"Fe!n" (pronounced "fiend" and stylized in all caps) is a song by American rapper Travis Scott featuring American rapper Playboi Carti. It was released on July 28, 2023, from the former's fourth studio album Utopia. Produced by Scott, the song was written by the artists alongside Jahaan Sweet, who also provided additional production, and Sheck Wes, who has guest vocals on the original version of the song and the version shown in the movie Circus Maximus.
Composition
"Fe!n" is a rage song. It finds Playboi Carti performing with a new delivery and a refrain of the words "fein fein",
Critical reception
The song received generally positive reviews from music critics. Complex's Eric Skelton considered it the best song from Utopia, while Ecleen Luzmila Caraballo considered it one of the best. 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. 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." 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."
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." 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)." 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." 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."
Mackenzie Cummings-Grady of Billboard placed "Fe!n" last in her ranking of the songs from Utopia.