"Wake Up in the Sky" is a song by American musicians Gucci Mane, Bruno Mars, and Kodak Black. It was released by Guwop and Atlantic Records as the third single from Mane's twelfth studio album Evil Genius on September 14, 2018. The song was written by the artists alongside 808 Mafia's Tarentino, DY, and Tre Pounds, who produced it with Mars. "Wake Up in the Sky" is a hip hop, pop, and soul song with a trap beat, with lyrics about feeling good and enjoying life.
"Wake Up in the Sky" received mostly positive reviews from music critics who found its chorus catchy and appreciated it for eschewing the trap-indebted sound of Evil Genius. The song reached number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and was certified six times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The track peaked at number one on the US Rhythmic chart and it also charted in the top 40 in Canada, Hungary, Norway and Slovakia. Mars and Florent Dechard directed the song's music video, in which Mane, Mars and Black perform as a 1980s soul music trio dressed in suits and jewelry.
Background and release
In June 2018, Gucci Mane told Billboard that he worked with who he considered the best producers for Evil Genius to prove to his fans that he is "still passionate about the music". "Wake Up in the Sky" is Mane's second collaboration with Bruno Mars, the first being Mane's remix of Mars's single "That's What I Like" (2017). Mane and Kodak Black first collaborated on "Vibin in This Bih", which appears on Black's mixtape Lil B.I.G. Pac (2016). It is the first song Black recorded since being released from prison in August 2018 for a number of felony charges. "Wake Up in the Sky" was written by Mane, Mars, Black, Chance Youngblood, Dwan Avery and Jeff LaCroix, and produced by Mars and the latter three under their aliases Tarentino, DY and Tre Pounds. The track was mixed by Serban Ghenea.
Mars first teased the collaboration by sharing an image of himself and Black on Instagram in late August 2018. On September 13, 2018, Mane shared the single's cover art on Instagram and announced that the collaboration would be released the following day. The cover art is an airplane window view of an ice cream cone-shaped cloud. Guwop and Atlantic Records released "Wake Up in the Sky" for digital download and streaming on September 14, 2018, as the album's third single.
Composition
"Wake Up in the Sky" is a hip hop, pop and soul song with trap influences. It is composed in time and the key of A minor, with a moderate tempo of 80 beats per minute, and a chord progression of Fmaj7–Am(add9)–Cmaj7/D. The artists' vocal range spans from G4 to D6. The track has a hazy, melodic sound and loose, spaced out production. It starts with Mars singing "fly" in his higher vocal register before the R&B hook. A trap beat is then added for the more sensual verses that are permeated with romanticism.
Mane and Black boast in their respective verses; C. Vernon Coleman II of XXL writes that Mane is in "flex mode", while Black's flow was viewed as "sneering" by Consequence of Sounds Randall Colburn. Black sing-speaks in his 16-bar verse, while Mane sings in a crooning style and ad-libs over the light instrumental, saying, "I smell like Bond Number 9, nine/ Section full of fine dimes/ Bitches starin' at me sayin', 'Wow'/ Unforgettable like Nat King Cole/ Gucci Barry White, I'm singing to your ho". His references to King Cole and White recall those of "Slow Jamz" (2003) by Twista featuring Kanye West and Jamie Foxx. The lyrics in the song are celebratory and are about feeling good and enjoying life, as heard in the hook, "I drink 'til I'm drunk, smoke til I'm high / Castle on the hill, wake up in the sky / You can't tell me I ain't fly / I know I'm super fly".
Reception
"Wake Up in the Sky" received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Pitchforks Alphonse Pierre wrote that Mane "sounds rejuvenated as he ad-libs over the bright instrumental", and Mars "effortlessly, [steals] the spotlight with a silky hook". Jordan Bassett of NME felt the song "shimmers with a lush R&B hook" and commented, "This is the most commercial Gucci's ever sounded, but could anyone deny him his euphoria?" According to him, the track is transcendental and "offered such resonance in the context of Gucci's transformation." In his review for XXL, Vernon Coleman II called Mars's chorus "infectious", while Josiah Hughes of Exclaim! deemed the track "luscious".