It was produced by David Guetta, Afrojack, and Giorgio Tuinfort, who also wrote the song with Rexha, Minaj, Ester Dean, and Sean Douglas.

The track samples American ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax's recording of "Rosie", a field holler sung by an Afro-American chain gang at the Mississippi State Penitentiary.

The song met a commercial success, reaching number one in Poland and Greece, peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, and peaking within the top 10 in numerous countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Lebanon, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

The artists co-wrote the song with Ester Dean, Sean Douglas, and Giorgio Tuinfort; the latter co-produced it with Guetta and Afrojack.

[3] "Hey Mama" is the third collaboration between Guetta and Minaj, following Nothing but the Beat singles "Where Them Girls At" (also featuring Flo Rida) and the double-platinum "Turn Me On" (both 2011).

[6] Several music companies and reviewers chose "Hey Mama" as the highlight of the album, with Billboard describing it as a "bombastic island-flavored jam"[7][8] and the Associated Press stating Minaj and Afrojack had produced "a startling R&B bump and funk gem.

The video ends with people walking through and sitting around a neon heart light and one last shot of the holographic Minaj, before cutting to Guetta standing in the desert.

[21] On 30 May 2015, Minaj and Rexha also performed the song together for the first time on the iHeartRadio Summer Pool Party 2015 in Las Vegas, joined by Guetta on stage.