"Trophies" is a song 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 * ...

. The song was produced by

Hit-Boy Chauncey Alexander Hollis Jr. (born May 21, 1987), better known by his stage name Hit-Boy, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. In May 2011, he had signed a two-year deal with Kanye West's GOOD Music production branch. ...

, 40, Hagler and

Rey Reel Raymond De'Andre Martin (born September 13, 1988), known professionally as Rey Reel, is an American record producer and songwriter. Reel has produced for artists such as Fabri Fibra, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey, Drake, Lil Wayne, will.i.am ...

. The song was originally meant for Drake's third

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 ...

Nothing Was the Same ''Nothing Was the Same'' is the third studio album by Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on September 24, 2013, through OVO Sound, Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Republic Records. Work on the record began in 2012 and cont ...

'', however, it was cut off the final track listing. After Drake released the song himself in December 2013, it was later included on the

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 ...

compilation '' Young Money: Rise of an Empire''. On February 27, 2014, it was officially released as the album's second official single, credited as Young Money featuring Drake. It peaked at number 50 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The song heavily samples the track "The Big Country" by French composer Bernard Gérard. The instrumental version of the song is the opening theme to '' The Stephen A. Smith Show'' radio and television program on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

Background

The trailer that was released for Drake's third studio album, ''

'' (2013), featured a snippet of "Trophies" playing in the background, but the song did not make the final version of the album. After teasing its release over the following months, the song surfaced on the internet on December 30, 2013. Hit-Boy, the lead producer of the song, has said that he was more than frustrated with the track's rollout. Then saying, "But it’s love. I got respect for Drake. He knows what’s best for him. He’s been dictating his career since Day One."

Critical reception

The song received 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. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' praised it as a blustery, superstar moment. Sheldon Pearce of '' XXL'' called the song brilliant and boisterous. Writing for ''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

'', Jordan Sowunmi said, the "stentorian hit" is "a reminder that Young Money boasts some of rap’s biggest crossover stars." 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 ...

said the song featured, "Drake stomping over Hit-Boy's Viking-worthy beat. A two-headed monster of a track that pits verses-filled Southern rap victory against an emo-rap chorus.

Commercial performance

As of May 18, 2014, the song has sold 406,272 copies in the United States according to

Nielsen Soundscan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

. It has spent multiple weeks in the top ten of the US R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales chart.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Drake songs 2014 singles 2013 songs Drake (musician) songs Cash Money Records singles Republic Records singles Song recordings produced by Hit-Boy Song recordings produced by 40 (record producer) Songs written by Drake (musician) Young Money Entertainment singles