"Hard in da Paint" is the second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from American rapper

Waka Flocka Flame Juaquin James Malphurs (born May 31, 1986), known professionally as Waka Flocka Flame, is an American rapper. Signing to 1017 Brick Squad and Warner Bros. Records in 2009, he became a mainstream artist with the release of his singles "O Let's ...

's debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Flockaveli ''Flockaveli'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Waka Flocka Flame. The title of the album is a portmanteau of Waka Flocka Flame's name and that of the Italian political theorist Machiavelli, and was inspired by fellow American rapper ...

''.

Background

Waka Flocka's "Hard in da Paint", like his previous hit "

O Let's Do It "O Let's Do It" is the first single from American rapper Waka Flocka Flame's debut studio album, ''Flockaveli''. The song features Lil' Capp, who is not credited on the single version. Track listing ;Digital single ;CD single ;Remix single ...

", was originally a

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

track. It first appeared on his fourth mixtape titled ''LeBron Flocka James'', released on October 17, 2009. An early remix featuring

French Montana Karim Kharbouch (Arabic: æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he emigrated to the United States with his family when he was 13. ...

was released on April 19, 2010, and appeared in the latter's ninth mixtape titled ''Mac & Cheese 2'', released on May 6. The track was produced by up-and-coming producer

Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and football player. In 2011 he began working with WWE on its wellness policy. He is best known for ...

, and went on to become an underground hit before being released as a commercial single on May 13.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was released on July 19, 2010. During the music video the production was shut down by gang activity and police presence due to the Black P. Stones Bloods

gang injunction A civil gang injunction or CGI is a type of restraining order issued by courts in the United States prohibiting gang members in particular cities from participating in certain specified activities. It is based on the legal theory that gang activ ...

. The music video was directed by Benny Boom. It was shot on Palmwood Drive in

Baldwin Village Baldwin Village is a commercial enclave in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the west of downtown Toronto, within the Grange Park (neighbourhood), Grange Park neighbourhood, one block north of Dundas Street, Dundas Street West, between ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, often referred to as "the Jungles", a neighborhood made infamous courtesy of the

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

movie ''

Training Day ''Training Day'' is a 2001 American crime thriller film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by David Ayer. It stars Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris and Ethan Hawke as Jake Hoyt, two LAPD narcotics officers over a 24-hour period in the gang- ...

''.

Reception

In August 2014, ''Pitchfork'' listed the track at number 41 on their "The 200 Best Tracks of the Decade So Far (2010-2014)."

Remixes

An official remix featuring

was released on April 19, while a second remix featuring

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...

was released on June 22. R&B singer

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model and entrepreneur. She released her debut studio album, '' Goodies'' in 2004, which spawned four singles: " Goodies" (featuring Petey Pa ...

released her own remix of the song on June 2, 2010. Rappers

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (or Tity Boi), is an American rapper. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he initially gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, al ...

Young Jeezy Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. Signing to Def Jam Recordings in 2004, his major label debut, '' Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101'', was released the followin ...

and

Pusha T Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper, songwriter and record executive. He rose to prominence as one-half of the hip hop duo Clipse, which was mainly active from 1994 to 20 ...

released a version of the song titled "Hard in the Kitchen" on February 11, 2011. Several rappers released freestyles over the production, including

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 ...

, Vado,

Lil Flip Wesley Eric Weston Jr. (born March 3, 1981), better known by his stage name Lil' Flip, is an American rapper. He embarked on his musical career as a freestyle and battle rapper before earning a record deal with Suckafree Records in 1999. Lil' F ...

Haystak Jason Winfree (born March 22, 1973), professionally known by his stage name Haystak is an American rapper from Nashville, Tennessee Early life Jason Winfree was born to teenage parents in Trenton, Tennessee, outside of Nashville and was raised by ...

Tyga Michael Ray Nguyen-StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson ...

, Lil Chuckee,

Curren$y Shante Scott Franklin (born April 4, 1981), better known by his stage name Currensy (often stylized as Curren$y), is an American rapper. In 2011, he founded the label Jet Life Recordings. Music career 2002–2008: No Limit and Young Money ...

Jay Rock Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. (born March 31, 1983), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Los Angeles. He signed to indie label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), in 2005. Under TDE, Rock secured a rec ...

Crooked I Dominick Antron Wickliffe (born September 23, 1976), better known by his stage names Crooked I and Kxng Crooked, (stylised as KXNG Crooked and pronounced "King Crooked") is an American rapper from Long Beach, California. He is best known as a for ...

, Joell Ortiz,

Meek Mill Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his music career as a battle rapper, and later formed a short-lived rap group, ...

Slim Thug Stayve Jerome Thomas (born September 8, 1980), better known by his stage name Slim Thug, is an American rapper. He initially gained mainstream attention for his contribution to the hit single by rapper Mike Jones, "Still Tippin'". In July 2005, h ...

and Scrim from $uicideboy$. German hip hop group

Zugezogen Maskulin Zugezogen Maskulin is a German rap duo, formed by grim104 and Testo in Berlin. They are signed to the Hamburg label Buback. means 'newcomers' and the name is a reference to the fact that both members of the group are newcomers to Berlin, as w ...

released a version titled "Undercut, Tumblrblog". British rapper Giggs also made his own version. There is also a remix performed by drummer

Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician who serves as the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has also performed as a frequent collaborator with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transpla ...

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

instrumental hip hop Hip hop production is the creation of hip hop music in a recording studio. While the term encompasses all aspects of hip hop music creation, including recording the rapping of an MC, a turntablist or DJ providing a beat, playing samples and "s ...

band,

BadBadNotGood BadBadNotGood (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian instrumental band and production team from Toronto, Canada. The group was founded in 2010 by bassist Chester Hansen, keyboardist Matthew Tavares, and drummer Alexander Sowinski. In 2016, they wer ...

did an arrangement of the song.

Metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

band Of Mice & Men included samples of the track in the Warped Tour remix of their single "OG Loko".

Parodies

A popular video parody of "Hard in da Paint" was posted on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

, with

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

(played by comedian James Davis) as the subject of the song. The "Baracka Flacka Flames: Head of the State" video has gained over 13 million views as of 2016. A remix by The Hood Internet which contains Waka Flocka's lyrics over a Flock of Seagulls, called "Waka Flocka Seagulls" has also been made. "Hard in da Paint" was referred to in an episode of

The Eric Andre Show ''The Eric Andre Show'' is an American surreal sketch comedy television series which began airing on May 20, 2012. The show premiered on Adult Swim and is a parody of late night talk shows. The series is hosted by comedian Eric André and forme ...

, with co-host Hannibal Buress asking

Lauren Conrad Lauren Katherine Conrad (born February 1, 1986)) is an American television personality, fashion designer and author. In September 2004, as an 18-year-old, Conrad came to prominence after being cast in the reality television series '' Laguna Beac ...

if she had ever listened to Waka Flocka Flame. He proceeds to rap the song's intro, with various words not associated with profanity being censored as well as the intended profanity.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 2008 songs 2010 singles Music videos directed by Benny Boom Song recordings produced by Lex Luger (musician) Songs written by Lex Luger (musician) Songs written by Waka Flocka Flame Waka Flocka Flame songs Crunk songs