"Ride wit Me" is a song by American rapper Nelly featuring

City Spud Lavell Webb (born August 31, 1975) known by his stage name City Spud, is an American rapper and record producer. He was a member of hip hop group St. Lunatics. He was featured on fellow St. Lunatic member Nelly's hit single " Ride wit Me" fr ...

. It was released on February 13, 2001, as the third single from Nelly's debut studio album, ''

Country Grammar ''Country Grammar'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and singer Nelly. It was released on June 27, 2000, by Universal Records. The production on the album was handled by Jason "Jay E" Epperson, with additional production by C-Love, ...

'' (2000). "Ride wit Me" peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Outside of the United States, "Ride Wit Me" peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom.

Composition

"Ride wit Me" was written by Nelly and

Jason "Jay E" Epperson Jason Lee Epperson (born August 13, 1978), known professionally as Jay E, is an American record producer, entrepreneur and DJ. He is a co-founder of the production team Basement Beats. Jay E rose to fame as the producer of rapper Nelly's multi-pl ...

and interpolates the 1982 song " I Like It" by

DeBarge DeBarge was an American musical recording group composed of several members of the DeBarge family. In addition to various solo projects completed by members of the family, DeBarge was active between 1979 and 1989. The group originally consisted ...

, so William DeBarge, Etterline Jordan, and

El DeBarge Eldra Patrick "El" DeBarge (born June 4, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He was the focal point and primary lead singer of the family group DeBarge. Popular songs led by El DeBarge include " Time Will Reveal", " Who's Hold ...

were also given writing credits.

Chart performance

In the United States, "Ride wit Me" became Nelly's highest-charting single at the time, peaking at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, "Ride wit Me" debuted and peaked at number three on 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 ...

on May 13, 2001 – for the week ending date May 19, 2001 – becoming Nelly's highest-charting song in Britain until October 2002, when his duet with

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. During the gr ...

, "

Dilemma A dilemma ( grc-gre, δίλημμα "double proposition") is a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. The possibilities are termed the ''horns'' of the dilemma, a clichéd usage, but dist ...

", became his first chart-topper on the UK Singles Chart.

Music video

Largely inspired by the 1977 film ''

Smokey and the Bandit ''Smokey and the Bandit'' is a 1977 American road action comedy film starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams and Mike Henry. The directorial debut of stuntman Hal Needham, the film follows ...

'', and also referencing the 1980s television comedy ''

The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television serie ...

'' and the 1967 film '' Cool Hand Luke'', the video (directed by

Marc Klasfeld Marc Klasfeld is an American music video director. He has directed over two hundred music videos for artists such as Slipknot, Sum 41, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Britney Spears, Kid Rock, Michael Bublé, Nelly, Foo Fighters, Kelly ...

) sees Nelly and Ali driving to a dilapidated bar occupied by Kyjuan, Slo-Down and Murphy Lee to throw a party. Ali drives a Peterbilt 379 truck filled with women, while Nelly drives a 1978

Pontiac Firebird Trans Am The Pontiac Firebird is an American automobile that was built and produced by Pontiac from the 1967 to 2002 model years. Designed as a pony car to compete with the Ford Mustang, it was introduced on February 23, 1967, five months after GM's Ch ...

along a desert road, as the video follows their journey and eventual encounters with police, hitchhikers and other roadside incidents. The video culminates with their arrival and a party taking place outside the bar. Featured artist

provides the third verse; however, due to being incarcerated, he does not appear in the music video; Nelly and the St. Lunatics lip-sync his lines. The

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 ...

won Best Rap Video at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2001, also receiving a nomination for Viewer's Choice.

Track listings

UK CD single # "Ride wit Me" (clean edit with FX) # "Ride wit Me" ( Stargate mix) # "Come Over" # "Ride wit Me" (video) UK 12-inch single :A1. "Ride wit Me" (album version) :B1. "Ride wit Me" (Stargate mix) :B2. "Ride wit Me" (clean edit with FX) European CD single # "Ride wit Me" (clean edit with FX short) – 4:15 # "Ride wit Me" (Stargate mix) – 4:35 Australian CD single # "Ride wit Me" (clean edit with FX short) – 4:15 # "Ride wit Me" (dirty LP version) – 4:51 # "Ride wit Me" (Stargate remix) – 4:35 # "Icey" (featuring St. Lunatics) – 4:14

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Covers and live performances

Nelly joined with country music duo

Florida Georgia Line Florida Georgia Line is an American country music duo founded in 2010 by Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. Their 2012 debut single "Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was d ...

to perform "Ride wit Me" and the remix of their hit single " Cruise" at the 2013 American Music Awards. Pop singer

Slayyyter Catherine Grace Garner (born September 17, 1996), known professionally as Slayyyter, is an American pop singer and songwriter from Kirkwood, Missouri, currently based in Los Angeles. She started her career independently through SoundCloud. Her ...

released a cover of the song on August 2, 2019.

References

{{Authority control 2000 songs 2001 singles Music videos directed by Marc Klasfeld Nelly songs Songs about cannabis Songs about cars Songs written by El DeBarge Songs written by Jay E Songs written by Nelly Universal Records singles