Demeanor (song)

On July 9, 2021, Dua Lipa teased a collaboration with Pop Smoke by posting a video on social media of the rapper listening to her 2018 single "One Kiss". The video was accompanied with the caption "You can't say Pop without Smoke" in all caps, along with specifying the album's release date.[1] The track listing for Faith was later revealed on July 15, 2021, confirming Lipa's feature on the song. The lyrics and composition were written by Pop Smoke and Lipa alongside Dru Decaro, Sarah Hudson, and Coffee with Daniel Mlzrahi and Michael Gomes also credited as composers. The production was handled by Mantra. Recording took place at Quad Recording Studios in New York City by Corey "Cutz" Nutile. The song was mixed by Jess Jackson, who also handled the mastering with Ciel Eckard-Lee and David Bone; both duties were done at London Town Studios in Los Angeles.[2]

Pop Smoke's second posthumous studio album Faith was released via Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records on July 16, 2021, with "Demeanor" as the sixteenth track on Faith.[3] The song impacted rhythmic contemporary and contemporary hit radio in the United States on July 20, 2021, as the album's second single.[4][5] It also sent for radio airplay in Italy on July 23, 2021.[6]

Musically, "Demeanor" is a disco-pop[7][8][9] and electropop song.[10] The track features a rhythm guitar,[11] bassline,[12] drums,[13] funky groove, and bounce, accompanied by "woozy" vibes, and rhythmic verses.[14][15] It contains a spliced-in verse from an unreleased Pop Smoke track called "Face2Face".[16] Writing for The Ringer, Micah Peters opined the song is about "popping Perc 30s and shooting people".[17] Mankaprr Conteh for Rolling Stone said Pop Smoke raps about "asserting a will not only to survive, but to thrive".[15]

On the song, Pop Smoke sings about his "baba treesha", which is Brooklyn slang for a promiscuous woman.[18] In connection with the slang, the rapper sings about how women like how he acts, and being heavily intoxicated.[18] The late rapper then raps about suffering through poverty: "Look, eleven dollars a hour ain't enough to live/So I'ma go in every store and I'ma swipe this shit/They tryna lock a nigga up and I'm like, 'Fuck a pig'/'Cause either way, mommy still gon' love her kid."[19] Lipa has her own verse, as she sings: "You can't say Pop without Smoke/So fill up your lungs, my diamonds'll make you choke/You like the way I move/My demeanor is meaner than yours/So clap for the encore",[14][15][20][21] referring to Pop Smoke's line "You cannot say Pop and forget the Smoke" in his 2019 song "Gatti" with JackBoys and Travis Scott.[18]

David Crone of AllMusic said even though Lipa is "ostensibly at home on the slick grooves of 'Demeanor'", she "stumbles out" during the couplet: "You can't say Pop without Smoke/So fill up your lungs, my diamonds will make you choke", and described it as "excruciating".[22] Robin Murray from Clash stated the song "shows the potential Pop [Smoke] had to cross over", but called it one of the weaker tracks on the album.[23] For Exclaim!, Antoine-Samuel Mauffette Alavo viewed "Demeanor" as an "improbable duet" and thought Pop Smoke's fans will "undoubtedly be frustrated".[24] In HipHopDX, Anthony Malone called the song "jarring", and stated that at worst, "it sounds like a bad DJ Khaled crossover and at best, a summertime Calvin Harris record but never a Pop Smoke song by any stretch of the imagination".[16] Keith Nelson Jr. of Mic saw the song is a "clear attempt at expanding Pop [Smoke's] star beyond the streets and into the pop realm, but his dungeon dark vocals over drums soft enough to make Maroon 5 sound like Metallica garner mixed results".[13]

Kyann-Sian Williams, for NME, thought the track is "underdeveloped and slight, the singer's delivery disjointed". She opined that with a "few more tweaks, it might have been worth releasing".[25] Alphonse Pierre for Pitchfork described the track as the "most confusing record" on Faith. He mentioned the song has "a short Pop [Smoke] verse and rough hook [that] are laid over the type of bubbly production that could backdrop an episode of Gossip Girl". Pierre concluded by saying it does not "work and feel out of line with Pop [Smoke's] music—he never had to sacrifice his drill sound or intensity to make a hit".[26] For Variety, A. D. Amorosi viewed the song as a "dud".[27] Thomas Stremfel of Spectrum Culture declared the song's "placement over a Future Nostalgia B-side topped off with Dua Lipa’s 'female alpha' persona makes for one of the worst Frankensteins of a song all year".[19] Mr. Wavvy for Cult MTL claimed "Demeanor" was "in fact quite the misdemeanor". He ruled that it is a "mess of a mashup, essentially throwing some sped up, unreleased lines from the rapper over an otherwise great Dua [Lipa] track".[28]

In a more positive review, Jordan Rose of Complex said Lipa "laces the song with brilliant vocals and a strong verse".[29] In Rolling Stone, Mosi Reeves called the song "sleazy" and said it is one of the album's more impressive tracks.[9] Peters said the song "goes down surprisingly smooth",[17] while Steve Juon for RapReviews was surprised by Lipa's appearance.[30] The Wall Street Journal's Natalia Barr viewed the song as a "smoky club track".[12] Udit Mahalingan for The Line of Best Fit mentioned "Demeanor" seems "precursory to the retro-inflected sonic landscape of pop radio at present".[8] Preezy Brown of Vibe magazine perceived the track as an "addictive salvo".[31]

Following the release of Faith, "Demeanor" debuted and peaked at number 86 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[32] The song also peaked at number 19 on the US Rhythmic chart,[33] number 35 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart,[34] number 28 on the Mainstream Top 40,[35] and number 62 on the Billboard Global 200.[36] In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number 14, becoming Pop Smoke's eighth and Lipa's 19th top 40 hit in the UK, respectively.[37][38][39] Additionally, the song reached number 20 in Ireland,[40] number 26 in Canada,[41] number 41 in Sweden,[42] number 43 in Australia,[43] number 63 in Switzerland,[44] and number 94 in Lithuania.[45]

• Pop Smoke – vocals
• Dua Lipa – vocals
• Michael Gomes – co-production, backing vocals
• Dru Decaro – co-production
• Mantra – production, bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, percussion
• R&S – co-production
• Corey "Cutz" Nutile – additional production, programming, recording
• Jess Jackson – mixing, mastering, programming
• Ciel Eckard-Lee – assistant mixing, mastering
• David Bone – assistant mixing, mastering

• Audio video on YouTube
• Lyric video on YouTube
• Lyrics of this song at Musixmatch