''For Certain'' is the second EP by American rapper Bia, which was released on December 11, 2020, through

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

. The EP was supported by the singles; "Free Bia (1st Day Out)", "Cover Girl", "Same Hands" featuring

Lil Durk Durk Derrick Banks (born October 19, 1992), known professionally as Lil Durk, is an American rapper. Regarded as a pioneering artist in the Chicago-based hip-hop subgenre drill music, he is often considered the subgenre's most commercially suc ...

, "Skate", and " Whole Lotta Money", which were released throughout 2020 and 2021 respectively. ''For Certain'' also features guest appearances from

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971), better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, DJ, and record producer. Regarded as a progenitor of the club-oriented hip-hop subgenre crunk, his production and voice presence were inst ...

, Doe Boy and

42 Dugg Dion Marquise Hayes (born November 25, 1994), known professionally as 42 Dugg, is an American rapper and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He signed with Yo Gotti and Lil Baby's respective labels, Collective Music Group (CMG) and Glass Windo ...

. A deluxe edition was released on October 22, 2021, and was preceded by the singles " Whole Lotta Money (Remix)" featuring

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

and "Besito" featuring

G Herbo Herbert Randall Wright III (born October 8, 1995), better known by his stage name G Herbo (formerly Lil Herb), is an American rapper. He signed with the Chicago-based record label Machine Entertainment Group in 2011, at the age of 16. His debut ...

Background and development

In 2014, Bia signed a joint record deal with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

and

Pharrell Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...

's label I Am Other. During this time she released a mixtape titled, ''#CholaSeason'' in 2014, as well as the ''Nice Girls Finish Last: Cuidado'' EP in 2018. In 2019, Bia would separate from the labels claiming she was prevented from releasing music. After her first independently released single "One Minute Warning" in August 2019, Bia would be featured on the Russ collaboration, " Best on Earth" in October 2019. The song would peak at number 42 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

and be certified Platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. In early 2020, Bia would sign a new record deal with

and started releasing single throughout the year in anticipation for the EP. Bia initially announced the project's title to be "Rich Tiers", but the title was later changed in favour of "For Certain", its title taken from the hook of the single "Cover Girl". On December 8, Bia took to her social media accounts to announce the project and revealed the cover art. The following day, Bia revealed the tracklisting.

Singles

Bia released the lead single, "Free Bia (1st Day Out)" on March 27, 2020. The song discusses Bia's experience with her previous record label and how she was "shelved" for multiple years, as well as celebrating her newfound freedom. The second single, "Cover Girl", was released on April 3, 2020, alongside a "quarantine" music video. The song was serviced to Urban and Rhythmic radios on April 14. The third and fourth singles, "Same Hands" featuring

and "Skate" were released in September and November that same year. The latter later was chosen as the

Stanley Cup playoffs The Stanley Cup playoffs () is the annual elimination tournament to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, and the league champion of the National Hockey League (NHL). The four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held after the NHL's regular s ...

theme song following a reworked version of the song titled the "NHL Mix". A music video for "Whole Lotta Money" was released on April 8, 2021, and impacted Rhythmic radios on May 18, 2021, as the fifth single from the EP. The song peaked at number three on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart. A remix with

was released on July 9, 2021, and debuted at No. 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, becoming Bia's first and highest-charting song as a lead artist. The remix pushed the mixtape to debut at No. 64 on the ''Billboard'' 200, becoming Bia's first entry on the chart.

Music and lyrics

According to ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'', Bia "expresses moments of everyday glamor" such as putting on jewelry "just to go to the bodega." She also "projects a calm, cool-headed attitude which counters her hard, aggressive lyrics" throughout the EP. In "Bia Bia", she "launches into razor sharp verses before Lil Jon crunks up the hook with his instantly recognizable delivery." In "Skate", she delivers "clever" lyrics about making money and leveling up on a "wavy" trap beat. "Same Hands" was inspired by the idea that "no matter how you sin, you can still be close to God." In "Cover Girl", Bia shows her confidence on a "magnetic" beat. In "Besito", she exposes her accomplishments to inspire girls and women in a "contemporary hip-hop style that reflects how global her music is." "Can't Touch This" is a "surprisingly smooth club anthem" that samples

Kelis Kelis Rogers (; born August 21, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and chef. She attended Manhattan, New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she played saxophone and was selected for the Girls Ch ...

' "

Milkshake A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, or fruit syrup into a thick, sweet, cold mixture. It may ...

" with lyrics inspired by

MC Hammer Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper known for hit songs such as "U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit", and "Pumps and a Bump", flashy dance movements, e ...

's " Can't Touch This". "Motionless" is an emotional "diary kind of a song."

Critical reception

Richardine Bartee of ''Grungecake'' wrote that "if there’s anything Bia understands, it is how to pick the right production and write a hook." Quincy of ''Ratings Game Music'' wrote that "while I do not think that BIA puts up dynamic performances on the EP, I do think that she shows flashes of solidness rapping-wise."

Awards and nominations

Track listing

Notes

* All track titles are stylized in

all uppercase In typography, text or font in all caps (short for "all capitals") contains capital letters without any lowercase letters. For example: All-caps text can be seen in legal documents, advertisements, newspaper headlines, and the titles on book co ...

Charts

Release history

References

{{reflist Album chart usages for Billboard200 Album chart usages for BillboardRandBHipHop 2020 EPs