Katana VentraIP

Fe!n

"Fe!n" is a song by American rapper Travis Scott featuring fellow American rapper Playboi Carti. It was originally released on July 28, 2023 as a track from his fourth studio album, Utopia, before later being sent to US rhythmic radio as the fifth single from the album on March 12, 2024.[1] Produced by Scott, the song was written by the artists alongside additional producer Jahaan Sweet, and Sheck Wes, who has guest vocals on the original version of the song and the version shown in the movie Circus Maximus.

"Fe!n"

March 12, 2024

Rage

3:11

Travis Scott

Composition[edit]

"Fe!n" belongs to the rage microgenre of trap music.[2][3] The track features Playboi Carti performing with a deep voice, a new vocal delivery in contrast to his signature "baby voice".[4][5] and Scott performing a titular chorus of the word "fiend".[5]

Critical reception[edit]

The song received critical acclaim from music critics. Complex's Eric Skelton considered it the best song from Utopia, while Ecleen Luzmila Caraballo considered it one of the best.[6] Variety's Yousef Srour and Jem Aswad praised the collaborations in Utopia, citing Playboi Carti's "new, Atlanta trap-inspired flow" in the song as an example.[4] Andre Gee of Rolling Stone commented the song has "the kind of beat that's good enough for Playboi Carti to repeat himself 182 times over."[7] Desmond Leake of Paste wrote it "gives us a nice insight into the reclusive rapper's new sound, featuring the addictive refrain of 'Fein Fein' throughout the entire track."[5]


Pitchfork's Alphonse Pierre wrote that the song's beat is "played-out, but Playboi Carti's new vocal trick (sounding like he has bronchitis) soaks up the attention and just lets Travis do a bunch of ad-libbing."[2] Similarly, Paul Attard of Slant Magazine stated that "'Fe!n,' despite its straight-up hallucinatory beat, contains the most dead air of any track here (as well as the worst guest spot in Playboi Carti, who sounds like he's suffering from bronchitis)."[8] Nathan Evans of NME pointed out that Scott's line in the song "I've been focused on the future, never on right now" "exposes the fallacy" of Utopia, adding "By going back to the sound of his early work, Scott steps back into the gargantuan shadow of his mentor."[3] Aron A. of HotNewHipHop said that Playboi Carti does not add anything exciting to the track, and despite his new style "the song itself isn't as memorable as the credits would otherwise suggest."[9]


Mackenzie Cummings-Grady of Billboard placed "Fe!n" last in her ranking of the songs from Utopia.[10]

Music video[edit]

A music video for "Fe!n" was released on March 30, 2024 to Scott's YouTube channel via Vevo. It was directed by Gabriel Moses.