by Dot da Genius