Mo Bamba (song)

Not to be confused with La Bamba (song).

"Mo Bamba" is a song by American rapper Sheck Wes. A sleeper hit that achieved mainstream success despite limited promotion, it was produced by Take a Daytrip and 16yrold. The song was independently released on music streaming site SoundCloud by 16yrold in 2017, and became a word of mouth sensation without record label or radio support, reaching number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[1]

"Mo Bamba"
Single by Sheck Wes
from the album Mudboy
Released	June 16, 2017 (2017-06-16)
Recorded	2017
Genre	Trap hardcore hip hop
Length	3:01 (single version) 3:04 (album version)
Label	Cactus Jack GOOD Interscope
Songwriter(s)	Khadimou Fall Jerry Cruz Denzel Baptise David Biral
Producer(s)	16yrold Take a Daytrip
Sheck Wes singles chronology
"Live SheckWes Die SheckWes" (2017) "Mo Bamba" (2017) "Do That" (2018)
Music video
"Mo Bamba" on YouTube

The song later served as a single from Wes' debut studio album, Mudboy. It remains his most popular and successful song.^[2][3]

Background

The song is named after then-Texas Longhorn and current Los Angeles Clippers^[4] basketball player Mo Bamba, who grew up with Sheck Wes in his home town Harlem, New York neighborhood. The two spent some of their childhoods together.^[5]

Producers 16yrold and Take a Daytrip consisting of Denzel Baptise and David Biral, who had met online, collaborated on the track's beat and composition.^[1] 16yrold invited Wes to record in the studio with them.^[6] Wes recorded the majority of the song in one take,^[1][7] with additional ad-libs recorded afterwards.^[7]

Baptise of Take a Daytrip looped the beat as Wes recorded his vocals. The beat cutting off at the 1:38 minute mark of the song was the result of the laptop used to record Wes’ vocals freezing. This caused concern among the producers who feared that the song would be ruined because the entire song up until that point had been recorded in one take without any issues. At the 1:40 minute mark of the song, someone can be heard in the background saying "whoa".^[6] Wes shouting out, "Oh! Fuck! Shit! Bitch!", was his actual reaction to the beat freezing by accident. Shortly after, the beat unfroze as Wes proceeded to record a new verse on the spot.^[6][7]

Music video

The song's music video was released on January 30, 2018, via YouTube and was directed by White Trash Tyler, Nick Walker and Wes himself. It is a music video in black and white and finds Wes on a basketball court.^[8]

Usage in media

In sports

The song has gained widespread popularity at sporting events, particularly at college football games. The song is primarily used to help hype up the home fans and raise the volume inside the stadium. During a highly anticipated sellout 2019 game at Beaver Stadium, the song was used during then ranked #16 Michigan Wolverines first possession. Penn State Nittany Lions fans plus the song made the stadium so loud that Michigan was forced to use a timeout to avoid a delay of game penalty.^[9]

The song can be heard in the video game EA Sports College Football 2025.^[10]

Personnel

Credits adapted from The New York Times.^[1]

Artist

• Sheck Wes – vocals

Production

• 16yrold – production
• Take a Daytrip – production, recording, mixing, mastering

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2018–2019) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[11] 29 Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[12] 22 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[13] 5 Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[14] 69 France (SNEP)[15] 147 Greece International Digital Singles (IFPI)[16] 8 Ireland (IRMA)[17] 25 Lithuania (AGATA)[18] 20 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[19] 87 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[20] 16 Portugal (AFP)[21] 34 Scotland (OCC)[22] 87 Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[23] 54 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 68 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 56 UK Singles (OCC)[26] 26 UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[27] 10 US Billboard Hot 100[28] 6 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[29] 2 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[30] 10

Year-end charts Chart (2018) Position US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[31] 59 Chart (2019) Position Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[32] 33 Portugal (AFP)[33] 158 US Billboard Hot 100[34] 49 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[35] 26 US Rolling Stone Top 100[36] 80

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[37]	3× Platinum	240,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[38]	Gold	45,000‡
France (SNEP)[39]	Gold	100,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[40]	Gold	35,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[41]	Gold	15,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[42]	Platinum	50,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[43]	Platinum	10,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[44]	Platinum	600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[45]	5× Platinum	5,000,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Coscarelli, Joe (2018-09-04). "The Story of 'Mo Bamba': How a SoundCloud Rap Track Goes Viral". The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
2. "Sheck Wes". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
3. "Sheck Wes - Spotify Top Songs". kworb.net. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
4. Turner, Broderick (1 July 2024). "Clippers hope to remain competitive with roster in wake of losing Paul George". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
5. "Sheck Wes: Here's Why I Named My Hit Song After A Hoops Phenom!". TMZ.com. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
6. "The Making of Sheck Wes' "Mo Bamba" With Take A Daytrip & 16yrold". Genius. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
7. "The Amazing Story Behind Sheck Wes' "Bitch!" Ad-Lib on "Mo Bamba"". DJBOOTH. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
8. "Sheck Wes Turns Up In "Mo Bamba" Video". XXL. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
9. Knills74 (2019-11-11). Penn State vs Michigan Timeout First Play - Whiteout. Retrieved 2024-07-26 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
10. "MSN". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
11. "Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
12. "Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
13. "Sheck Wes Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
14. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 3. týden 2019 in the date selector. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
15. "Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
16. "Official IFPI Charts – Digital Singles Chart (International) – Week: 47/2018". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
17. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Sheck Wes". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
18. "2018 53-os SAVAITĖS (gruodžio 28-sausio 3 d.) SINGLŲ TOP100" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. January 4, 2019. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
19. "Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
20. "Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
21. "Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
22. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
23. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 48. týden 2018 in the date selector. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
24. "Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba". Singles Top 100. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
25. "Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
26. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
27. "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
28. Trust, Gary (December 3, 2018). "Travis Scott Scores First Billboard Hot 100 Leader: 'What's More 'Sicko Mode' Than Going No. 1?!'". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
29. "Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs: December 8, 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
30. "Rhythmic Songs: January 12, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
31. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
32. "Canadian Hot 100 – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
33. "Top AFP - Audiogest - Top 3000 Singles + EPs Digitais" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
34. "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
35. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
36. "Top 100 Songs of 2019". Rolling Stone. January 10, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
37. "Canadian single certifications – Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba". Music Canada.
38. "Danish single certifications – Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
39. "French single certifications – Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
40. "Italian single certifications – Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana.
41. "New Zealand single certifications – Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 14, 2018. {{cite web}}: |archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)^{[dead link]}THE FIELD archive-url MUST BE PROVIDED for NEW ZEALAND CERTIFICATION from obsolete website.
42. "Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2021 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
43. "Portuguese single certifications – Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
44. "British single certifications – Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
45. "American single certifications – Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 5, 2018.