“He knows how to use the headboard well, giving him headboard swag.”
[Video][Website]
[5.45]
Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: Since dropping his KILT! mixtape in May of last year, Iamsu has shown impeccable taste for the beats he chooses, where his adlibs are placed, how fast or slow his flows turn out, where exactly a certain phrase should jump out at you from the blur of words. It’s been quite a run thus far, and after murdering his verse on E-40’s “Function,” it was surely a matter of time before he was lifted out of his specific aestheticised universe. His collaborations with Wiz Khalifa made sense with their similar approach to hazy good-time world-building, but playing junior Wiz on this listless R&B collab is a step too soon for young Suzy. As for his host, I can tell you that I think Jonn Hart is a human being. I think.
[4]
Kat Stevens: BUT WHO WAS BOOTY???
[7]
Patrick St. Michel: What was the last butt-centric song to make a dent nationally? Jonn Hart sees a shortage in the marketplace and rushes in with a song boasting production way too classy for a song about asses (or is that the point?) He also manages to turn the sentence “who booty is it?” into a meaningless string of words that’s annoying and earworm-worthy with every repetition.
[5]
Anthony Easton: Not as delightful a formal experiment as DJ Assault’s “Ass and Titties,” and not nearly as avant garde in sexual practices as he seems to hope for.
[3]
Andy Hutchins: I do not care that Iamsu! is barely remixing an older song (this is essentially “Like My Bass” with a different, clearer synth progression, deeper bass, better percussion), or that Jonn Hart doesn’t really get that “I’ll Mike Tyson that booty” is a double entendre, or that Su says “It’s all mine, connected online” like it’s something to brag about. Making rappy R&B that sounds like summer and winter at the same time is an achievement. Also: That hook. THAT. HOOK. (Bonus: Earl Stevens is on a remix. He says “vernacular” and “crevice.”)
[8]
Iain Mew: I am always going to enjoy the effect of intros consisting of slow and serious synth chimes shoved aside by air horns. The crisp coolness of those synths goes on to be a strong element of “Who Booty”, only outdone by the repetitions of the chorus where Jonn Hart convincingly throws away that cool in excitement.
[7]
Jer Fairall: No need to bother feigning sweet talk, apparently, when you’ve got the voice and the twinkling mid-’80s synth chimes to make your come-ons sound so effortlessly charming to begin with.
[7]
Alfred Soto: The keyboard sparkles cutely, the chorus is like hearing your eight-year-old brother mimicking a booty call, but it’s so insubstantial.
[4]
Scott Mildenhall: Apparently Jonn Hart is releasing a mixtape called Heart 2 Hart on Valentine’s Day. So romantic.
[3]
Crystal Leww: The lyrics are a little clunky in their obviousness, but they’re masked well by Jonn’s silky smooth voice and Rawsmoov’s production. I love the juxtaposition of the pretty twinkles and the waves of synth with by the backing “ah, ah, ah!” and loud claps. Minus 1 for Su’s verse, which is an awkward pause from the fun.
[6]
Brad Shoup: The Bay is back, angling for respect with (as usual) a complete farce of a tune. Hart’s working the kind of anonymous clarity that usually exiles you to mall speakers. Su’s gotten tired since “Function,” or maybe he thought the hook was enough goofiness. It’s too late, though; it’s a part of my life.
[6]