First included on his EP Wake Me Up, the song was later released as the second single from his third studio album, 2014's Lift Your Spirit, on Interscope Records.

Blacc co-wrote the track with Sam Barsh, Daniel Seeff, and its producer DJ Khalil and Alex Finkin.

[1] "The Man" is Blacc's most successful single as a solo artist to date; it sold 2.5 million copies in the United States as of December 2014,[2] peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100.

0:39 Marvin Gaye What's Going On album cover 0:39-0:54 Violence and racial injustice at the time 0:54-1:12 Civil Rights and Vietnam war protest 1:12-1:45 Louis Armstrong or Clifford Brown 1:45-2:25 Marvin Gaye 2:25-2:57 Muhammad Ali 2:57-3:05 Soul Train 3:19-3:37 Malcolm X 3:37-3:49 Martin Luther King Jr. 3:49---- Martin Luther King Jr. (continued until the end) 3:59---- Selma to Montgomery marches aka "Bloody Sunday" 4:18---- 1968 Olympics Black Power salute (back, right corner) The song was featured in the end credits of the 2014 film Brick Mansions.

The song was featured in the end credits of the 2023 Netflix original stand-up comedy special Dave Chappelle: The Dreamer.