Down with the Clique

"Down with the Clique" is a song by American singer Aaliyah from her debut studio album "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number". The song was written and produced by R.Kelly and on the Hip-Hop inspired song Aaliyah displays a "silky cooing with her voice. The song was met with mixed reviews by critics with a few praising Aaliyah's delivery on the record. Blackground and Jive records released "Down with the Clique" as the album's fourth single in Europe on May 1, 1995. During this time it was Aaliyah's first single to not be released in the US. In the UK the song performed moderately well peaking within the top 40 at number 33 on the Official chart. Elsewhere in the UK the song performed even better on the Dance and R&B charts peaking within the top 40 at number 25 and 5 respectively.

This article is about the Aaliyah song. For the Solange song, see When I Get Home (album).
"Down with the Clique"
Single by Aaliyah
from the album Age Ain't Nothing but a Number
ReleasedMay 1, 1995 (UK)
Format
RecordedNovember 1993; Chicago Recording Company
(Chicago, Illinois)
Genre
Length3:24
Label
Songwriter(s)R. Kelly
Producer(s)R. Kelly
Aaliyah singles chronology
"Age Ain't Nothing but a Number"
(1994)		 "Down with the Clique"
(1995)		 "The Thing I Like"
(1995)

Background

When recording Down With The Clique, Aaliyah developed an interest in producing and she watched and helped R Kelly develop the song. According to Aaliyah, “When we were recording ‘Down With the Clique,’ I watched how Robert [Kelly] laid the drums and everything. He taught me to play the piano a bit, and I’m also trying to learn the mixing board, though it looks complicated. The studio is my first love.”[1]

Composition and lyrical interpretation

"Down with the Clique" is a Hip hop inspired song and on the song Aaliyah displays a "silky cooing" with her vocals.[2]

Critical reception

Kenneth Partridge from Billboard gave a mixed review of the song. He felt that Aaliyah sounded unnatural singing lines such as "I guess it's time for me to wreck shop" and he thought that the song was too much like an R Kelly song. Ultimately he thought that it was "adorable" about how she commits to her persona which fits well with the song.[2] Bianca Gracie from Fuse felt that Aaliyah was embodying an effortless swagger that guys twice her age could only dream of having"; She also praised Aaliyah's "mellow" "deep" voice on the song as well.[3] Nakita Rathod from HotNewHipHop mentioned that despite the controversy surrounding Aaliyah's debut album she was still able to be a young, free teenager with songs like "Down with the Clique".[4] In a review for Aaliyah's debut album "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number" Tonya Pendleton from The Washington Post praised the production of "Down with the Clique" saying "Kelly’s hip-hop inserts provide a funky contrast that carries over to “Throw Your Hands Up” and “Down With the Clique,” all paeans to the fun-loving good times of adolescence"[5]

Chart performance

"Down With The Clique" was released as the album's 4th single and it was the first single from "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number" to not be released in the US. The song peaked within the top 40 on the UK official charts at number 32 on May 13, 1995.[6] The song also peaked within the top 40 on the UK official Dance at number 25 on May 7, 1995.[7] Meanwhile on the UK Official charts the song peaked within the top 5 at number 5 on May 7, 1995 as well.[8]

Charts
Chart (1995) Peak
position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[9] 33
UK Dance (Official Charts Company)[10] 25
UK R&B (Official Charts Company)[11] 5

References
  1. "A look back 20 years to the debut album of Aaliyah, the R. Kelly scandal, and her Timbaland-produced follow-up that set the R&B format on fire". Wax Poetics. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  2. "Aaliyah, 'Age Ain't Nothing But A Number' at 20: Classic Track-by-Track Review". Billboard. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  3. "AALIYAH'S 15 BEST DEEP CUTS & ALBUM TRACKS". Fuse. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  4. "Remembering Aaliyah: 20 Great Tracks From The Late Singer". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  5. ""Age Ain't Nothin' but a Number"". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  6. "Aaliyah". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  7. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  8. "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  9. "Aaliyah: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  10. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  11. "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
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