"Don't Stop" is a song by American rapper

Megan Thee Stallion Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion (pronounced "Megan the Stallion"), is an American rapper and songwriter. Originally from Houston, Texas, she first garnered attention when videos of her ...

featuring fellow American rapper

Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...

. It was written alongside Ricky Remedy and producer

Buddah Bless Tyron Buddah Douglas Sr. (born February 8, 1992), professionally known as Buddah Bless, is an American record producer, songwriter, and former rapper. He has produced many hit singles, such as "Big Amount" by 2 Chainz (featuring Drake (musician), ...

. The song was released on October 2, 2020 by 1501 Certified Entertainment and

300 Entertainment Theory Entertainment LLC, doing business as 300 Entertainment, is an American record label founded by Lyor Cohen, Kevin Liles, Todd Moscowitz, and Roger Gold. The label's roster includes acts across multiple genres such as hip hop, rock, pop, ele ...

as the second official single from her debut studio album '' Good News'' (2020). Musically, it is a sex-positive hip hop song with production inspired by

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

and

industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...

. "Don't Stop" debuted and peaked at number 30 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. To promote the song, Megan performed it alongside Young Thug during the season premiere of the 46th season of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

''. A music video inspired by the 1951 film ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

'' and directed by

Colin Tilley Colin Tilley (born June 27, 1988) is an American filmmaker, music video director, and television commercial director. Tilley is the CEO and owner of Boy in the Castle Productions. He has directed more than 300 music videos. Tilley directed, pro ...

was released on the same day as the song.

Background and release

The collaboration was first teased via the Instagram page of 300 Entertainment after they posted a picture of the two artists in the studio together, a week before the song's release. On September 28, 2020, Megan posted the song's cover art and release date to her Instagram. The song was released on October 2, 2020. On October 8, 2020, Megan partnered with

Amazon Music Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and online music store operated by Amazon. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights man ...

to create the "Don't Stop" scholarship fund, which provided two women of color pursuing an

associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

degree in any field of study with $10,000 each.

Composition

"Don't Stop" is a hip hop song with elements of

and

in its production. The track is backed instrumentally by "glitch" sounds and heavy percussion ''

MTV Australia MTV is a 24-hour general entertainment channel specialising in music and youth culture programming which serves Australia and New Zealand. It is operated by parent company Paramount Networks UK & Australia headquartered in London with a local of ...

''s Jackson Langford compared the song's production to that of British record label

PC Music PC Music is a record label and art collective based in London and run by producer A. G. Cook. It was founded in 2013, making its music available on SoundCloud that year. Artists on its roster have included Hannah Diamond, GFOTY, Danny L Harle, ...

. The song includes "raunchy" and "sex-positive" lyrics, such as "I've got a stank ass walk and a reckless ass mouth" and "Don't stop, pop that cat".

Critical reception

Jessica McKinney of ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' identified the song as one of the best released during the week ending October 2, 2020. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''s Jason Lipshutz praised the song, writing that it "sounds like it would absolutely ignite any dance floor or arena crowd upon which it is dropped", and calling the production "one of Buddah Bless' most spectacular productions to date". Andrew Sacher of ''

BrooklynVegan ''BrooklynVegan'' is an American online music magazine founded in 2004 by David Levine. The company is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, United States and originally focused on vegan food and the music community in and around New York City, ...

'' called the track a "banger". Langford of ''

'' wrote that, with "Don't Stop", "Megan asserts her dominance over the globe once again – just in case you forgot who was in charge.". Writing for ''

Paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...

'', Sarah Mai complimented the song's lyrics, referring to them as "clever and fun".

Live performances

A day after the release of "Don't Stop", Megan performed the track during the

season premiere A season premiere is the first episode of a new season of a returning television show. In the United States, many season premieres are aired in the fall time or, for mid-season replacements, either in the spring or late winter. In countries such ...

of ''

'' alongside Young Thug.

Commercial performance

"Don't Stop" debuted and peaked at number 30 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for the week ending October 17, 2020, with 13.8 million domestic streams and 5,000 downloads. The single also debuted at number one on ''Billboard''s Top

Triller The trillers are a group of passerine birds belonging to the cuckooshrike family Campephagidae partially making up the genus '' Lalage''. Their name come from the loud trilling calls of the males. There are about 12 species that usually exist ...

US and Top Triller Global charts, displacing

Dixie D'Amelio Dixie Jane D'Amelio ( ; born August 12, 2001) is an American singer and social media personality known for her videos on TikTok. She is the elder sister of Charli D'Amelio. She was born in Norwalk, Connecticut. In 2020, she starred in the You ...

's " Be Happy", and at number 61 on the ''Billboard'' Global 200 chart, amassing 18.6 million streams and 6,000 downloads globally.

Music video

The music video for "Don't Stop", directed by

, was released alongside the song, serving as the first official music video from Megan's debut album Good News. Megan Thee Stallion appears throughout the video dressed in outfits inspired by various characters from ''

'', including Alice, the

Queen of Hearts The queen of hearts is a playing card in the standard 52-card deck. Queen of Hearts or The Queen of Hearts may refer to: Books * "The Queen of Hearts" (poem), anonymous nursery rhyme published 1782 * ''The Queen of Hearts'', an 1859 novel by ...

, and the

Cheshire Cat The Cheshire Cat ( or ) is a fictional cat popularised by Lewis Carroll in ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and known for its distinctive mischievous grin. While now most often used in ''Alice''-related contexts, the association of a "Ch ...

. The video also features

voguing Vogue, or voguing, is a highly stylized, modern house dance originating in the late 1980s that evolved out of the Harlem ballroom scene of the 1960s. It gained mainstream exposure when it was featured in Madonna's song and video "Vogue" (1990), ...

dancers from the

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...

series ''

Legendary Legendary may refer to: * Legend, a folklore genre * Legendary (hagiography) ** Anjou Legendarium * J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium Film and television * ''Legendary'' (film), a 2010 American sports drama film * ''Legendary'', a 2013 film fea ...

'' (on which Megan is a judge), Megan riding a giant

rocking horse __NOTOC__ A rocking horse is a child's toy, usually shaped like a horse and mounted on rockers similar to a rocking chair. There are two sorts, the one where the horse part sits rigidly attached to a pair of curved rockers that are in contact wit ...

and twerking, and a CGI-animated cat which resembles the Cheshire Cat. Young Thug appears during his verse dressed as ''

Edward Scissorhands ''Edward Scissorhands'' is a 1990 American fantasy romance film directed by Tim Burton. It was produced by Burton and Denise Di Novi, written by Caroline Thompson from a story by her and Burton, and starring Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Anthony Mi ...

''.

Reception

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

''s Eric Torres named the video for "Don't Stop" the third best music video released in October 2020, calling it "a delirious trip through familiar cinematic imagery, all delivered by Megan’s tongue-wagging, irreverent charisma." Zoe Haylock of ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

'' reviewed the video positively, writing, "The music video is endless twists on classics, with just enough Meg in there to make them feel brand new. And, it’s carefree."

Personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

. *

vocals, songwriting *

production, songwriting * A. "Bainz" Bainsengineering, vocal recording engineering * Shawn "Source" Jarrettengineering * Aresh Banajiassistant engineering * Jaycen Joshuamixing * Jacob Richardassistant mixing * Mike Seabergassistant mixing * Colin Leonardmastering

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2020 singles 2020 songs 300 Entertainment singles Megan Thee Stallion songs Songs written by Megan Thee Stallion Young Thug songs Songs written by Young Thug Songs written by Buddah Bless Song recordings produced by Buddah Bless Music videos directed by Colin Tilley American electronic songs Industrial songs