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

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New York

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New YorkSong Writing

Our chat with Barney Hoskyns, who covers the wild years of Woodstock - the town, not the festival - in his book Small Town Talk.

Songs Discussed in Movies

Songs Discussed in MoviesSong Writing

Bridesmaids, Reservoir Dogs, Willy Wonka - just a few of the flicks where characters discuss specific songs, sometimes as a prelude to murder.

U2 Lyrics

U2 LyricsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the lyrics of U2?

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."

90s Metal

90s MetalFact or Fiction

Test your metal - Priest, Maiden, and Beavis and Butt-head show up in this one.