"Hey Mama" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Single by David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha and Afrojack | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
from the album Listen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Released | 16 March 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Format | Digital download | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Recorded | 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Length | 3:12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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David Guetta singles chronology | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Hey Mama" is a song by French DJ and record producer David Guetta, featuring vocals from Nicki Minaj and Bebe Rexha, as well as production from the DJ Afrojack. The song was released on 16 March 2015 as the fourth single from Guetta's sixth studio album, Listen (2014).
The artists co-wrote the song with Ester Dean, Sean Douglas, and Giorgio Tuinfort; the latter co-produced it with Guetta and Afrojack. The intro and post-chorus features a prominent sample from "Rosie", an Alan Lomax recording from the 1940s.
Rexha explained to Billboard why she wasn't initially credited as a featured artist on the track: "We talked about it - I actually emailed Guetta about it. I really wanted to be featured on it, because, you know, I've been signed and dropped, and now signed a second time, so it's been hard. What ended up happening was that it looked like a lot of names on the title, so they wanted to keep as many low features as possible. That's what I was told, and it makes sense to me. I guess more than two [featured] names doesn't look good on the radio. It's tough hearing your voice on the radio, on a chorus, and knowing that people think it's another artist." As of June 2015, Rexha is officially credited in all instances of the song's mention.
"Hey Mama" is the third collaboration between Guetta and Minaj, following Nothing but the Beat singles "Where Them Girls At" (which features Minaj and Flo Rida) (2011) and the double-platinum "Turn Me On" (2011).
According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, "Hey Mama" is written in the key of E minor with a tempo of 86 beats per minute. The vocals in the song span from A3 to E5.
"Hey Mama" was well received by the critics, with many praising the discothèque nature of the song. Bianca Gracie of Idolator described it as "a crazed electro-house/trap sound", noting Minaj's "rap flow into a island-tinged romp." It was described by Direct Lyrics as an "intelligently-produced radio-friendly EDM-island sound", whilst Richard Baxter of Popology Now complimented the track's electronic styles, describing Bebe Rexha as the "star" of "Hey Mama" with her "hook heavy chorus".