"Pick Up the Phone" (stylized in all lowercase on ''Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight'') is a song by American rappers Young Thug and Travis Scott featuring fellow American rapper Quavo of

Migos Migos () is an American hip hop trio from Lawrenceville, Georgia, founded in 2008. The group was originally composed of Southern rappers Quavo, Takeoff, and Offset. Quavo is from Athens, Georgia; Offset and Takeoff were born and raised in Law ...

. It was released on June 3, 2016, by Grand Hustle Records,

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

and

300 Entertainment Theory Entertainment LLC, doing business as 300 Entertainment, is an American record label founded by Lyor Cohen, Kevin Liles, Todd Moscowitz, and Roger Gold. The label's roster includes acts across multiple genres such as hip hop, rock, pop, ele ...

. It is the lead

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from Thug's

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

'' Jeffery'' (2016) and the second single from Scott'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 ...

Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight ''Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight'' is the second studio album by American rapper Travis Scott. It was released on September 2, 2016, through Grand Hustle Records and distributed by Epic Records. It exclusively premiered through Travis Scott and ...

'' (2016). The song was written by the artists alongside

Starrah Brittany Talia Hazzard, professionally known as Starrah, is an American songwriter, singer and rapper. She has written or co-written multiple songs that have reached the top 20 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, including Rihanna's "Needed Me", No ...

, who provides additional vocals, and producers Vinylz. Allen Ritter,

Frank Dukes Adam King Feeney (born September 12, 1983), better known as Ging and by his former stage name Frank Dukes, is a Canadian musician, record producer, and songwriter. A prolific producer, he has worked with artists including Camila Cabello ("Havana ...

, and Mike Dean.

Background and controversy

Young Thug first previewed the song in a snippet that he posted on his

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 ...

account in March 2016. The song was originally a collaboration between Young Thug and

. Starrah sang the hook instead of Travis. Travis was in the studio when Thug recorded the song, and he wrote the bridge Young Thug sings. About a month later, Travis started playing the song in clubs, but instead of Starrah on the hook, Travis replaced her, and he had his own verse too. He also called the song his own single for his own album without notifying Young Thug of his involvement. Travis kept teasing the song for months before he finally leaked it on his own SoundCloud because the labels would not release it. After Travis called his manager Lyor Cohen, who also owns 300 Entertainment, Thug's record label, an agreement was made that the song would be released on iTunes later that day as a joint single between Thug and Travis.

Commercial performance

"Pick Up the Phone" debuted at number 90 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the chart dated for the week of September 3, 2016. The song eventually peaked at number 43, becoming one of Young Thug and Travis Scott's highest charting songs at the time. This was also Quavo's highest charting solo effort before his appearance on Post Malone's " Congratulations", which peaked at number 8 on the Hot 100, then later his appearance on DJ Khaled's, " I'm the One", which debuted and peaked at number one on the chart. The song was certified double platinum 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) in May 2017, for selling over two million digital copies in the United States.

Music video

The music video premiered on August 12, 2016 with the music video for "90210" at the ".wav party" in Los Angeles, California, with both of them later released on Travis Scott's Vevo account on YouTube.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

*
Lyrics of this song at Genius
{{Authority control 2016 singles 2016 songs Songs written by Young Thug Songs written by Travis Scott Songs written by Quavo Young Thug songs Travis Scott songs Quavo songs Songs written by Mike Dean (record producer) Songs about telephone calls Grand Hustle Records singles Epic Records singles Atlantic Records singles 300 Entertainment singles Songs written by Starrah Songs written by Frank Dukes Songs written by Allen Ritter Song recordings produced by Allen Ritter Song recordings produced by Frank Dukes Song recordings produced by Vinylz Song recordings produced by Mike Dean (record producer)