"For Free" is a song by American musician

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record executive, record producer and rapper. Khaled first gained recognition as a radio host in the 1990s on the radio station WEDR, 99 Ja ...

featuring Canadian rapper

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

. It was released on June 3, 2016 by

We the Best Music Group We The Best Music Group is an American record label founded by DJ Khaled. Previously We The Best operated as an imprint of IDJMG's division Def Jam South, and afterward as an imprint of the Universal Records division Cash Money Records. As of No ...

and

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

as the lead single from DJ Khaled's ninth studio album, '' Major Key''. The song was produced by

Nineteen85 Anthony Paul Jefferies (born July 1, 1985), known professionally as Nineteen85, is a Canadian record producer and songwriter. Nineteen85 holds the distinction of winning an ASCAP Music Award back-to-back in 2014 and 2015. He is best known for p ...

and

Jordan Ullman Majid Jordan is a Canadian R&B duo, consisting of singer Majid Al Maskati and producer Jordan Ullman from Toronto, Ontario. They formed in 2011 and signed to OVO Sound, the record label co-founded by rapper Drake, producer Noah "40" Shebib and O ...

with co-production from

Frankie Cutlass Frank Javiel Malave (born January 16, 1971), better known by his stage name Frankie Cutlass, is an American award- winning platinum DJ, Artist, Producer, Writer and Remixer from Harlem, New York, United States. He is best known for his hits "Pue ...

. The song was certified double platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) on May 31, 2017, for selling over two million copies in the United States.

Background

Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are usually only available for a short time before the ...

, DJ Khaled talked about "the Drake vocals finally eingin", referencing the then unreleased song. The hip hop song samples lyrics and cadences from Too Short's "Blow the Whistle", produced by Lil Jon, and interpolates Akinyele's "Fuck Me For Free", produced by platinum producer

. One of Drake's verses pays homage to Kendrick Lamar's '' To Pimp a Butterfly'' song, "

For Free? (Interlude) "For Free? (Interlude)" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It is the second track on his third studio album ''To Pimp a Butterfly'', released on March 15, 2015. It features uptempo bebop instrumentals, with Lamar rapping over them. A musi ...

Chart performance

On the chart dated June 25, 2016, "For Free" entered the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 18, powered by first-week digital download sales of 104,748 copies. It became DJ Khaled's fourth highest-charting single, peaking at number 13 in its ninth week (behind 2011's " I'm on One" with Drake,

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...

and

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

and 2017's " Wild Thoughts", with

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

and

Bryson Tiller Bryson Djuan Tiller (born January 2, 1993) is an American singer and rapper. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he began his career in 2011 with a mixtape entitled ''Killer Instinct Vol. 1''. Tiller initially gained mainstream success in 2015 follow ...

and " I'm the One", with

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

, Quavo,

Chance the Rapper Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Chicago, Bennett released his debut mixtape '' 10 Day'' in 2012. He ...

, and Lil Wayne). In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number 25, while peaking at number 47 in Canada and at number 79 in France, making it Khaled's most successful single in those countries until the release of " I'm the One" in the UK and Canada and " Wild Thoughts" in France.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:For Free (song) 2016 songs 2016 singles DJ Khaled songs Drake (musician) songs Song recordings produced by Majid Jordan Song recordings produced by Nineteen85 Songs written by Drake (musician) Songs written by DJ Khaled Songs written by Jordan Ullman Songs written by Nineteen85 Epic Records singles