Peak
1
Weeks
25
Score
4,830
Chart Year
2011
The music video was directed by Bill Paladino. It was filmed in Pittsburgh and features sights of the city, including the U.S. Steel Tower, BNY Mellon Center, PPG Place, William Penn Hotel, Citizens Bank Tower, Union Trust Building, One PNC Plaza, K&L Gates Center the Three Sisters and Smithfield Street bridges, Station Square, Shannon Hall of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and the smoke stacks of the former U.S. Steel Homestead Works at The Waterfront adjacent to the city. The video also prominently features city icons such as the Terrible Towel, a rally towel for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and city sports in general, as well as Pittsburgh Pirates apparel. It was recorded in Chatsworth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA.
Cameron Jibril Thomaz, better known by the stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His stage name is derived from khalifa, an Arabic word meaning "successor", and wisdom, which was shortened to Wiz when Khalifa was fifteen. In 2007, Khalifa signed to Warner Bros. Records and released two albums through Rostrum Records. His techno-influenced single, "Say Yeah," received urban radio airplay, charting in the Hot Rap tracks Top 40. Khalifa parted with Warner Bros. and released the mixtape, Kush and Orange Juice as a free download in April 2010. Thanks to Khalifa's devoted grassroots fan base, the mixtape became the #1 trending topic on Twitter with the hash tag #kushandorangejuice, and "Kush and Orange Juice download" ranked #1 on Google's hot search trends. Shortly afterwards the Pittsburgh rapper signed with Atlantic Records. This is his first single released with the American label. You will not be surprised to read that as a Pittsburgh native, Khalifa is a die-hard Steelers fan and this song is titled after the football team's black and canary scheme. Also the music video shows the MC performing the track wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the Steelers' Super Bowl championship ring waving the team's famous Terrible Towel. Khalifa was named MTV's Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2010, winning with nearly 70,000 votes, and beating out other new rappers on the scene such as Nicki Minaj and J. Cole. The song was produced by the Norwegian production team Stargate, who are best known for their work with R&B/Pop stars such as Ne-Yo, Beyoncé and Chris Brown. "It was just a good mixture," Khalifa told MTV News about working with the beatmeisters. "When we got in the studio, I think the first day in the studio with them I did two songs and a hook. They kept throwing me beats and I kept knocking out hooks and verses over them. So I think just the vibe was there. The music that we were making is real potent. It was like, 'We got to do it [and collaborate].'" The song reached #1 on the Hot 100 after an 18-week climb, and Khalifa told Billboard magazine he was taken back at the song's success as it was supposed to be a set-up single before the rapper's debut album, Rolling Papers. "It was a complete surprise," he said. "It being a song about Pittsburgh, I thought it would just be a great introduction. I never imagined this." The song was the seventh chart-topper to contain the word 'black' in the title. How many of the other six can you name? They were: 1966 "Paint It Black" by The Rolling Stones. 1972 "Black and White" by Three Dog Night. 1975 "Black Water"by The Doobie Brothers. 1990 "Black Velvet"by Alannah Myles. 1990 "Black Cat" by Janet Jackson. 1991 "Black or White" by Michael Jackson. Ok, how about the two other #1 songs with 'yellow' in the title? Here's a clue - they were two of the longest ever song titles to reach the peak position. They were: 1960 "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" by Brian Hyland. 1973 "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree" by Dawn. Speaking to HipHopDX.com, Wiz explained the song began as a tune about his signature Dodge Challenger Hemi RT before becoming a Pittsburgh Steelers anthem in time for the Super Bowl. "[Black and Yellow] was about the car," he said. "And my jewelry. 'That's how I put it down, from my whip to my diamonds.' 'Black stripe, yellow paint / Them niggas scared of it, but them hoes ain't.' That's the Chally, when I pull that thing out. 'Hit the pedal once, make the floor shake.' It's about the car." Wiz added it was the city, which inspired him to purchase that particular vehicle. "It's about civic pride too. I'm from Pittsburgh, that's what made me get a black and yellow Challenger. I could've got the old school orange; I could've painted it any color. But I got it stock black and yellow. I had [the dealer] look for that car. And they got it for me." Pennsylvania rapper Max Warren, who performs under the name of Maxamillion, filed a copyright lawsuit on December 30, 2011. He alleged that this song infringes the copyright of a composition Warren penned in 2007, entitled "Pink N Yellow." Director Bill Paladino (Khalifa's "Work Hard Play Hard," "The Bluff") shot the music video in Pittsburgh and hoped to include a drag racing scene, but he couldn't get a permit for it - or much of anything else. In fact, many of the scenes around the city were filmed quickly before the police could show up to stop them. The clip features a cameo from Steelers linebacker Lamarr Woodley. As for the crowd surrounding the rapper, they found out about the shoot from Khalifa on Twitter and just showed up. "That's our first serious rap record," Tor Erik Hermansen, half of the Stargate duo, told Entertainment Weekly. "We've always loved hip-hop, but because some of our early stuff was more melodic, we were never given the chance. When Wiz came to the studio, we gave him another song first - a harder, darker hip-hop record that he loved - and then we played him this track. He started saying 'black and yellow' right away when he heard that synth line. We didn't really know how significant the colors black and yellow are for someone from Pittsburgh."
Yeah, uh-huh, you know what it is Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow Yeah, uh-huh, you know what it is Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow Yeah, uh-huh, you know what it is Everything I do, I do it big Yeah, uh-huh, screamin', "That's nothin'" When I pulled off the lot, that's stuntin' Reppin' my town, when you see me you know everything Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow I put it down from the whip to my diamonds, I'm in Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow Uh, black stripe, yellow paint Them niggas scared of it, but them hoes ain't Soon as I hit the club, look at them hoes' face Hit the pedal once, make the floor shake Suede insides, my engine roarin' It's the big boy, you know what I paid for it And I got the pedal to the metal Got you niggas checkin' game, I'm ballin' out on every level Hear them haters talk but there's nothing you can tell 'em Just made a million, got another million on my schedule No love for 'em, nigga breakin' hearts No keys, push to start Yeah, uh-huh, you know what it is Everything I do, I do it big Yeah, uh-huh, screamin', "That's nothin'" When I pulled off the lot, that's stuntin' Reppin' my town, when you see me you know everything Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow I put it down from the whip to my diamonds, I'm in Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow Got a call from my jeweler, this just in And bitches love me 'cause I'm fuckin' with their best friends Not a lesbian, but she a freak though This ain't for one night, I'm shinin' all week, ho I'm sippin' Clicquot and rockin' yellow diamonds So many rocks up in the watch I can't tell what the time is Got a pocket full of big faces Throw it up, 'cause every nigga that I'm with Taylor'd Yeah, uh-huh, you know what it is Everything I do, I do it big Yeah, uh-huh, screamin', "That's nothin'" When I pulled off the lot, that's stuntin' Reppin' my town, when you see me you know everything Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow I put it down from the whip to my diamonds, I'm in Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow Stay high like how I'm supposed to do That crowd underneath them clouds can't get close to you And my car look unapproachable Super clean, but it's super mean She wanna fuck with them cats Smoke weed, count stacks, get fly Take trips and that's that, real rap I let her get high if she want and she feel that Convertible drop feel, '87, the top peeled back Yeah, uh-huh, you know what it is Yeah, yeah, uh-huh, you know what it is Y'all already know what it is, man If you don't, you should by now Reppin' my town, when you see me you know everything Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow I put it down from the whip to my diamonds, I'm in Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow Uh, yeah, uh-huh, you know what it is Everything I do, I do it big Yeah, uh-huh, screamin', "That's nothin'" When I pulled off the lot, that's stuntin' Reppin' my town, when you see me you know everything Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow I put it down from the whip to my diamonds, I'm in Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow Black and yellow Writer/s: Cameron Th
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oct 2, 2010 | 100 | 26 |
| 5 | Oct 30, 2010 | 64 | 62 |
| 6 | Nov 6, 2010 | 51 | 75 |
| 7 | Nov 13, 2010 | 43 | 83 |
| 8 | Nov 20, 2010 | 29 | 97 |
| 9 | Nov 27, 2010 | 29 | 97 |
| 10 | Dec 4, 2010 | 25 | 101 |
| 11 | Dec 11, 2010 | 19 | 107 |
| 12 | Dec 18, 2010 | 14 | 112 |
| 13 | Dec 25, 2010 | 11 | 115 |
| 14 | Jan 1, 2011 | 12 | 114 |
| 15 | Jan 8, 2011 | 6 | 120 |
| 16 | Jan 15, 2011 | 8 | 118 |
| 17 | Jan 22, 2011 | 7 | 119 |
| 18 | Jan 29, 2011 | 5 | 121 |
| 19 | Feb 5, 2011 | 3 | 123 |
| 20 | Feb 12, 2011 | 4 | 122 |
| 21 | Feb 19, 2011 | 1 | 125 |
| 22 | Feb 26, 2011 | 4 | 122 |
| 23 | Mar 5, 2011 | 10 | 116 |