"Iz U Down" is a song by American rapper
Kid Ink
Brian Todd Collins (born April 1, 1986), known professionally as Kid Ink, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer from Los Angeles. He released his debut independent album ''Up & Away (Kid Ink album), Up & Away'' in 2012, f ...
featuring fellow American rapper
Tyga
Michael Ray Nguyen-Stevenson[Micheal Ray Stevenson ...](_blank)
, released on December 17, 2013 as the second single from the former's second
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 ...
, ''
My Own Lane
''My Own Lane'' is the second studio album by American rapper Kid Ink. The album was released on January 7, 2014, by Tha Alumni Music Group, 88 Classic, and RCA Records. Recording for the album took place during 2013 and finished in November 201 ...
''. The song, produced by Mike DZL, peaked at number 91 on the
German Singles Chart
The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...
and number 7 on the US
Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...
chart
Background and composition
On December 17, 2013, Kid Ink released "Iz U Down" featuring rapper
Tyga
Michael Ray Nguyen-Stevenson[Micheal Ray Stevenson ...](_blank)
as the second official single from his second studio album ''
My Own Lane
''My Own Lane'' is the second studio album by American rapper Kid Ink. The album was released on January 7, 2014, by Tha Alumni Music Group, 88 Classic, and RCA Records. Recording for the album took place during 2013 and finished in November 201 ...
''.
It was then made available with the pre-order for ''My Own Lane'' on iTunes, along with the promotional singles "No Option" featuring
King Los
Carlos Coleman (born March 23, 1982), better known by his stage name King Los or simply Los is an American rapper and lyricist. He originally signed to Bad Boy Records during the 2005 in conjunction with his Bloc Incorporated record deal. After ...
and "No Miracles" featuring
Elle Varner
Gabrielle Serene Varner (born February 12, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Born into a musical family in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Los Angeles, Varner studied at New York University's Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music. In ...
and
Machine Gun Kelly
George Kelly Barnes (July 18, 1895 – July 18, 1954), better known by his pseudonym "Machine Gun Kelly", was an American gangster from Memphis, Tennessee, active during the Prohibition era. His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thomps ...
.
"Iz U Down" is a club-oriented track that details Ink and Tyga in the club flirting with attractive women that catch their eyes.
Their goal for the night is to end up having a threesome with two women. The song was
produced by Mike DZL, who constructed the song's instrumental with "smooth melodic elements and tough drums."
Recording
Kid Ink spoke to ''
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 ...
'' how the collaboration came together saying, "We already had a cool relationship. We booked the same studio, so he was in the other room." Ink had been listening to the song thinking about who he wanted to have featured on the song. He then said, "Yo, Tyga’s next door. You want to run by and play it for him?" Then that same day, Tyga recorded his verse for the song and it was completed that day."
Critical reception
"Iz U Down" was met with generally positive reviews from
music critic
''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...
s. Sheldon Pierce of ''
XXL'' said, it "is a variant of the rap chart ready jingles supplied in such high quantity on the album with the distinct difference being its lower sonic register. Kid Ink unleashes a rather dexterous flow, and the record has a subdued appeal that you don’t fully appreciate right away." Chris Thomas of HipHopWired said, "In the opening moments, it's clear that the record has that bounce; the one and the same kind that makes the guy wearing a turtleneck in the club feel himself. Kid Ink the sonics with verses that deliver a straight forward question to women: "is you down?"." David Jeffries of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
called it the new standard bearer for pop-rap tracks aimed at the strip club. Jesse James of StupidDOPE called it "something infectious, smooth, and incredibly dope for our ears to devour."
Brent Faulkner of Starpulse referred to the song as a "surefire hit" and one of the album's best songs. AJ of
Uproxx
''Uproxx'' (stylized in all caps) is an entertainment and popular culture news website. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater, and acquired by Woven Digital (later renamed Uproxx Media Group) in 2014. The site's target audience ...
's SmokingSection called it one of the album's standout songs.
Live performances
On January 14, 2014, Kid Ink performed "Iz U Down", along with special guest Tyga, on
DJ Skee
Scott Keeney (born 15 November 1983), better known by his stage name DJ Skee, is an American artist, television host, radio personality, and entrepreneur. Skee rose to fame as the first DJ to discover and play superstar artists on the radio incl ...
's ''SKEE Live''.
Music video
On December 23, 2013, Kid Ink and Tyga filmed the music video for "Iz U Down". Subsequently, Kid Ink posted pictures of the shoot on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
and
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
. On January 7, 2014, the behind the scenes video, filmed on the set of the music video was released. Even though they had collaborated multiple times in the past, it was their first time shooting a music video for one of their collaborations.
After the video's release was delayed, on January 19, 2014, Kid Ink confirmed that the video would be released in the coming week. The raunchy video was then released on January 23, 2014.
Chart performance
Release history
References
{{authority control
2013 singles
Kid Ink songs
Tyga songs
RCA Records singles
2013 songs
Songs written by Kid Ink
Songs written by Tyga