"Energy" is the second single by Canadian rapper

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

from his commercial mixtape ''

If You're Reading This It's Too Late ''If You're Reading This It's Too Late'' is a commercial mixtape by Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on February 13, 2015, without prior announcement, by OVO Sound, Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records. Th ...

'' on February 13, 2015.

Composition

"Energy" contains samples from " Eazy-Duz-It" by Eazy-E and ''Ridin Spinners'' by

Three 6 Mafia Three 6 Mafia is an American hip hop group from Memphis, Tennessee, formed in 1991. Emerging as a horror-themed underground hip hop group, they would eventually go on to enjoy mainstream success. The group's 1995 debut album ''Mystic Stylez'' ...

. The song also samples the hook from the '' Hot Boys'' song '' I Need A Hot Girl'', as well as the instrumental from the ''

Original Concept Original Concept was an American 1980s hip-hop group from Long Island, New York, best known for their single "Can You Feel It". They only made one album and it was notable for the absence of lyrics on many of the tracks. The group are perhaps ...

'' song ''Knowledge Me''. ''Energy'' was produced by

Boi-1da Matthew Jehu Samuels (born October 12, 1986), known professionally as Boi-1da ( , a play on "boy wonder"), is a Jamaican-Canadian record producer and songwriter based in Toronto, Ontario. The Toronto raised producer has worked with a variety o ...

and OB O'Brien. According to

WhoSampled WhoSampled is a website and app database of information about sampled music or sample-based music, cover songs and remixes. History Nadav Poraz founded the site in London, England in 2008, as a way to track musical samples and cover songs. ...

the song samples the score of an episode of ''

The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. "O.C." is an initialis ...

''. The very first sample is believed to be of Jamaican '' DJ'' '' Jah Walton,'' likely recorded at a ''

sound clash A sound clash is a musical competition where crew members from opposing sound systems pit their skills against each other. Sound clashes take place in a variety of venues, both indoors and outdoors, and primarily feature reggae and dancehall music. ...

'' contest.

Critical reception

Ryan Dombal of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' gave the song a positive review and named it "best new track", stating "The song isn't aimed to any rappers or pop stars, not

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. Anderson began his music career in 2007 and gained popularity in 2010 with his third mixtape '' Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big''. He then s ...

Tyga Michael Ray Nguyen-StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson ...

, but the song lines are dangerous." ''Album Of The Year'' stated that the song became the most famous single to come out of ''

.''

Music video

Release

The video of "Energy" was released on

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple ...

and users with iTunes and registered Apple Music account can watch this video.

Synopsis

The music video for "Energy" features Drake transformed into several notable celebrities, including: television personality Oprah Winfrey, during her famous interview with

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Go ...

; professional boxer

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. ('' né'' Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. As a professional boxer he compet ...

; singer

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

, from a

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, a ...

advertisement; singer

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

, from her own music video for "

Wrecking Ball A wrecking ball is a heavy steel ball, usually hung from a crane, that is used for demolishing large buildings. It was most commonly in use during the 1950s and 1960s. Several wrecking companies claim to have invented the wrecking ball. An e ...

"; former mayor of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Rob Ford Robert Bruce Ford (May 28, 1969 – March 22, 2016) was a Canadian politician and businessman who served as the 64th mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014. Before and after his term as mayor, Ford was a city councillor representing Ward 2 Etob ...

, enjoying

crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' call ...

in an alley; entertainer

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

, during the filming of his own music video for "

Bound 2 "Bound 2" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, featured as the final track from his sixth studio album, ''Yeezus'' (2013). It was produced by West and Che Pope, with additional production being handled by Eric Danchick, Noah Goldstein, No ID ...

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

, during a presidential address; NBA player

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

; and

O. J. Simpson Orenthal James Simpson (born July 9, 1947), nicknamed "Juice", is an American former football running back, actor, and broadcaster who played for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. Once a popular figur ...

, during the high speed car chase that led to his arrest. In each of these iterations, Drake mimes along with the song. Interspersed with these clips is monochromatic footage of Drake and his entourage; along with portraits of other caricatures. Bookending the video, a child version of Drake is seen in a field with other children, who act not unlike bullies towards him. At the end of the video, the young Drake stands solitary in the field, while another child (who has now been revealed to have Drake's adult face) points a toy gun at him.

Reception

Many critics stated that Drake uses this video to mock

and many other celebrities in the video. However, each usage of a notable person is timed to emphasize a certain lyric within the song. None of the personalities parodied in the footage have publicly responded to the video for "Energy".

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

named "Energy" the 12th best music video of 2015.

Commercial performance

In Canada, "Energy" peaked at number 65 on the ''Billboard'' Canadian Hot 100. In the United States, it is the highest-charting song from the album to date, reaching number 26 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart and number 5 on the ''Billboard'' Rap chart. "Energy" also peaked at number 71 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

Lyrics of ''Energy'' by Drake
on Genius {{authority control 2015 singles 2015 songs Cash Money Records singles Drake (musician) songs Songs written by Drake (musician) Songs written by Boi-1da Song recordings produced by Boi-1da