"Roll Up" is a song by
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
rapper
Wiz Khalifa
Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 200 ...
. It was released as the second single from his third studio album, ''
Rolling Papers''; having been written by Wiz Khalifa, and
Stargate
''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the Stargate (film), film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien E ...
.
The song peaked at number 13 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was certified
double platinum
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
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).
American recording artist and model
Cassie Ventura
Casandra Elizabeth Ventura (born August 26, 1986), known professionally as Cassie, is an American singer, songwriter, model, actress and dancer. Born in New London, Connecticut, she began her career as a result of meeting record producer Ryan Le ...
is featured on the official music video. The video was shot in
Venice, Los Angeles
Venice is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California.
Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, when it was annexed by ...
at Venice Beach.
Live performances
Khalifa performed a short version "Roll Up" followed by "Black and Yellow" at the 2011
MTV Woodie Awards in March 2011. He later performed the song on the ''
Late Show with David Letterman
The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...
'' on April 11, 2011 and on ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live'' in May 2011. The song was part of his 49-minute set during the final day of the 2011
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...
. He also sang it at
Bumbershoot
Bumbershoot is an annual international music and arts festival held in Seattle, Washington. One of North America's largest such festivals, it takes place every Labor Day weekend (leading up to and including the first Monday of September) at the ...
in September 2011.
Cover versions
"Roll Up" was covered by Canadian indie band
Walk off the Earth.
The Ready Set recorded a cover of the song for the
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
''
Punk Goes Pop 4
''Punk Goes Pop Volume 4'' is the twelfth compilation album in the '' Punk Goes...'' series created by Fearless Records and the fourth installment in the ''Punk Goes Pop'' franchise to feature bands covering mainstream pop music. It was releas ...
''.
Critical reception
''
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 ...
'' gave the song a positive review, writing: "While 'Roll Up' is a noticeable change from Wiz Khalifa's previous releases, the tune's laid-back emotional vibe is an appreciated left turn."
Maura Johnston of Popdust described "Roll Up" as "a breezy romantic ode" and continued, saying "The sing-song chorus, in which Wiz promises to 'roll up' whenever his woman wants him, isn't great, and it may have a popularity hiccup among those people who can appreciate the song’s sentiment but who aren’t ready to listen to it when their significant others are around. But it’s pretty infectious." Less appreciative, Lewis Corner of
Digital Spy
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
gave the song a three-star rating out of five and commented: "it unfortunately lacks the knockout hooks that its predecessor
Black_and_Yellow.html" ;"title="Black and Yellow">Black and Yellow"so effortlessly flaunted – sounding more like a Nelly (entertainer)">Nelly
Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...
, and peaked at number thirteen, becoming Khalifa's fifth-highest charting single as a solo artist behind "
", "Black and Yellow", "No Sleep (Wiz Khalifa song)">No Sleep", and "Young, Wild & Free">Black and Yellow">See You Again (Wiz Khalifa song)">See You Again", "Black and Yellow", "No Sleep (Wiz Khalifa song)">No Sleep", and "Young, Wild & Free". The single was eventually certified
*
{{Authority control
2011 singles
Wiz Khalifa songs
Pop-rap songs
Song recordings produced by Stargate (record producers)
Songs written by Mikkel Storleer Eriksen
Songs written by Tor Erik Hermansen