F.U.B.U.

Album: A Seat at the Table (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Solange titled this black-empowerment anthem after FUBU, an American apparel company that has strong ties to the hip hop community. She explained on her website:

    "I named it 'F.U.B.U.' because I wanted to empower, and I looked to people who have done that in their own ways. I thought of F.U.B.U. the brand, meaning 'For Us By Us', and what kind of power it had and how normalized it became to wear that kind of symbolism every day.

    I remember reading stories on the product placement, and seeing LL Cool J wearing a F.U.B.U. hat in a national GAP advertisement. F.U.B.U. exhibited Blackness in any space, on a huge global level, and that is what I wanted to do with the song."

    F.U.B.U. was founded in 1992 by Daymond John, J. Alexander Martin, Keith Perrin and Carlton Brown. At its peak in 1998, FUBU grossed over $350 million in annual worldwide sales.
  • Solange bought in The-Dream and BJ the Chicago Kid to serve some accented vocals for the track. The-Dream told Billboard magazine how he had to reassure the songstress about the album:

    "She came here to Atlanta to finish what she had done, and played me her stuff. And she wasn't super sure about everything that she was doing. I definitely assured her that it was awesome as f--k, like, 'You need to drop this sh-t. This sh-t is awesome. I don't know what you're talking about. Just put it out. Don't think about it.'"
  • The-Dream explained his contribution to this song: "For that track, I just put myself in Dream artist mode. 'Fancy' is one of her favorite records. She loves it to death. When she asked me to be on 'F.U.B.U.,' I was like, 'Of course!' It didn't take long. And I did backgrounds on the song with Wayne, 'Mad.' And that was a wrap."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Tommy James

Tommy JamesSongwriter Interviews

"Mony Mony," "Crimson and Clover," "Draggin' The Line"... the hits kept coming for Tommy James, and in a plot line fit for a movie, his record company was controlled by the mafia.

Steely Dan

Steely DanFact or Fiction

Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?

David Gray

David GraySongwriter Interviews

David Gray explains the significance of the word "Babylon," and talks about how songs are a form of active imagination, with lyrics that reveal what's inside us.

JJ Burnel of The Stranglers

JJ Burnel of The StranglersSongwriter Interviews

JJ talks about The Stranglers' signature sound - keyboard and bass - which isn't your typical strain of punk rock.

Tim McIlrath of Rise Against

Tim McIlrath of Rise AgainstSongwriter Interviews

Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath explains the meanings behind some of their biggest songs and names the sci-fi books that have influenced him.

George Clinton

George ClintonSongwriter Interviews

When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.