Released 2015 (2015) Recorded 2014 Length 3:16 | Format CD-R
digital download Genre Synthfunk
soul-pop Label Sony
Columbia
RCA | |
"I Can't Lose" is a song by English DJ and record producer Mark Ronson with featured vocals by Keyone Starr. The song is a promotional single from Ronson's fourth studio album Uptown Special, released on 13 January 2015.
Contents
Background
The song was written as the follow-up to "Uptown Funk" from Uptown Special. "I Can't Lose" was written mostly by Jeff Bhasker and samples Snoop Dogg's "Ain't No Fun (If the Homies Can't Have None)" from Doggystyle and "Hot Music" by Soho; in an interview with The Guardian, Ronson described how Bhaskar had decided that the most appropriate way of discovering an appropriate vocalist for the song was to "drive through the deep south to find someone to sing it", an idea which Ronson loved. This trawling process led to Ronson and Bhaskar sifting through "a few hundred amazing singers" in assorted churches, nightclubs, bars and community centres. However they "had a very specific vocalist in mind", who turned out to be Keyone as both of them realised as she started singing in Mississippi State University.
Music video
A music video was produced for the song. It features both Ronson and Starr performing in an underground Chinatown club along with assorted musicians. The title of the source album, Uptown Special, appears frequently throughout the video. Two rival gangs gamble whilst this performance is going on; after one group loses, a dance-fight breaks out in the car park, with the song's trumpet break causing the club to vibrate. Starr then proceeds to abscond with the winnings and Ronson acts as the getaway driver.
Critical reception
Rolling Stone termed the song "a seductive soul-pop jam". The Guardian described it as "a brass-studded, synth-funk bagatelle that sounds straight outta [sic] 1982".