"Nice for What" is a song recorded by 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 * ...

from his fifth studio album ''

Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

'' (2018). It was released by

Young Money Entertainment Young Money Entertainment is an American record label founded by rapper Lil Wayne. Young Money's president is Lil Wayne's lifelong friend and fellow rapper Mack Maine. The label was an imprint of Cash Money Records and is distributed by Republi ...

and

Cash Money Records Cash Money Records is an American record label founded in 1991 by brothers Ronald "Slim" Williams and Bryan "Birdman" Williams. Distributed by Republic, formerly known as Universal Republic, the label has been home to a roster of mostly hip h ...

as the second single from the album on April 6, 2018, along with its music video. The song was produced by

Murda Beatz Shane Lee Lindstrom (born February 11, 1994), known professionally as Murda Beatz, is a Canadian record producer. He has produced hit singles like " Butterfly Effect" by Travis Scott, "Back on Road" by Gucci Mane, "Nice for What" by Drake, "Moto ...

Noah "40" Shebib Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...

and Corey Litwin with co-production handled by Blaqnmild. It features additional vocals by

Big Freedia Freddie Ross Jr. (born January 28, 1978), better known by his stage name Big Freedia ( ), is an American rapper and performer known for his work in the New Orleans genre of hip hop called bounce music. Freedia has been credited with helping popu ...

and 5th Ward Weebie. It contains a sample from "

Ex-Factor "Ex-Factor" is a song recorded by American recording artist Lauryn Hill for her debut solo studio album ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' (1998). Written and produced by Hill herself, it incorporates elements of R&B, neo soul and hip hop soul ...

", written and performed by

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

, which itself samples "

Can It Be All So Simple "Can It Be All So Simple" is the third and final single from Wu-Tang Clan's critically acclaimed debut album ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)''. It features production from RZA (credited as Prince Rakeem) that samples Gladys Knight & the Pips' ...

", written and performed by

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...

. The latter song also samples "

The Way We Were ''The Way We Were'' is a 1973 American romantic drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. Arthur Laurents wrote both the novel and screenplay based on his college days at Cornell University and his ...

". Therefore, Hill, the eight members of Wu-Tang Clan, and

Marvin Hamlisch Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. Hamlisch was one of only seventeen people to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. This collection of all four is referred to as an " EGOT ...

Alan Bergman Alan Bergman (born September 11, 1925) and Marilyn Keith Bergman (November 10, 1928 – January 8, 2022) were an American songwriting duo. Married from 1958 until Marilyn's death, together they wrote music and lyrics for numerous celebrated telev ...

and

Marilyn Bergman Alan Bergman (born September 11, 1925) and Marilyn Keith Bergman (November 10, 1928 – January 8, 2022) were an American songwriting duo. Married from 1958 until Marilyn's death, together they wrote music and lyrics for numerous celebrated telev ...

are credited among the composers. It debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, replacing Drake's own "

God's Plan God's Plan may refer to: Theological concepts * God's plan, or the Will of God * Salvation, the saving of a soul from sin and its consequences ** Plan of salvation, a Christian concept describing God's plan to save humanity ** Plan of salvation ( ...

" and becoming his fifth US number one. It also topped the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, becoming his second number-one song of 2018 in the two countries after "God's Plan". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' ranked it 54th on their list of the '100 Best Songs of the 2010s'. In 2021, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' ranked it number-one on their list of 'Drake's 30 Greatest songs'. The song was awarded two

ASCAP Awards The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit Performance rights organisation, performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' ...

, including Top Rap Song, and was nominated for

Best Rap Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance is an honor presented to recording artists for quality rap performances. It was first presented at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1989 and again at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1990, after which p ...

at the

61st Annual Grammy Awards The 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys hosted. During her opening monologue, Keys brought out Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and fo ...

Background

On March 14, 2018,

's son Joshua Omaru Marley posted a snippet of the song on

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 ...

. Drake later confirmed an upcoming Murda Beatz-produced single during an

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 ...

Live session. On April 5, Drake made a surprise appearance during a

Majid Jordan 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 ...

concert in Toronto. "The reason I'm here tonight is because I'm back in the city finishing my album," he told the audience. "I've got a new single dropping tomorrow night, too, just in case you got some free time."

Composition

"Nice for What" is an upbeat

bounce Bounce or The Bounce may refer to: * Deflection (physics), the event where an object Collision, collides with and bounces against a plane surface Books * Mr. Bounce, a character from the Mr. Men series of children's books Broadcasting, film and ...

song which contains elements of early 2000s R&B, with a length of three minutes thirty seconds. It samples

's song "

" (1998), "Drag Rap" by the Showboys (1986), "Get Your Roll On" by

Big Tymers Big Tymers (stylized as Big Tymer$) was an American musical duo active from 1997 to 2005 and again in 2018-2018 from New Orleans, Louisiana consisting of Cash Money Records co-founder Birdman (rapper), Baby and former Cash Money in-house record ...

(2000), and also features clips from performances by

. Lyrically, the hook of Drake's song samples Lauryn Hill singing about "cutting loose in the midst of a relationship".

Music video

Directed by

Karena Evans Karena Evans (born December 17, 1995) is a Canadian director and actress. She garnered recognition for directing the music videos for Drake's 2018 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart-topping singles, "God's Plan", "Nice for What", and "In My Feelings". ...

, the accompanying

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 ...

shows women carrying out various activities, including swimming, dancing, modeling, playing with children, horse-riding, and holding a business meeting. It features guest appearances from, in order of appearance,

Olivia Wilde Olivia Jane Cockburn ( ; born March 10, 1984), known professionally as Olivia Wilde, is an American actress and filmmaker. She played Thirteen (House), Remy "Thirteen" Hadley on the medical-drama television series ''House (TV series), House'' ( ...

Misty Copeland Misty Danielle Copeland (born September 10, 1982) is an American ballet dancer for American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African Ameri ...

Issa Rae Jo-Issa Rae Diop (born January 12, 1985), credited professionally as Issa Rae, is an American actress, writer, producer, and comedian. Rae first garnered attention for her work on the YouTube web series ''Awkward Black Girl''. Since 2011, Rae h ...

Rashida Jones Rashida Leah Jones (; born February 25, 1976) is an American actress. Jones appeared as Louisa Fenn on the Fox drama series ''Boston Public'' (2000–2002), as Karen Filippelli on the NBC comedy series ''The Office'' (2006–2009; 2011), and as ...

Jourdan Dunn Jourdan Sherise Dunn (born 3 August 1990) is a British model. She was discovered in Hammersmith Primark in 2006 and signed to The Squad Management in London. She began appearing on international runways in early 2007. In February 2008, she was t ...

Tracee Ellis Ross Tracee Joy Silberstein (born October 29, 1972), known professionally as Tracee Ellis Ross, is an American actress. She is known for her lead roles in the television series ''Girlfriends (2000 TV series), Girlfriends'' (2000–2008) and ''Black- ...

Tiffany Haddish Tiffany Sara Cornilia Haddish (born December 3, 1979) is an American stand-up comedian and actress. After guest-starring on several television series and lead role on a cable drama, Haddish gained prominence for her role as Nekeisha Williams on ...

Yara Shahidi Yara Sayeh Shahidi (born February 10, 2000) is an American actress and model. She gained recognition for her starring role as the oldest daughter Zoey Johnson on the sitcom ''Black-ish'' (2014–2022) and its spin-off series ''Grown-ish'' (2018 ...

Zoe Saldana Zoe (also ZOE, Zoë, Zoé, etc.) can refer to: *ζωή (''zōḗ''), the Ancient Greek word for "life" People * Zoe (name), including list of persons and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Zoe'' (film) * ZOE Broadcast ...

Elizabeth and Victoria Lejonhjärta Elizabeth Lejonhjärta and Victoria Lejonhjärta (; born 9 October 1990 in Norrbotten, Sweden) are Swedish twin models, bloggers, writers and social media personalities, best known for their collaborations with Canadian rapper Drake. Early and pers ...

Letitia Wright Letitia Michelle Wright (born 31 October 1993) is a Guyanese-British actress. She began her career with guest roles in the television series ''Top Boy'', '' Coming Up'', '' Chasing Shadows'', ''Humans'', ''Doctor Who'', and ''Black Mirror''. F ...

Bria Vinaite Bria Vinaite (; born Barbora Bulvinaitė on June 10, 1993) is a Lithuanian-born American actress, known for her role as Halley in Sean Baker's 2017 film ''The Florida Project'', which was her first acting role. She received critical acclaim for ...

Emma Roberts Emma Rose Roberts (born February 10, 1991 Additional on October 9, 2016) is an American actress. Known for her work in film and television projects of the horror film, horror and thriller (genre), thriller genres, she has received List of awar ...

, Syd,

Michelle Rodriguez Mayte Michelle Rodriguez (born July 12, 1978) is an American actress. Rodriguez began her career in 2000, playing a troubled boxer in the independent sports drama film ''Girlfight'' (2000), where she won the Independent Spirit Award and Gotha ...

and Drake himself. Evans called it an honour to work on the video, writing on

that it was "a privilege and a blessing to have told this story with every single one of you revolutionary women, both in front and behind the camera".

Critical reception

"Nice for What" received positive reviews from music critics, with many praising its promotion of female empowerment. Hugh McIntyre of ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' regarded the "perfectly-pitched" song as "another perfect delivery from the biggest artist in hip-hop", writing that the "vocal sample helps the track stand out from much of the rest of his discography". Kevin Lozano of ''

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 ...

'' awarded the song "Best New Track", praising Drake for "smoothly handling the impeccable production from Murda Beatz", and lauding the song as "a fantastic piece of hip-hop machinery" and "one of Drake's most complete releases in some time". Chris DeVille of ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

'' deemed the song "a big, brash, almost obnoxiously loud New Orleans bounce-inspired production", describing it as "extremely poppy and sounds like a bid for continued commercial dominance". ''Billboard'' named "Nice for What" the fifth-best song of 2018. ''

'' also named "Nice for What" the fifth-best song of 2018, and ranked it 54th on their list of the '100 Best Songs of the 2010s'.

Commercial performance

In the United States, Drake became the first artist to have a new number-one debut replace his former number-one debut ("God's Plan") at the top of the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. It debuted with 88,000 downloads sold and 60.4 million

streams A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

. "Nice for What" became the 30th song in ''

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 ...

'' history to enter at number one. It also became Drake's fifth US number-one song overall and third as a lead artist. The song also became the first song to debut on the

Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

chart in the top 10. "Nice for What" topped the Hot 100 for four consecutive weeks before it was replaced on May 14, 2018, by

Childish Gambino Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American entertainer, writer, director, and producer. After working in Derrick Comedy while studying at New York University, Glove ...

's " This Is America". It then returned for a fifth non-consecutive week at the number one spot on the issue date June 2, 2018. On the issue dated July 14, 2018, "Nice for What" became the first song to reach number one in four nonconsecutive runs. It topped the Hot 100 for eight nonconsecutive weeks. On July 21, 2018, it was replaced at the top by another Drake song, “

In My Feelings "In My Feelings" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake from his fifth studio album ''Scorpion'' (2018). It was released to rhythmic and contemporary hit radio on July 10, 2018, as the album's fifth single. The song features additional vocals by th ...

” and slipped to the number four spot. It ultimately remained in the top ten for 17 weeks.

Awards and nominations

Personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * Tidal (album), ''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 * ...

and

Qobuz Qobuz (, commonly mispronounced: ) is a French commercial music streaming and downloading service. It was founded in 2007 by Yves Riesel, expanded to a limited range of overseas markets, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, It ...

. * Aubrey Graham — vocals, lyrics, composition * Paul "

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 ...

" Jeffries – co-production, composition, lyrics, additional vocals *

– production, mixing, lyrics, composition * Noel Cadastre — recording engineer * Maneesh Bidaye — lyrics, additional vocals, composition * Corey Litwin – production *

No I.D. Ernest Dion Wilson (born June 23, 1971), professionally known as No I.D. (formerly Immenslope), is an American hip hop and R&B producer from Chicago, Illinois. Wilson is also a disc jockey (DJ), music arranger and former rapper, having releas ...

– lyrics * Harley Arsenault – assistant production, lyrics, mixing assistance, composition * Greg Moffet – mixing assistance * Ronald Moonoo – mixing assistance * Chris Quock – recording engineering assistance * Noel "Gadget" Campbell – mixing * Mike Gaydusek – record engineering *

– additional vocals * 5thward Weebie – additional vocals * Glenishe "Bobby Jean" Rowe – additional vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2018 songs 2018 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles Drake (musician) songs Number-one singles in Australia Songs written by Drake (musician) Songs written by Raekwon Songs written by Marvin Hamlisch Songs written by RZA Songs written by Method Man Songs written by Lauryn Hill Songs written by Ghostface Killah Song recordings produced by Murda Beatz Cash Money Records singles UK Singles Chart number-one singles Young Money Entertainment singles Songs with feminist themes