YE’ off Burna Boy’s third studio LP ‘OUTSIDE’ has been certified GOLD in United States of America after amassing over 500,000 streams. The song has also been certified Gold in Canada(Music Canada) with over 40,000, received Gold certification in France(SNEP) with over 100,000 sales and Silver certification in United Kingdom(BPI) with over 200,000 sales.
“Ye” was released on August 6, 2018, as the sixth single from his third studio album Outside (2018). The song was produced by Nigerian record producer Phantom. It peaked at number 26 and 31 on Billboard’s Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop and R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay charts, respectively. “Ye” won Song of the Year and Listener’s Choice at the 2019 Soundcity MVP Awards Festival. It also won Song of the Year and was nominated for Best Pop Single and Best Recording of the Year at The Headies 2019.
In August 2019, Rolling Stone reported that “Ye” earned around 11 million streams over seven months across major U.S. streaming platforms.
Nigerian record producer Phantom created the beat in less than two hours, combining a kick, piano synths and a few snares. His vocals were layered on the beat. “Ye” saw a 200 percent spike in its streaming numbers after searches for Kanye West’s album Ye unintentionally caused listeners to stumbled upon it.
Burna Boy thanked Kanye West for the confusion on Twitter.[6] In an email to The Fader magazine, Burna Boy said the video “essentially shows the unrelenting nature of Nigerians”. A writer for Native magazine said “Ye” is being viewed as a new anthem because it “embraces the anathema of every self-interest seeking seemingly good-natured Nigerian.” As of December 2020, Ye is the most certified solo single by a Nigerian artiste.
Jamaican singer Koffee performed her rendition of “Ye” during her first ever London show. A few days later, she also performed her rendition on BBC Radio 1Xtra Live Lounge.
