"Down on My Luck" is a song by American rapper

Vic Mensa Victor Kwesi Mensah (born June 6, 1993), known professionally as Vic Mensa, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, he was a member of the regional hip hop groups Kids These Days (band), Kids These Days and Savemoney prior to releasing ...

. It was released on June 6, 2014, by

Virgin EMI Records Virgin EMI Records was a British record label owned by the Universal Music Group that was formed in 2013. In June 2020, the label was rebranded as EMI Records, and operates Virgin Records as an imprint of the new EMI Records. History Virgin ...

, as his debut

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

. The song was written by Mensa alongside

Om'Mas Keith Om'Mas Keith (born December 20, 1976), also known simply as Om'Mas, is a Grammy Award-winning record producer, musician, composer, engineer, and songwriter from Queens, New York. He has worked with Frank Ocean, Erykah Badu, John Legend, Jay-Z, K ...

, Cam O'bi, Peter Cottontale, and Stephen Ponce. The song's

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 ...

was handled by Mensa himself and Ponce. The song went on and charted at number 37 on the UK Singles Chart.

Critical reception

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' named "Down on My Luck" the fifteenth best song of the first half of 2014. Their writer Insanul Ahmed said, "Bolstered by its Groundhog's Day-style music video, the song might feel like a blatant attempt by a rappity rapper to make a dance song to get on the charts. But when you consider Vic's Chicago roots, the house beat makes a lot more sense. Plus, as fans of Vic's ''

INNANETAPE ''Innanetape'' (stylized as ''INNANETAPE'') is the debut mixtape by American rapper Vic Mensa. It was released on September 30, 2013, as a free digital download. The mixtape features guest appearances from Chance the Rapper, Ab-Soul, Rockie Fres ...

'' know, he's all about mixing and merging sounds and styles. So even if "Down on My Luck" doesn't feature much rapping, it still somehow plays into Vic's strengths." Renato Pagnani of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' stated, "it's the restlessness of last year's ''Innanetape'' that helps contextualize "Down on My Luck" as a natural extension of Mensa's omnivorous musical appetite rather than a hard—and cynical—left turn. It also doesn't hurt that the track nails the propulsive throb of deep house and comes equipped with an earworm of a hook that suggests Mensa might have a career in him as a dance vocalist if this rapping thing doesn't pan out."

Music video

The music video for "Down on My Luck" was released on May 12, 2014.

Charts

References

{{authority control Songs about luck 2014 songs Virgin EMI Records singles 2014 debut singles Vic Mensa songs Deep house songs Hip house songs Songs written by Om'Mas Keith Songs written by Vic Mensa