Fein (song)

"Fein" (stylized as "FE!N") is a song by American rapper Travis Scott featuring fellow American rapper Playboi Carti. It was originally released on July 28, 2023, as a track from his fourth studio album, Utopia, before later being sent to US rhythmic radio as the fifth single from the album on March 12, 2024.^[1] Produced by Scott, the song was written by the artists alongside additional producer Jahaan Sweet, and Sheck Wes, who has guest vocals on the original version of the song and the version shown in the movie Circus Maximus. The remix version with DJ Chase B was released on April 19, 2024.^[2]

"Fein"
Chase B remix cover
Single by Travis Scott featuring Playboi Carti
from the album Utopia
Released	March 12, 2024
Recorded	2023
Studio	Abbey Road (London) Miraval (Correns)
Genre	Rage
Length	3:11
Label	Cactus Jack Epic
Songwriter(s)	Jacques Webster II Jordan Carter Khadimou Fall Jahaan Sweet
Producer(s)	Travis Scott
Travis Scott singles chronology
"Née-Nah" (2024) "Fein" (2024) "Type Shit" (2024)
Playboi Carti singles chronology
"Carnival" (2024) "Fein" (2024) "Type Shit" (2024)
Music video
"Fein" on YouTube

Composition

"Fein" belongs to the rage microgenre of trap music.^[3][4] The track features Playboi Carti performing with a deep voice, a new vocal delivery in contrast to his signature "baby voice",^[5][6] and Scott performing a titular chorus of the word "fiend", a term for a malignant entity and slang for someone addicted to drugs and other substances.^[6]

Critical reception

The song received critical acclaim from music critics. Complex's Eric Skelton considered it the best song from Utopia, while Ecleen Luzmila Caraballo considered it one of the best.^[7] Variety's Yousef Srour and Jem Aswad praised the collaborations in Utopia, citing Playboi Carti's "new, Atlanta trap-inspired flow" in the song as an example.^[5] Andre Gee of Rolling Stone commented the song has "the kind of beat that's good enough for Playboi Carti to repeat himself 182 times over."^[8] Desmond Leake of Paste wrote it "gives us a nice insight into the reclusive rapper's new sound, featuring the addictive refrain of 'Fein Fein' throughout the entire track."^[6]

Pitchfork's Alphonse Pierre wrote that the song's beat is "played-out, but Playboi Carti's new vocal trick (sounding like he has bronchitis) soaks up the attention and just lets Travis do a bunch of ad-libbing."^[3] Similarly, Paul Attard of Slant Magazine stated that "'Fe!n,' despite its straight-up hallucinatory beat, contains the most dead air of any track here (as well as the worst guest spot in Playboi Carti, who sounds like he's suffering from bronchitis)."^[9] Nathan Evans of NME pointed out that Scott's line in the song "I've been focused on the future, never on right now" "exposes the fallacy" of Utopia, adding "By going back to the sound of his early work, Scott steps back into the gargantuan shadow of his mentor."^[4] Aron A. of HotNewHipHop said that Playboi Carti does not add anything exciting to the track, and despite his new style "the song itself isn't as memorable as the credits would otherwise suggest."^[10]

Mackenzie Cummings-Grady of Billboard placed "Fein" last in her ranking of the songs from Utopia.^[11] On November 7, 2024, Spotify announced that the song reached 1 billion streams on its service.^[12]

"Fein" also served as the promotional/second official theme song of WWE's WrestleMania 41, which took place in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Grammy performance

Scott performed "My Eyes", "I Know ?", and "Fein" with Carti at the 66th Grammy Awards on February 4, 2024. During the performance of "Fein", he shouted "They slept on me 10 times!" before later throwing the microphone and chairs around, referencing the 10 times he had been nominated for a Grammy and lost, including that year's Best Rap Album, to which Utopia was nominated for but lost to Killer Mike's Michael.^[13][14][15]

Music video

A music video for "Fein" was released on March 30, 2024, to Travis Scott's YouTube channel via Vevo. The music video uses a camera rotating around a track to give the viewer a feeling of the actors in the video spinning extremely fast.

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Fein" Chart (2023–2024) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[16] 11 Australia Hip Hop/R&B (ARIA)[17] 2 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[18] 3 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[19] 39 Brazil (Brasil Hot 100)[20] 45 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[21] 6 Croatia (Billboard)[22] 15 Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[23] 5 Denmark (Tracklisten)[24] 22 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[25] 33 France (SNEP)[26] 11 Germany (GfK)[27] 18 Global 200 (Billboard)[28] 3 Greece International (IFPI)[29] 5 Hungary (Single Top 40)[30] 13 Iceland (Tónlistinn)[31] 3 India International (IMI)[32] 4 Ireland (IRMA)[33] 14 Italy (FIMI)[34] 39 Latvia (LaIPA)[35] 1 Lithuania (AGATA)[36] 7 Luxembourg (Billboard)[37] 2 MENA (IFPI)[38] 6 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[39] 33 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[40] 6 Norway (VG-lista)[41] 15 Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)[42] 3 Portugal (AFP)[43] 8 Romania (Billboard)[44] 5 South Africa (TOSAC)[45] 5 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[46] 52 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[47] 1 UAE (IFPI)[48] 12 UK Singles (OCC)[49] 13 UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[50] 5 US Billboard Hot 100[51] 5 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[52] 2 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[53] 8

Year-end charts 2023 year-end chart performance for "Fein" Chart (2023) Position US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[54] 54 2024 year-end chart performance for "Fein" Chart (2024) Position Australia (ARIA)[55] 61 Australia Hip Hop/R&B (ARIA)[56] 9 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[57] 35 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[58] 84 France (SNEP)[59] 169 Germany (GfK)[60] 59 Global 200 (Billboard)[61] 53 Hungary (Single Top 40)[62] 94 Iceland (Tónlistinn)[63] 33 India International (IMI)[64] 7 Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)[65] 49 Portugal (AFP)[66] 54 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[67] 29 US Billboard Hot 100[68] 97 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[69] 33 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[70] 43

Certifications

Certifications for "Fein"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[71]	2× Platinum	140,000‡
Belgium (BRMA)[72]	Platinum	40,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[73]	Diamond	160,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[74]	4× Platinum	320,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[75]	Gold	45,000‡
France (SNEP)[76]	Platinum	200,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[77]	Gold	300,000‡
Hungary (MAHASZ)[78]	Gold	2,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[79]	Platinum	100,000‡
Mexico (AMPROFON)[80]	Gold	70,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[81]	Platinum	30,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[82]	2× Platinum	100,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[83]	2× Platinum	20,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[84]	Gold	30,000‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[85]	Platinum	30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[86]	Gold	400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[87]	3× Platinum	3,000,000‡
Streaming
Greece (IFPI Greece)[88]	2× Platinum	4,000,000†
Sweden (GLF)[89]	Gold	6,000,000†
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. † Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.