Cee-Lo Green: "Fuck You"

In late August of 2006, I was riding in a van with my dad in Queens, moving stuff into my crappy post-grad apartment. We were listening to some terrible Clear Channel radio station when I first heard Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy.” I was just about the last person on the “Crazy” train, considering the song had already spent months on the charts, and it was so familiar I was sure it was an oldie. That heartbeat bass line. Those simmering verses. Later I realized it had been subliminally pulsing through my summer of 2006, worming its way in.

Of course, “Crazy” and its ringmaster Cee-Lo can still be heard everywhere: grocery stores, baseball games, in line for the tilt-a-whirl. And perhaps in response to that song now being universally deemed pleasant, public music, Cee-Lo has released “Fuck You” from his upcoming album The Lady Killer. Already ubiquitous, “Fuck You” succeeds by pairing “Crazy”’s grandmother-pleasing retro sound with a litany of snide obscenities. We might not be hearing this one at the dentist.

The song unleashes a full Motown vibe right away, complete with Hammond organ and backup singers. “I guess the change in my pocket wasn’t enough / I’m like fuck you / and fuck her too,” Cee-Lo croons to his ex’s new man, smirking and sweet. “Fuck You” lurches into a fast-paced funk up until the bridge breakdown, when Cee-Lo lets loose some real frustrated emotion. He sings in that easygoing Smokey Robinson falsetto that his ex-girl represents all that is phony and money-grubbing in this world. His voice breaks off occasionally into angry spoken asides (“ain’t that some shit?”), and there’s something delightful about a classic love song sound paired with such bitterness. The song’s melody is a nice balance of throwback and Outkast-style neo-soul: at a recent party, I heard it sandwiched between “Hey Ya!” and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” which is truly where it belongs.

While “Fuck You” is pretty well worn territory both sonically and lyrically, the combination of Cee-Lo’s buttery voice and some explosive hooks make it irresistible. But be warned: thanks to a radio edit called “Forget You,” this song is going to played over and over, everywhere, for a long, long time. And for a while, you’re going to enjoy it.