Peak
22
Weeks
21
Score
2,603
Chart Year
2015
The music video of the song was released to YouTube on February 20, 2015. The video shows Jidenna at a party, walking on the street, and at a martial arts school.[3] The video was directed by Alan Ferguson.[4] The music video for the remix was released on July 15, 2015. It features Jidenna and Kendrick Lamar rapping in various locations. Ty Dolla Sign, Janelle Monáe, Issa Rae, Roman GianArthur, and Hit-Boy make cameo appearances in the music video
Jidenna Mobisson is an artist signed to Janelle Monáe's Wondaland Records label, which is distributed through Epic Records. This is his first single, which features Roman GianArthur, another artist signed to Wondaland Records. Jidenna is a founding member of Fear & Fancy, a social club that began in California in 2006. The society is a collective of entrepreneurs, educators, activists and recording and visual artists who host soirees, dinner parties, and demonstrations. This song came out of the men that the singer mixes with from the collective. Jidenna explained to Flavorpill: "It really celebrates the gentleman in the neighborhood that everyone knows, respects; [someone who] cares for people that are not necessarily his own blood." "I think its important that the Classic Man is the dignitary in that he really carries himself with a certain amount of poise and dignity wherever he goes." Jidenna told Billboard magazine that he and director Alan Ferguson had a specific vision for the song's visual. "We wanted to create a video that was telling of the lifestyle I live as a man," he said. "Part of that lifestyle includes soirees and hosting these swank ceremonies, but another part of it is really just being a neighborhood man, a man that cares about people beyond his own blood." "The scene that you see with the youth being arrested by the police officers, that's straight out of the book of my own life," Jidenna continued. "We were very intentional about showing how you can co-operate with police officers and the youth. There's definitely a lot of scrutiny surrounding the militarized police that we have in the US right now. I don't want a world where the citizens and the police are fighting each other. I wanted to show a world where youth don't get shot when police run up on them. Afterwards you see those kids going to the chiefing academy where they learn arts and sciences. You witness the element of us serving the neighborhood youth, and later on you see us turning up." This samples Iggy Azealia's hit single, "Fancy." All of "Fancy's" writers and four of its five producers are included in the credits for "Classic Man." Speaking to Hot 97, Jidenna explained that the writing credit was a cautionary move following the "Blurred Lines"/ Marvin Gaye lawsuit. "Ever since the decision of Robin Thicke and Pharrell, we believe that it was important to make sure that we are safe," Jidenna said. "When that Robin Thicke verdict came out, we realized the game had changed in music. I'm glad we were safe." Marvin Gaye's family filed a suit claiming that "Blurred Lines" contained "blatant copying of a constellation of distinctive and significant compositional elements of Marvin Gaye's classic #1 song, "Got To Give It Up". On March 10, 2015, a jury awarded Gaye's family $7.3 million in damages. A remix of the song featuring American rapper Kendrick Lamar was included as a bonus track on the Wondaland Presents: The Eephus EP. The music video for the remix features Jidenna and Kendrick Lamar rapping in various places. Rapper/singer Ty Dolla Sign and Janelle Monae make cameo appearances at a warehouse party. A chopped and screwed version of the song plays during a pivotal scene near the end of the 2016 coming-of-age drama Moonlight, when it comes pounding through the protagonist's car speakers. "I couldn't see the music working and then, of course, they chopped and screwed it, and I was like, 'Ah, that's how you're making it work," Jidenna told Genius. "It was dope to have a record that, to a lot of the world and to myself obviously when I was writing it, was redefining masculinity and redefining manhood. The beautiful thing is that Moonlight was also redefining masculinity."
My name calling all night I could pull the wool while I'm being polite Like darling calling all night I can be a bull while I'm being polite Like oh me, oh me oh my I know many women want to be in my life Like oh me, oh me oh my Why can't every woman end up being my wife? Even if she go away, even if she go away Even if she go away, even if she go away I'm a classic man You could be mean when you look this clean I'm a classic man Calling on me like a young OG I'm a classic man Your needs get met by the street elegant old fashioned man Yeah baby I'm a classic man I burn through the hood like whoa When everybody's feeling so cold I'm cool like Nat King Cole And niggas get a bit of my glow I got charm like a leprechaun, mummafunka Now y'all fucking with the wrong mummafunka Treat me like a don, mummafunka And we don't live by the law, mummafunka Even if she go away, even if she go away Even if she go away, even if she go away I'm a classic man You could be mean when you look this clean I'm a classic man Calling on me like a young OG I'm a classic man Your needs get met by the street elegant old fashioned man Yeah baby I'm a classic man I burn through the gate like whoa And everybody get it, we know A love life, living like gold And niggas wanna get in my glow I got mad love for my crew, mummafunka I'm the man, who are you mummafunka? Shine bright like a jewel, mummafunka Even under fire I'm cool, mummafunka Even when she go away, even when she go away Even when she go away, even when she go away I'm a classic man You could be mean when you look this clean I'm a classic man Calling on me like a young OG I'm a classic man Your needs get met by the street elegant old fashioned man Yeah baby I'm a classic man Keep my gloves dirty but my hands clean Got to keep the business in the family Fat when I'm filling up the pantry Now my niggas slang 'caine like a dandy I tell you how it go You pull out rubber bands, I pull out an envelope The ladies on my elbow ain't for the show Every madame on my team is a top general, oh Got to be ready for war, war Should they get into my door, door? Get 'em, we'll get 'em, I know that we'll get 'em 'Cause I lived through this shit before I'm a classic man You could be mean when you look this clean I'm a classic man Calling on me like a young OG I'm a classic man Your needs get met by the street elegant old fashioned man Yeah baby I'm a classic man
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 23, 2015 | 89 | 37 |
| 2 | May 30, 2015 | 81 | 45 |
| 3 | Jun 6, 2015 | 74 | 52 |
| 4 | Jun 13, 2015 | 78 | 48 |
| 5 | Jun 20, 2015 | 62 | 64 |
| 6 | Jun 27, 2015 | 60 | 66 |
| 7 | Jul 4, 2015 | 50 | 76 |
| 8 | Jul 11, 2015 | 34 | 92 |
| 9 | Jul 18, 2015 | 26 | 100 |
| 10 | Jul 25, 2015 | 30 | 96 |
| 11 | Aug 1, 2015 | 27 | 99 |
| 12 | Aug 8, 2015 | 25 | 101 |
| 13 | Aug 15, 2015 | 24 | 102 |
| 14 | Aug 22, 2015 | 24 | 102 |
| 15 | Aug 29, 2015 | 23 | 103 |
| 16 | Sep 5, 2015 | 22 | 104 |
| 17 | Sep 12, 2015 | 25 | 101 |
| 18 | Sep 19, 2015 | 30 | 96 |
| 19 | Sep 26, 2015 | 33 | 93 |
| 20 | Oct 3, 2015 | 39 | 87 |