"Scared Money" is a song by American rapper YG, featuring fellow American rappers

J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...

and

Moneybagg Yo DeMario DeWayne White Jr. (born September 22, 1991), known professionally as Moneybagg Yo, is an American rapper. He is signed to fellow Memphis rapper Yo Gotti's record label, Collective Music Group (CMG), in a joint venture deal with Interscope ...

. It was released through

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

and 4Hunnid Records as the lead single from YG's sixth studio album, ''

I Got Issues ''I Got Issues'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper YG. It was released through Def Jam Recordings and 4Hunnid Records on September 30, 2022. The album features guest appearances from Mozzy, D3szn, Duki, Cuco, J. Cole, Moneybagg Yo, H ...

'', on February 4, 2022. The three artists wrote the song with producer Gibbo. The song was originally supposed to be released earlier, according to it being listed to impact

urban contemporary radio Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...

on January 25, 2022. YG announced its release date and shared its cover art on February 2, 2022.

Composition and lyrics

Over the "menacing" piano-heavy instrumental of "Scared Money", YG, J. Cole, and Moneybagg Yo refer to the "scared money don't make no money" proverb. YG starts the song off with the first verse, in which he states compares his shoes to American rapper

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

's shoes and also declares himself as the "best dressed, but I ain't no

Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor and fashion designer. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Cudi would move to New Yo ...

". Cole appears for the second verse, in which he refers to his "budding basketball career" and references the

milk crate challenge The milk crate challenge, also known as the crate challenge, is a video challenge that became viral online in August 2021. The challenge involves stacking milk crates into a structure that resembles a podium, with both sides of the structure fun ...

("I was thinkin' 'bout walkin' up a stack of crates/But I was busy stackin' cake"); he also compares himself to Canadian rapper and singer

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 * ...

and mentions the fact that he has three houses in the same neighborhood. Moneybagg Yo takes the third and final verse, in which he also boasts about his expensive purchases.

Critical reception

Jordan Darville of ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'' described the beat as "a close sibling" of American rapper

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...

's 2017 single, " Humble", "from the beat's stalking piano keys to YG's more playful-than-usual flows", but "the key difference is that this one has features: J. Cole and Moneybagg Yo show up to do their things and help try and make the song feel like an event". Writing for ''

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 ...

'', Tom Breihan felt that "sometimes, big-name rap collaborations feel like brand extensions that were brought up in boardrooms" and "this one feels like three rap stars out to flex on everyone else", acknowledging that "I know this isn't the ''best'' verse of J. Cole's career, but it might be the one that I've enjoyed the most".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Moneybagg Yo 2022 singles 2022 songs YG (rapper) songs J. Cole songs Moneybagg Yo songs Songs written by YG (rapper) Songs written by J. Cole Def Jam Recordings singles