Ayo Technology

"Ayo Technology" is the fourth single from 50 Cent's third album, Curtis.[4][5][6] The song, featuring Justin Timberlake and vocals from Timbaland, who also produced the song along with Danja, is about a man who is tired of using technology, and peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. Internationally, the song peaked within the top ten of the charts in many countries, including Australia, Denmark and the United Kingdom. The song has since been covered by Milow, a Belgian singer-songwriter whose version was successful in a number of countries, including Belgium, Spain, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. The song was also covered by Skyla, a British singer-songwriter whose version was popular in the dance genre and Katerine Avgoustakis, another Belgian singer, whose version was very successful in various Central and Eastern European countries, particularly in Poland.

"Ayo Technology"
Single by 50 Cent featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland
from the album Curtis
B-side	"I Get Money"
Released	August 31, 2007 (2007-08-31)
Recorded	May 2007 (2007-05)[1][2]
Genre	Dirty rap electropop[3]
Length	4:08 (album version)
Label	Shady Aftermath Interscope Universal
Songwriter(s)	Curtis Jackson Justin Timberlake Timothy Mosley Nate Hills
Producer(s)	Timbaland Danja
50 Cent singles chronology
"I Get Money" (2007) "Ayo Technology" (2007) "I'll Still Kill" (2007)
Justin Timberlake singles chronology
"LoveStoned" (2007) "Ayo Technology" (2007) "The Only Promise That Remains" (2007)
Audio sample
file help

Background

HipHopDX reported that the song was renamed three times. It was first titled "Ayo Pornography" when it first leaked in May 2007, then "Ayo Technology" in June, and then "She Wants It" by July. Finally, the song title was reverted to "Ayo Technology." The song features Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, but most sources don't credit Timbaland for being on the song. In 2008, it was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Song.[7] As revealed within its lyrics, "Ayo Technology" puts a strong emphasis on hot-blooded sexual fantasies, explicit body movements (such as when Timberlake utters the line "Why don't you sit down on top of me") and wild festivities at nightclubs. The intro and lead synth were created using an emulated version of the MOS SID Synthesizer microchip used in the Commodore 64 8-bit Home Computer, on the Open Labs Neko Digital Audio Workstation that Timbaland was famous for using around this period.. Because of this, it is remarkably similar-sounding to the electronic music duo Crystal Castles' song Courtship Dating from their self-titled album, released the following year although performed live since December 2006. Despite the album itself not being out until nearly a year after the public debut of "Ayo Technology," there was still minor controversy over the alleged "sampling" of this song on "Ayo Technology", perhaps because of the negative reputation Timbaland has garnered over sampling uncredited 8-bit musicians.

Critical response

Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone gave the song a mixed review: "The I-need-love pop tunes are not getting any better, even with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake in the stripper ditty 'Ayo Technology.'"[8] Pitchfork also gave a mixed review: "The album's only concession to modern pop trends— the Timbaland-produced, Timberlake-hooked "Ayo Technology"—flies off the rails as 50, ripped from his comfort zone, falls behind the gurgling, video-game-blipping beat. Though he tries to force the track into more familiar territory with a cyborg-stripper theme, Justin nabs the spotlight without even trying."[9] David Jeffries from AllMusic highlighted and wrote: "At ease is the Timbaland production "Ayo Technology" featuring Justin Timberlake, an obvious single that's "been there, done that" for all parties involved. This doesn't mean it's bland, just safe."[10] The A.V. Club was also positive: "Ayo Technology" follows the sexed-up template of "Candy Shop" and "Just A Lil Bit" in providing strip clubs with the most perfunctory soundtrack possible."[11]

Remixes and covers

The official remix features hip hop and R&B artist Casely. Rapper Krayzie Bone created a remix called "Perfect Execution" off his 2008 mixtape The Fixtape: Smoke on This. An acoustic cover of "Ayo Technology" performed by Belgian singer Milow was released in a number of European countries, topping the charts in the Netherlands,[12] Belgium, Spain, Sweden[13] and Switzerland, and also charting well in countries such as Germany, where the song was certified Platinum for shipping 300,000 copies,[14] as well as in Romania. In September 2009, British singer Skyla released a cover version of the song. Earlier in 2009, Katerine Avgoustakis also made a cover of the song which became her first international single and underwent great success. It was number one for one week in Poland on the country's Official Airplay Chart, ranked by Nielsen SoundScan. Rockabilly band The Baseballs include "Ayo Technology" as part of a medley including covers of "Poker Face" and "Jungle Drum" whilst on tour.[15] British duo Jaqobi also recorded their own version of the song for their 2010 EP Two Brothers, A Guitar & A Bar. British recording artist Craig David also used the song to remix his own song "Hot Stuff (Let's Dance)".

Music video

The music video was premiered by BET on August 2, 2007, and was filmed in North London. 50 Cent described the music video to MTV. He said:

"You can see this is not my normal uniform, or get-up, when I'm in a music video. But it's time for me to do something a little different, and this is the perfect time for me to actually change my look. You might see this on the red carpet, but not in an actual music video. The biggest challenges for the video are giving off a natural vibe and not seeming contrived at any moment. For you to actually be comfortable when you're actually doing it is a task. At some points you've got a room full of people looking at you at one time, just watching you to see what you're going to do. You've got to relax and just do it."[16]

Timbaland's appearance in the music video uses features from the movie Minority Report such as moving computer interfaces with hands. Justin Timberlake's appearance is similar to that of his role in his music video "SexyBack".

Chart performance

In the United States, "Ayo Technology" became 50 Cent's second highest debut on the Billboard Hot 100, entering at #22. The following week, it rose to #18, before falling to #21. One week after, "Ayo Technology" rose to #19. One week later, during the release of 50 Cent's Curtis and Kanye West's Graduation, the song skyrocketed to a peak of #5, becoming 50 Cent's eighth top-ten single as a lead artist, and eleventh overall. In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at #10 on the UK Singles Chart on downloads alone, becoming his eighth top ten single on the chart. It peaked at number two, becoming 50 Cent's highest charting single in Britain, beating out "In Da Club", which peaked at number three in March 2003. In New Zealand, the song debuted at number eight on the New Zealand Singles Chart, jumping to number one the following week where it stayed for three consecutive weeks.[17] It stayed on the chart for 22 weeks and was certified Gold, selling over 7,500 copies.[18]

Track listing

• 2-Track[19]

1. "Ayo Technology" – 4:07
2. "I Get Money [Straight to the Bank Pt. 2]" – 4:00

• Maxi CD[19]

1. "Ayo Technology" – 4:07
2. "I Get Money [Straight to the Bank Pt. 2]" – 4:00
3. "Ayo Technology" (instrumental) – 4:07
4. "Ayo Technology" (CD-rom video) – 4:07

Charts

50 Cent version Chart (2007–08) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[20] 10 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[21] 14 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[22] 13 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[23] 6 Brazil (ABPD)[24] 15 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[25] 12 CIS (Tophit)[26] 9 Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[27] 9 Denmark (Tracklisten)[28] 7 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[29] 7 France (SNEP)[30] 5 Germany (Official German Charts)[31] 3 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[32] 16 Ireland (IRMA)[33] 3 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[34] 17 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[35] 19 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[36] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[37] 7 Romanian Top 100[38] 9 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[39] 8 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[40] 2 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[41] 2 US Billboard Hot 100[42] 5 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[43] 41 US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[44] 10 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[45] 11 Year-end charts Chart (2007) Position Australia (ARIA)[46] 47 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[47] 72 Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[48] 82 Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia)[49] 65 CIS (Tophit)[50] 59 France (SNEP)[51] 91 Germany (Official German Charts)[52] 37 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[53] 79 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[54] 27 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[55] 25 US Billboard Hot 100[56] 87 Chart (2008) Position Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[57] 93 Katerine Avgoustakis version Chart (2018) Peak position Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[58] 71

Milow version Chart (2008–2010) Peak position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[59] 2 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[60] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[61] 5 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[62] 70 Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[27] 5 Denmark (Tracklisten)[63] 1 European Hot 100[64] 6 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[65] 10 France (SNEP)[66] 8 Germany (Official German Charts)[67] 2 Germany (Airplay Chart)[68] 1 Italy (FIMI)[69] 5 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[70] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[71] 1 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[72] 2 Spanish Airplay Chart[73] 3 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[74] 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[75] 1 Year-end charts Chart (2008) Position Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[76] 81 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[77] 52 Chart (2009) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[78] 8 Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[79] 25 Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia)[80] 18 France (SNEP)[81] 67 Germany (Official German Charts)[82] 3 Italy (FIMI)[83] 36 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[84] 5 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[85] 16 Spanish Top 20 Airplay[86] 6 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[87] 3 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[88] 3 Decade-end charts Chart (2000–2009) Position Germany (Official German Charts)[89] 34

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label
United States[90]	July 24, 2007	Mainstream radio	Shady Aftermath Interscope
		Rhythm/crossover radio
Germany	August 31, 2007[91]	Maxi single	Universal
	September 3, 2007[92]	Digital download
United Kingdom[93]	September 17, 2007	CD single	Polydor
		Digital download[94]

See also

• List of number-one singles from the 2000s (decade) (New Zealand)
• Ultratop 50 number-one hits of 2008
• List of number-one hits in Denmark
• List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 2009
• List of Swedish number-one hits
• List of number-one hits of 2009 (Switzerland)

References

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External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics