Bed Peace (song)

Bed Peace is the second song from Jhené Aiko's extended play, Sail Out. The song features rapper Childish Gambino. The song was released as the second single from her EP, and the single was released on September 17, 2013. It is produced by Fisticuffs.

The songs accompanying music video was released on October 28, 2013 and was directed by long time collaborator Topshelf, the songs video was met with positive reviews from critics. The song was further promoted by various live performances including at the Live Byte series and BBC Radio 1's Future Festival.

Background
It was revealed in 2012 that Aiko's debut EP would feature production from producer Fisticuffs, who helped produce the majority of Aiko's 2011 mixtape Sailing Soul(s). Bed Peace was written by Aiko herself, along with her frequent collaborators Mac Robinson and Brian Warfield while the latter two handled the songs production under their production name Fisticuffs. During the writing and recording of Bed Peace Aiko purposely left a verse free, as she felt a feature was necessary. When looking for a feature she had the idea to fine her "John Lennon" and began to send out requests to other artists, but a lot of the musicians were busy or had overlapping schedules. During an interview Aiko commented on the songs recording process and the choice to include Gambino;

On July 12, 2013, Jhené Aiko premiered an acoustic version of "Bed Peace" during a performance for Rap-Up Sessions. "Bed Peace" was released as the lead single from her debut EP Sail Out on September 17, 2013. The source of inspiration for Bed Peace's artwork are the Bed-Ins for Peace protest against the Vietnam War by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Reception
Upon its release, Bed Peace was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. Ryan B. Patrick of Exclaim! praised the song and commended Aiko's vocals and she "breezes" over the "minimalist" track, Patrick continued to compare the song to the work of American R&B singer Ciara and the late singer Aaliyah. Jordan Sargent of Pitchfork Media also praised the song noting the songs lyrical content and Aiko's "fixation with weed'" Sargent continued to praise Aiko's use of intoxication as a metaphor. Edwin Ortiz of Complex magazine praised the single, and commended Aiko's choice to include Childish Gambino as a feature, Ortiz also praised the songs melody and playful lyrics.

A reviewer at Huffington Post praised the song particularly it's lyrical content, stating that this song is "her take on modern day love, in her unique style, the track is a concoction of heart filled and sensual yet sex driven, drug fuelled and passionate." David Jeffries of AllMusic praised Aiko's "twist" on the work of Lennon calling it a "cheeky twist" and praised the song for being "light-stepping," Jeffries continued to praise the inclusion of rapper Gambino.

Commercially the song did not fare well, making no appearances on major charts however Bed Peace did chart at number one on the US 'Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles an extension of the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Song Breakdown
According to Jhene Aiko on Rap Genius, "The alternative to violence is to stay in bed, vape weed and make love."