"Lean Back" is a song by American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

group Terror Squad. It was released as the second single from their second studio album, '' True Story'', on June 1, 2004. An uptempo

song built for the club environment, it contains vocal performances from group members

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of Hip-hop, hip hop group D.I.T.C., Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a sol ...

and Remy Ma (credited as Remy) and production from Scott Storch. It topped the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for three weeks, starting on August 21, 2004, and topped the ''

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 advertis ...

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart for seven weeks. Worldwide, the song reached the top 20 in several other countries, including Denmark, where it peaked at number five.

Critical reception

Jason Birchmeier of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

called "Lean Back" "a perfect club-ready duet between

and Remy that boasts a trademark Scott Storch beat and a memorable singalong hook and dance-along step". '' Vibe'' called the song a "summer classic". In 2008, the song was ranked at number 55 on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

's 100 Greatest Songs of

Hip Hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

Music video

described the dance in the video as throwing back the right shoulder to the beat of the song.

Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. The accolades he has received include the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and nominations for two Grammy Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards. After winning se ...

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (; born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry ar ...

, and

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971), better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, DJ, and record producer. Regarded as a progenitor of the club-oriented hip-hop subgenre crunk, his production and voice presence were inst ...

made cameo appearances in the video.

Remixes

The official remixed version of the song, featuring Lil Jon,

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

, and

Mase Mason Durell Betha (born August 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Mase (often stylized as Ma$e), is an American rapper. Best known for his work with Sean Combs, Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs' Bad Boy Records, he signed with the label in 1996 ...

is available on Fat Joe's 2005 album '' All or Nothing'' and Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz's '' Crunk Juice'' remix disc. The official remix is more uptempo and contains a new beat with a

crunk Crunk is a subgenre of Southern hip-hop that emerged in the early 1990s and gained mainstream success during the early to mid 2000s. Crunk is often up-tempo and one of Southern hip hop's more nightclub-oriented subgenres. Distinguishing itself w ...

–like feel to it. However, there are two different versions of the remix. The ''All or Nothing'' version, the main remix, features an additional verse by Remy and was released in July 2004. The '' Crunk Juice'' version features Lil Jon's vocals throughout the song, omitting Remy's verse. On both versions, Mase's verse is in line with his then-clean style of rapping (as heard on his 2004 album '' Welcome Back''). Fat Joe also released a remix in tribute to his Puerto Rican ancestry, featuring Tego Calderón and Tony Touch. Other remixes of the song are performed by

Chamillionaire Hakeem Temidayo Seriki (born November 28, 1979), better known by his stage name Chamillionaire (), is an American rapper. He began his career in Houston's hip hop scene in the late 1990s. He was briefly signed with the local record label Swishah ...

, on '' The Mixtape Messiah'' titled "Body Rock",

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

Max B Charley Wingate (born May 21, 1978), better known by his stage name Max B (short for Max Biggaveli), is an American rapper and singer. He is best known for his solo ''Public Domain'' and ''Million Dollar Baby'' series of mixtapes, and introduc ...

Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss (, ), is an American rapper who began his career in the 1990s and formed the hip hop trio the Lox alongside Styles P and Sheek Louch in 1994. The group signed w ...

, U.S.D.A., and

G-Unit G-Unit (short for Guerilla-Unit). was an American hip hop group formed by longtime friends and East Coast rappers 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Lloyd Banks. After amassing a string of self-released mixtapes in the early 2000s, the group released ...

. Also, mashup artist Girl Talk layered "Lean Back" over Spacehog's " In the Meantime" in his 2010 album '' All Day''.

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

rapper

Lil' Flip Wesley Eric Weston Jr. (born 3 March 1981), better known by his stage name Lil' Flip, is an American rapper. Raised in Houston, Texas, he began his musical career as a freestyle and battle rapper before signing with the local record label Sucka ...

did a freestyle over the song as a diss towards

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

rapper

T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...

Track listings

US 12-inch single :A1. "Lean Back" (clean) – 4:12 :A2. "Lean Back" (instrumental) – 4:12 :B1. "Lean Back" (dirty) – 4:11 :B2. "Lean Back" (acappella) – 4:01 UK 12-inch single :A1. "Lean Back" (explicit) – 4:07 :B1. "Yeah Yeah Yeah" – 3:07 :B2. "Lean Back" (instrumental) – 4:12 UK and Australian CD single # "Lean Back" (clean) – 4:11 # "Lean Back" (explicit) – 4:07 # "Yeah Yeah Yeah" – 3:07 # "Lean Back" (video) European CD single # "Lean Back" – 4:07 # "Yeah Yeah Yeah" – 3:07

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the '' True Story'' album notes. Studios * Recorded at Jerusalem Studios (Miami, Florida) * Mixed at The Hit Factory Criteria (Miami, Florida) * Mastered at

Sterling Sound George Marino (April 15, 1947June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He attended ...

(New York City) Personnel *

– writing (as Joseph Cartagena), vocals, executive production * Remy – writing (as Reminisce Smith), vocals * Scott Storch – writing, production * Drop – recording * Supa Engineer Duro – mixing *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound in New Jersey. Gehringer is known for having mastered recordings by popular artists such as AJR, Dua Lipa, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Gwen Stefani, Harry Styles, ...

– mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2004 songs 2004 singles Terror Squad (group) songs Fat Joe songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Island Records singles Music videos directed by Jessy Terrero Hip-hop dance Song recordings produced by Scott Storch Songs written by Fat Joe Songs written by Remy Ma Songs written by Scott Storch SRC Records singles Universal Records singles