Songfacts®:

• "2step" finds Sheeran returning to the rap-like flow that dominated his early material. He speaks of being ground down by life's pressures, but all his "troubles turn to nothin'" when he's with his wife, Cherry.
• Ed has known Cherry Seaborn since they were classmates. They married in January 2019 and his wife has been the muse for many of his songs. Besides "2step," the Equals tracks "The Joker And The Queen," "First Times" and "Love In Slow Motion" are also about her.
• We'll go all night
  Two-steppin' with the woman I love
  
  The two-step ballroom dance first appeared in the early 1890s in the United States. It caught on with the public when John Phillip Sousa came out with the "Washington Post March" in 1891. A relatively basic dance, it comprises two quick sliding steps in the same direction with the same foot, separated by a joining step with the other foot. Although done in three steps, it gets its name from the two quick steps used.
  
  According to Sheeran, neither he nor Cherry are proficient dancers, but they can do the two-step together. Having said that, Ed showed his waltzing skills in the "Thinking Out Loud" video.
• Sheeran wrote the song in LA with producers Andrew Watt and Louis Bell. Sheeran has known Watt since the early 2010s, but had never worked with him until spring 2021, when he visited his studio. They made five or so songs for the fun of it. "'2step' was one that I really liked," Sheeran told Apple Music. "It sounded like 2010 me - it was me at 30, trying to be me at 18, singing about what I was going through at 30."
  
  Andrew Watt and Louis Bell often work together. Their previous collaborations include Camila Cabello's "Havana," 5 Seconds of Summer's "Youngblood," and Justin Bieber's "Peaches."
• Ed Sheeran teamed up with Lil Baby for a remix of "2step." He released it as the fifth single from Equals on April 22, 2022.
  
  Lil Baby laid down his vocals the other side of the Atlantic. The Atlanta rapper's audio engineer, Angie Randisi, set up the rig on his kitchen counter. "The biggest thing to catch that dynamic between the two of them, even though they weren't in the same room," Randisi told Billboard, "was having [Lil Baby] ad-lib over Ed Sheeran's part, so it sounds like they're bouncing off each other."
• Sheeran filmed the music video for the "2step" remix in Kyiv, Ukraine in December 2021, before Russia began its invasion of the country. The Scholfield-directed clip finds Sheeran walking through the streets of the Ukrainian capital city surrounded by dancers.
  
  The Ukrainian production company behind the clip, Radioaktivefilm, said, "This video really reminds us of the best of times; it was the last video we did before our world fell apart. Watching it gives us some normality and happiness."
• Sheeran donated all royalties from the release of "2step" to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal to support victims of the violence.
• Ed Sheeran released a second reworked version of "2Step" featuring a new verse from Antytila.
  
  The Ukrainian band Antytila became soldiers, fighting for their country amid Russia's invasion. They reached out on social media to the English star for a collaboration. After Sheeran listened to their music, he agreed to hook up with them.
  
  Sheeran dropped an accompanying video starring Antytila, who also directed and produced the clip.
  
  Revenues from the Antytila version of the track go to the Ukrainian Association Of Music Events' Music Saves UA campaign, raising money for humanitarian efforts in the country.