“Satellite” by Bebe Rexha & Snoop Dogg
Bebe Rexha features a couple of really interesting collaborations, amongst them being Rexha’s first collaboration with tenured West Coast rapper Snoop Dogg.
Snoop has been industry active for 30 years now and represents one of very-rare cases of a 20th century rapper who remains in-demand well into the 2020s. That is in part due to his established character, with Snoop being an internationally-recognized weed advocate due to strongly espousing the act of smoking weed throughout the years, well before it became trendy to legalize and decriminalize the substance. And so it is with this song.
For example, “Satellite” was released as a single from “Bebe”, Rexha’s third-studio album, on 20 April 2023. Those in the know would recognize April 20th as being an (unofficial) holiday practiced in certain countries, including the United States (where both vocalists are from), as a celebration of weed culture.
Furthermore, Bebe publicly admitted that for the music video to this track – as directed by her beau, Keyan Safyari – she actually accepted Snoop Dogg’s offer to “try (his) Death Row Joints”, i.e. a weed brand owned by the Doggfather himself.
Additionally, you may notice that the cartoon version of Snoop featured on this track’s cover art is likewise smoking a joint, as well as rockin’ a shirt with a marijuana-leaf log on it. And beyond that, one of the primary colors of the cover art is green, i.e. the color most commonly associated with marijuana.
The Lyrics of “Satellite”
And of course, the lyrics of this song are imbrued with references to weed. In fact the title, as rendered in full during the chorus, serves as a metaphor pointing how high the vocalist(s) is. And relatedly, in sticking to this motif, the verses feature a number of astronomical references, such as the mention of a couple of planets.
That said, whereas “Satellite” is far from being a raunchy outing, there are also certain lines which imply that it may also be intended as a sex song, along the lines of the vocalists enjoying a night together while being thoroughly stoned.
And we can perhaps close by saying that thematically Snoop got the best of this one, as he does on many of his collaborations, as it isn’t likely Bebe would have dropped a weed song on her own (though she is apparently a true ganja aficionado).
Indeed, in rationalizing her decision to blaze alongside the D-O-double G, Rexha stated that she had to take advantage of the opportunity to do so since it is considered “a lifetime thing”, i.e. getting high with one of the most-famous smokers in the world.
“Last night, I got higher than a satellite (Ah)
I took a one-way ticket, it’s a one-man mission to paradise (Ah)
Last night, I got higher than a satellite (Ah)
I made a bad decision, baby, now I’m startin’ to feel alright”
The Team behind this Song
This song is a product of Warner Records, the label Bebe has been down with since 2013, thus virtually representing her entire discography.
The producer of this track is Joe Janiak, who also co-wrote it with the following:
- Snoop Dogg
- Bebe Rexha
- Sam DeRosa
- Kunfetti
- Maya Kurchner
FYI:
The songs “Heart Wants What It Wants” and “Call On Me” were also released as singles from Rexha’s “Bebe” album.
