"Work Hard, Play Hard" is a song by American rapper
Wiz Khalifa
Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and actor. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he signed with the local independent label Rostrum Records to re ...
, released as the lead single from his fourth studio album, ''
O.N.I.F.C.
''O.N.I.F.C.'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper Wiz Khalifa. The album was released on December 4, 2012, by Atlantic Records and Rostrum Records. The album's title was inspired by the album ''H.N.I.C. (Prodigy album), H.N.I.C.'' by P ...
'' (2012). The track features production from
Benny Blanco
Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer and songwriter. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall ...
and
Stargate
''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...
.
Track listing
;Digital download
[iTunes - Music - Work Hard, Play Hard - Single by Wiz Khalifa]
/ref>
# "Work Hard, Play Hard" - 3:40
Music video
The music video was directed by Bill Paladino and was released on May 23, 2012. It was filmed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
at multiple locations, including a ballet studio, the city suburbs, a private party at a bar, and a soccer field. It features a ballerina played by Katie Schurman, a construction worker played by Michael Major and a soccer player working in each of these roles, and later celebrating at the bar. Wiz Khalifa appears wearing clothes as a hippie, paying tribute to Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
. Multiple Taylor Gang members make cameo appearances as well.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
Established in 1959 ...
wide receiver Steve Breaston
Steven William Breaston (born August 20, 1983) is an American former professional football wide receiver. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL draft. ...
, who graduated from Woodland Hills High School just outside Pittsburgh, also appears in the video.
Remix
The official remix 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 ...
and Young Jeezy
Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. He is credited, alongside fellow Georgia-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music fo ...
was revealed through his Twitter page on August 25, 2012. Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals and creatures
* A male duck
* Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
was originally supposed to have a verse on the remix but that didn't come to fruition as he never submitted his verse.
Notable mentions
Marco Rubio
Marco Antonio Rubio (; born May 28, 1971) is an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat serving since 2025 as the 72nd United States Secretary of State, United States secretary of state. A member of the Republican Party (United States) , Rep ...
mentioned the song during March 2013 Rand Paul Filibuster of CIA Director. Rand Paul
Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Kentucky since 2011.
A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
's filibuster
A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking ...
tried to block President Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...
's choice of John O. Brennan as CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
chief. Calling Wiz Khalifa a modern poet, Rubio mentioned the rapper by name and stated that he was reminded of his song "Work Hard, Play Hard. "You look at the time, I think it's a time when many of our colleagues expected to be home, back in the home state playing hard," Rubio said, "but I'm happy we're here still working hard on this issue."
Usage in media
The song was featured in a commercial for the beverage Canada Dry
Canada Dry () is a Canadian-American brand of soft drinks founded in Toronto, Ontario, in 1904, and owned since 2008 by the American company Dr Pepper Snapple (now Keurig Dr Pepper). For over 100 years, Canada Dry has been known mainly for its g ...
in 2017. The song was also featured in the first trailer for The Boss Baby: Family Business, and in the movie Arthur The King.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
Credits and personnel
*Songwriter
A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...
– Cameron Thomaz, Benjamin Levin, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen
*Production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stat ...
– Benny Blanco, Stargate
References
{{Authority control
2012 singles
Wiz Khalifa songs
Song recordings produced by Benny Blanco
Song recordings produced by Stargate (record producers)
Songs written by Tor Erik Hermansen
Songs written by Mikkel Storleer Eriksen
Songs written by Benny Blanco
Atlantic Records singles
Rostrum Records singles
2012 songs