"Lock U Down" is a song by American singer

Mýa Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), known professionally as Mýa, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, and actress. She was born in Washington D.C. and studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Her ca ...

on her fourth studio album ''

Liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

'' (2007). It was written by Harrison along with Jason Boyd,

Dwayne Carter 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 ...

, and

Scott Storch Scott Spencer Storch (born December 16, 1973) is an American record producer and songwriter. Storch began his career as part of Philadelphia-based hip hop band the Roots, which he joined as a keyboardist prior to the release of their 1993 debut a ...

, with production handled by the latter, and featured

Young Money Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one's age is low, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an America ...

rapper

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 ...

. The song was released as the album's official leading single after "

Ayo! "Ayo!" is a song by American singer Mýa. It was written and composed by Mýa, DJ Kool and Christopher “Deep” Henderson and initially recorded for her fourth studio album '' Liberation'' (2007). Production on the track was helmed by Henderso ...

" failed to find success on the charts or at radio and eventually deemed a

promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...

only. The lyrics of the R&B-collaboration speak of a woman locking her man down when she has found the right one. The song received generally mixed reviews from contemporary music critics, who found that "Lock U Down" sounded dated and a poor choice as a single. The song was a commercial disappointment, it failed to chart on ''

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''s

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 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; peaking below the chart at number one hundred and number one on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart only. The song's accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was filmed by director

Benny Boom Benny Douglas (born July 22, 1971), professionally known as Benny Boom, is an American director who has worked in music, television, and film. His most commercially successful film was the 2017 Tupac Shakur biopic '' All Eyez on Me''. Career Do ...

. It featured Harrison and Lil Wayne in abandon

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

. The video made its world premiere on

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’s ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

'' on April 25, 2007.

Background

Co-written by Mýa and produced by

, "Lock U Down" featuring

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 ...

mixes a prominent

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harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

sample with a guitar riff. A street-but-sweet hip-hop soul jam, it exposes what kind of man a woman wants and needs. Following the commercial disappointment of "

," Universal Motown delayed ''

''s release. Initially, "Lock U Down" leaked in late December 2006.

Critical reception

Upon release "Lock U Down" garnered "mixed" reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

. Previewed by back in July 2006, the ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

'' praised "Lock U Down," and described the song as "genius" while commenting,"a rippling rhythm that shows off the rich tones of the underrated singer's voice, with a

Middle Eastern The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

counter melody." Writing for ''

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'', editor Brandon Brooks gave "Lock U Down" a favorable review. Brooks deemed "Lock U Down" a sure fire hit; while complimenting on Harrison's vocal performance noting, "She has grown up over the years and sound rejuvenated than ever before." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''s Rosie Swash dismissed Lock U Down as a "basic but generally likeable song."

Music video

On April 24, 2007, a day prior to the video's official release,

Universal Motown Universal Motown Records was an American record label that operated as a division of Universal Motown Republic Group. It was the contemporary incarnation of the legendary Motown Records label, and the " urban" half of the Universal Records ...

uploaded a 27-minute video teaser. The

-directed

for the track was premiered on ''

'' on April 25, 2007. The heavy dance-laid video includes Mýa dancing in a seemingly abandoned warehouse. Mýa performs a dance routine with a few back-up dancers during the video. Lil Wayne stands next to Mýa when rapping his verses, and Mýa is sometimes seen mouthing the words to his rap. Towards the end of the video, Mýa is seen partying with a couple of friends.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits lifted from the liner notes of ''Liberation''. *Wayne "The Brain" Allison – recording engineer * Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd – writer * Dwayne "Lil Wayne" Carter – vocalist, writer *Vadim "Chise" Chislov – recording engineer assistance *Aaron "Franchise" Fishbein –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

*Conrad Golding – recording engineer *Suha Gur – mastering engineer * Mýa Harrison – vocalist, writer *Fabian Marasciullo – mixing engineer *

– producer, writer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2007 singles 2007 songs Mýa songs Lil Wayne songs Universal Motown Records singles Music videos directed by Benny Boom Songs written by Poo Bear Song recordings produced by Scott Storch Songs written by Scott Storch Songs written by Lil Wayne Songs written by Mýa