"Fuckin' Problems" (also censored as "Problems" and titled on the clean version "F**kin' Problems") is a song by American rapper
ASAP Rocky
Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a member of the hip hop music, hip hop coll ...
, featuring Canadian rapper
Drake and fellow American rappers
2 Chainz
Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (formerly Tity Boi), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Ci ...
and
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...
. It was released on October 24, 2012, as the second single from Rocky's debut studio album ''
Long. Live. ASAP'' (2013), and was later released to radio on November 27, 2012.
Noah "40" Shebib assisted the artists in writing the song and also serves as
producer alongside Drake, who co-produced under the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
C. Papi.
Static Major
Stephen Ellis Garrett Jr. (November 11, 1974 – February 25, 2008), known professionally as Static Major (and previously as Static), was an American R&B and hip hop producer, singer, rapper, and songwriter from Louisville, Kentucky. He is be ...
receives posthumous songwriting credits for the sampling of his unreleased composition for
Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton ( ; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer, actress, dancer, and model. Known as the " Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop", she is credited with helping to redefine contemporary R&B, p ...
entitled "Don't Be Jealous" (which was leaked in January 2013 under title "Quit Hatin'"). Though uncredited, the song also interpolates
Ol' Dirty Bastard
Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), known professionally as Ol' Dirty Bastard (often abbreviated as ODB), was an American rapper. He was one of the founding members of the New York rap group Wu-Tang Clan, which forme ...
's "
Shimmy Shimmy Ya". The song was nominated for a
Grammy Award for Best Rap Song
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several c ...
.
Background
The song was initially recorded by
Drake for his album ''
Nothing Was the Same
''Nothing Was the Same'' is the third studio album by the Canadian rapper Drake (musician), Drake. It was released on September 24, 2013, through OVO Sound, Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Republic Records. Work on the record ...
'' in a studio session with rapper
2 Chainz
Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (formerly Tity Boi), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Ci ...
. Drake felt like the song was a throwaway so he wanted to give the song to "somebody who was poppin" and gave it to
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...
. Lamar recorded his verse on the song but decided not to use the song for his album ''
Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'', as he thought the song would not fit into the album, so he returned the song back to Drake again. Drake then finally let
ASAP Rocky
Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a member of the hip hop music, hip hop coll ...
keep the song along with all the verses to use for his debut album ''
Long. Live. ASAP''.
Music video
The
music video
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
, directed by Sam Lecca and Clark Jackson, premiered on December 3, 2012 on ''
106 & Park''.
Remixes
Young Money rapper
Tyga
Micheal Ray Stevenson[Micheal Ray Stevenson](_blank)
has a freestyle to the song on his 2012 mixtape, ''
187''.
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...
freestyled over the beat on his ''
Dedication 5
''Dedication 5'' is the twelfth Mixtape#Mixtapes in hip hop, mixtape by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was hosted by DJ Drama and was released on September 1, 2013. It is the fifth installment of Lil Wayne's "''Dedication''" series, following its p ...
'' mixtape along with
Kidd Kidd and Euro. Other freestyles and remixes to the song have been done by
Rick Ross
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...
(with
Stalley),
Trey Songz
Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer and songwriter. After being discovered by record producer Troy Taylor (record producer), Troy Taylor in 2003, Songz ...
,
Joell Ortiz and
Kevin McCall, among others.
Critical reception
''
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 ...
'' named the song number 21 on their list of the 50 best songs of 2012.
''Pitchfork'' ranked it at number 35 on their list of the top 100 songs of 2013. ''
XXL'' positioned it at number 14 on their list of the best songs of the year.
Chart performance
The song has sold over two million digital copies in the US as of October 2013.
The song has since peaked at number 8 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and is the most successful song on the album. It is also Rocky's most successful song as a lead artist.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
{{authority control
2012 songs
2012 singles
ASAP Rocky songs
Drake (musician) songs
2 Chainz songs
Kendrick Lamar songs
Songs written by ASAP Rocky
Songs written by Drake (musician)
Songs written by Kendrick Lamar
Songs written by 2 Chainz
Songs written by 40 (record producer)
Songs written by Static Major
Song recordings produced by 40 (record producer)
Dirty rap songs
RCA Records singles
Posse cuts