The song's lyrics celebrate Pittsburgh's blue-collar work ethic and its sports culture, and include shout-outs to the Steelers, Pirates baseball team, and Penguins hockey team. Khalifa also references the city's famous bridges and rivers, and its "Steeltown" nickname.
The song was a massive commercial success, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and becoming one of the best-selling songs of 2011. It was also used as the theme song for the 2011 NFL playoffs, and was performed by Khalifa at the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show.
"Black and Yellow" has become an iconic song for the city of Pittsburgh, and is considered one of the most popular sports anthems of all time.