Artist: Billy, Kara Romero, Kidd Amaze
Title: Model Citizen
Genre(s): Trip Hop
Length: 4:39
Writer(s): B.Khan, Kidd Amaze
Producer(s): Deneil
Label: Five Pesky Kids
From The Album: BILAL

Model Citizen is a song by British singer-songwriter Billy, featuring Spanish-American singer-songwriter Kara Romero, and American rapper Kidd Amaze. It was released as the seventh single from his upcoming debut studio album, "BILAL". After being via his social media platforms on March 6, 2024 the track was officially released two days later on the 8th through Five Pesky Kids Records. An early solo version of the track was written and recorded as far back as 2020 before being overhauled and reworked during studio sessions in early 2023. "Model Citizen" follows on from the critically acclaimed release of "The Entertainer", a rap/R&B song which topped the Chart Heat Singles Top 20 and served as a rebooted leading single for the album. Like his previous release, "Model Citizen" was also produced by Khan's younger brother, Deneil. The song has been dubbed by Billy as his "most important to date". The trip-hop song immediately garnered media attention even prior to release due to the multiple high profile names featured on the collaboration, and also debuting a day before the highly anticipated UMA's.

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Writing & Production

Lyrically, "Model Citizen" is politically charged and references both Khan's lived experiences growing up in Hackney throughout the 1990's and 2000's, while simultaneously reflecting upon current issues across the globe today. A heavy portion of the song revolves around the untimely deaths of the unfortunate and underprivileged, whether that be from gang violence or complications of societal neglect. Khan briefly spent some time being classed as homeless as a teenager, also finding himself in the care system, thus drawing on many personal experiences. As the song features artists from different continents, the song does not name any specific figures within their firing line in order to maintain a "universal sound", however, Khan has stated that the song is aimed at government officials and policing bodies. He claims that the song is a call to arms against "People who have a duty of care and are just neglectful. People who have so much power and use it for bad."

Known for a highly-sexed public image and "bad boy" persona, Khan often taps into that within his music. Several of his songs feature explicit content and regularly see him play a caricature of himself as perceived by the media. Billy made a conscious decision to tap into all aspects of his personality on his debut album, often offsetting a "typical Billy release" by following it up with a softer, more personal one. Khan knew that he wanted a politically charged song on his album, one focusing on social injustices. Throughout several interviews and statements, Billy has showcased how proud he is of his identity as a Pakistani bisexual who grew up in a deprived area, willingly becoming a voice for several marginalised groups. "I have this gift and golden opportunity. Not many people like me get to be in this position. I couldn't NOT get behind a mic and speak out. The fun and freaky songs are one thing. Real shit like this? That's what I do it for", opined Billy in his British Vogue feature.

In late 2022, Khan brought Kara Romero onto the song and reworked on it yet again with a major overhaul of the lyrics to suit a collaboration between a British and Spanish-American act, removing certain references that would only be understood by the British market. The song would continually be worked on before Khan decided to approach Kidd Amaze for a verse. In Kidd's verse, the rapper speaks on issues such as race, equality, transphobia, and women's reproductive rights. Amaze fires off a string of questions to the oppressors, occasionally mocking their small-minded ways of thinking on several lines. With Kidd joining the line-up and adding his own spin, "Model Citizen" achieved the soundscape that Khan had been working on and envisioning for several years.

Production throughout the entire timeline was handled by Deneil, Khan's younger brother and rapper in his own right. While a vocal performer himself, Billy purposely avoided a feature from Deneil on his specific track as he feared it'd come across as a "vanity project" for the siblings, taking away from the bigger picture and important message he wanted to encapsulate. "Model Citizen" in its very early days started out as a traditional piano ballad before quickly morphing into a trip hop song, elevating elements of "drama". The final 2024 released version includes slight "electronic buzzes" in parts of the song, creating a jarring sense of darkness and urgency. It ends with the original piano production that was initially axed years prior. The tinkering of the keys winds the listener down, juxtaposing the hectic and climactic crescendo of the electronic trip-hop beats built up in the latter half of the song.

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Background & Release

Khan initially wrote a version of the song as early as 2020, always intended on inclusion for the album. However, after realising the importance of such a political piece, he refrained from releasing it too hastily. Instead, Billy constantly reworked and refined the song for almost four full years. The landscape of the world and its social issues drastically changed upon entering the decade of the 2020s, allowing Billy to expand upon his statements several times over. Billy, a known supporter of the UK's Labour Party, has vehemently spoken out against the Conservative Party, the ruling opposition, repeatedly over the years. A lot of the inspiration for the song was drawn from his experience living under their 15-year-long rule. As the song lay in wait and evolved into a collaboration, Khan shifted his focus from a national perspective to an international one. "Model Citizen" morphed from being a story of life on the rough streets of London, to a much bigger tale. References of gun crimes and wars were added. Kidd Amaze's verse also touches upon several other social issues and small-minded perceptions. After many rewrites, bringing other artists into the project, and reworking the production, Khan eventually deduced that the song was finished.

The song was released several months after his last success in "The Entertainer" as Khan has repeatedly claimed that he wants each single to "have its own moment" before the full album is released. The track was announced on March 6th, 2024 by Khan alongside the artwork and a caption branding it "The Big One". "Model Citizen" officially premiered on March 8th, 2024. The artwork is a simple black and white image of Khan adorning a black leather jacket, looking off to his right with a rather introspective expression upon his face. The stripped back image helps reflect the serious tone and content of "Model Citizen" whereas several previous artworks of Khan have featured a sexier image, even appearing naked once.

Billy:


Kara:


Kidd:

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Critical Reception

"Model Citizen" received universal acclaim upon release, with many reviewers and listeners lauding both the lyrical content as well as the chemistry between all three artists on the song. In a review for NME, Maddie Chisolm described the song as "a powerful and gut-wrenching protest song that raises the hairs on the back of your neck whilst simultaneously making your eyes well up" and stated that it "doesn't outstay its welcome as Khan and Romero deliver gorgeous yet understated vocal performances, letting the lyrics be the driving force before Amaze rains down on us with pure fire for a brief spell." Chisolm rounded off her review by calling the track "perfect, concise and hits where it needs to", positively comparing it against other political songs which often come across as self-fulfilling. Pitchfork listed "Model Citizen" in their "Best New Music" segment. Writing for the publication, Dale Jackman dubbed the song "one for the history books" and "one of the most poignant and important musical releases of recent years".

Pearl Anderson of Clash stated that, "Billy, Kidd and Kara would seem like an obvious cause for collaboration given their admiration for each other and similar circles they move in. Khan recently claimed that everything he does is "for the culture", and that is where his genius and the beauty of this soaring epic lay." She continues; "On paper and to the labels wanting a hit, a Khan/Romero/Amaze crossover could be the most generic made-for-radio cash grab and still sell like hotcakes. However, the significance of both the song's message and three industry heavyweights, all from minority groupings coming together to create such a poignant piece is what takes the song from being a hit to the upper echelon of a being a cultural reset."

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"MODEL CITIZEN"

Billy
Kara
Kidd

A moment of silence for all our deceased
Prayer circle right in the belly of the beast
Officers don't want to practice what they preach
Where's the fuckin' law and order in these streets?
Youths just dropping dead in the inner city
Stanley in their pocket in case man's acting iffy
More blood in an alleyway, shit's getting crazy
Another statistic, a point raised for the committee

16 year olds out here lacking guidance
Speak up and the powers go for silence
Trying to get by on a complex, secret code
It's a slippery rock, it's a fraying rope
No room for mistakes, it's so unforgiving
All out here just dying for a living

Thank the Lord it's them and not you
They were never real, another name on the news
We all end up bleeding red, white and blue
It's not perfect but it's what we have to do
Switch the station, nothing can be done
No questions raised, not like it was your son
Don't want to face the barrel of a smoking gun?
Just walk on by like a model citizen

Cross your heart and hope to die
For the piece of fabric flailing in the sky
And if you should go before you wake
Pray to the State, your shit to take

Wake up to find fresh shells on the ground
Politicians don't hear the shots in their town
Haven't been listening much for a while now
Made of bricks, can't blow their house down
Knew a girl around here who fell upon some bad times
Had it rough but still threw up the peace signs
Now I can't walk that road until her blood dries
Can't change a thing so we just watch the doves fly

Joyriding around the block without a license
Probably searching for a new shelter to hide in
It's a war out there, it's a fucking joke
No right direction, just mirrors and smoke
The same concrete jungle, so unfulfilling
All out here just dying for a living

Thank the Lord it's them and not you
They were never real, another name on the news
We all end up bleeding red, white and blue
It's not perfect but it's what we have to do
Switch the station, nothing can be done
No questions raised, not like it was your son
Don't want to face the barrel of a smoking gun?
Just walk on by like a model citizen

Question, do you know when the last slave was freed?
When was the first time people thought about equality?
Forget the red tape let's redline through the communities
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice and we need that consistency
Remember it's an US vs them tendency
And mentally keeping them on the wheel
That's what is good for productivity
This is a catch all the color I see green
I'm just blind to your issues when it comes to ethnicity
You know the saying no press is bad press and we need the publicity
To prey on your fears and create a vacuum of toxicity
Make you question the authenticity of professional
Remember the vaccine?
How does it work? Get the facts and douse it gasoline
And if a bitch talks back get the Vaseline
Her place is the kitchen or the bedroom no in between
She thinks she knows best for her body that's so obscene
Look at what happens now boys feeling like queens
Girls trying to be kings world crazy mad
It's safe here in your little box aren't you glad?

Thank the Lord it's them and not you
They were never real, another name on the news
We all end up bleeding red, white and blue
It's not perfect but it's what we have to do
Switch the station, nothing can be done
No questions raised, not like it was your son
Don't want to face the barrel of a smoking gun?
Just walk on by like a model citizen

Cross your heart and hope to die
For the piece of fabric flailing in the sky
And if you should go before you wake
Pray to the State, your shit to take

Cross your heart and hope to die
For the piece of fabric flailing in the sky
And if you should go before you wake
Pray to the State, your shit to take


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