It's Up
by Drake (featuring 21 Savage & Young Thug)

Album: 100 Gigs (2024)
Charted: 82 28
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • On August 6, 2024, Drake dipped into his vault of unreleased treasures and unleashed 100GB of content for his fans. He shared a veritable buffet of behind-the-scenes footage, discarded album covers, snippets of studio sessions, and, most intriguingly, three brand-new tracks that no one had ever heard before.

    "It's Up" is the most rap-oriented of the trio and was officially released on streaming services four days later.
  • "It's Up" is an aggressive trap banger featuring Young Thug and 21 Savage. The three don't hold back, spitting that are all about the usual suspects: women, drugs, their luxury lifestyle, and firearms.
  • Young Thug was arrested in May 2022 and charged with being the co-founder of a violent street gang, Young Slime Life (YSL), and using his music to promote gang activity. The trial began in November 2023 after a lengthy pre-trial process, and he was still incarcerated awaiting the verdict when Drake dropped this song. Drake, ever the loyal friend, uses "It's Up" to throw his support behind Thugger:

    I can't sleep at night with Thug at Cobb County Corrections
    I think he did enough reflectin', I think my brother learned his lesson


    The partnership between Drake and Young Thug dates back to 2017 when Thug dropped some rhymes on Drizzy's More Life track "Sacrifices." They've since worked together on various projects.
  • As for Thug's contribution to the track, his vocals are lifted from an unreleased track called "Don't Care About My Opps."
  • London Cyr, Ben10k, Elyas, Tom Levesque and Gyz produced the song.

    Canadian producer London Cyr's first major placement was on Travis Scott's 2018 track "Can't Say." Since then, he's produced songs for the likes of 6lack ("Know My Rights") and Don Toliver ("Outerspace").

    Elyas' previous contributions to Drake tracks include his 21 Savage collaboration "On BS" and the Dark Lane Demo Tapes track "Losses."

    Indiana producer Tom Levesque is best known for his work with Lil Nas X ("Dead Right Now") and Kanye West ("We Did It Kid").

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater RevivalFact or Fiction

Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"They're Playing My Song

The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."

Gene Simmons of Kiss

Gene Simmons of KissSongwriter Interviews

The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."

Joe Jackson

Joe JacksonSongwriter Interviews

Joe talks about the challenges of of making a Duke Ellington tribute album, and tells the stories behind some of his hits.

George Clinton

George ClintonSongwriter Interviews

When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.