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BMF (song)

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"BMF"
Song by SZA
from the album Lana
ReleasedDecember 20, 2024
GenreBossa nova
Length3:01
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Blake Slatkin
  • Carter Lang
  • Omer Fedi
Audio
"BMF" on YouTube

"BMF" (formerly "Boy from South Detroit") is a song by American singer-songwriter SZA from Lana (2024), the reissue of her second studio album SOS (2022). It references Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", both of which feature a "south Detroit" line, and interpolates the 1960s bossa nova single "The Girl from Ipanema". "BMF" was originally going to feature American singer and rapper Lizzo.

Background

[edit]

SZA's second studio album, SOS, was released on December 9, 2022.[1] Soon afterward, she made a post on Instagram in which she teased about a possible deluxe edition for the album.[2] Speaking to Variety in August 2023, she revealed that the deluxe edition became a "whole 'nother" project, a reissue she named Lana. It would consist of post-SOS songs alongside some anticipated outtakes that did not appear on the album.[3]

Around SOS's release, The Line of Best Fit reported that American rapper and singer Lizzo was to feature on a track from Lana.[4] Known under the names "BMF" and "Boy from South Detroit", it was a fan-favorite outtake scrapped by SZA's manager, Punch. He, along with an album co-producer, had told her that the song was not impressive enough to include on the standard tracklist.[5][6]

Music and lyrics

[edit]

"BMF" is a bossa nova song that interpolates "The Girl from Ipanema" (1962), composed by Brazilian musician Antônio Carlos Jobim. Its Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto rendition is used for the song's hook: "The boy from South Detroit keep bossin' / And I can't keep my panties from dropping."[7] The "south Detroit" lyric references the Journey song "Don't Stop Believin'", which contains the same line.[8] Apart from South Detroit, SZA mentions the Slauson Avenue, a road in Los Angeles. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone writes that it may be a tribute to Nipsey Hussle, a rapper raised in the nearby Crenshaw neighborhood and shot dead at the same road.[7]

Release

[edit]

After the Variety interview, SZA performed "BMF" alongside two other SOS outtakes at a September 2023 concert in Brooklyn, New York.[9] The song was released on December 20, 2024, as the fifth track on Lana.[10] In an article for Billboard, Mackenzie Cummings-Grady ranked "BMF" as the reissue's 11th-best track, explaining that it provides enough levity to balance the tracks with heavier themes.[11]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "On SOS, SZA Blows Expectations Out of the Water: Review". Consequence. December 9, 2022. Archived from the original on December 29, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  2. ^ Monroe, Jazz (December 17, 2024). "SZA Releasing New SOS Deluxe Album This Week, Enlists Ben Stiller for Teaser". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  3. ^ Aswad, Jem (December 21, 2024). "The Long Road to 'Lana': Why SZA Took Two Years to Drop the 'SOS' Deluxe Album". Variety. Archived from the original on December 21, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  4. ^ "Lizzo will reportedly feature on deluxe version of SZA's SOS album". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  5. ^ Hiatt, Brian; Conteh, Mankaprr (December 18, 2022). "SZA Speaks! Inside Her New Album and Much More". Rolling Stone Music Now (Podcast). Archived from the original on March 26, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  6. ^ Inman, DeMicia (December 22, 2022). "SZA Explains Why Certain Fan-Favorite Songs Were Excluded From New Album, 'SOS'". VIBE.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Sheffield, Rob (December 21, 2024). "SZA Is at Her Most Streamlined and Direct on 'Lana'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 22, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  8. ^ DeVito, Lee. "SZA announces 'SOS' arena tour with Detroit stop". Detroit Metro Times. Archived from the original on December 19, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  9. ^ "SZA Says 'SOS' Deluxe Is Actually "A Whole Nother Album" Called 'Lana'". Stereogum. September 9, 2023. Archived from the original on September 14, 2023. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  10. ^ Aswad, Jem (December 20, 2024). "SZA Finally Releases Long-Delayed 'Lana' Album, Featuring Kendrick Lamar, Lil Yachty and Benny Blanco". Variety. Archived from the original on December 21, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  11. ^ Cummings-Grady, Mackenzie (December 20, 2024). "SZA's 'SOS' Deluxe 'Lana': All 15 Tracks Ranked". Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
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