"Lil Bit" is a song recorded by American
hip hop artist
Nelly
Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal R ...
with
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...
duo
Florida Georgia Line
Florida Georgia Line is an American country music duo founded in 2010 by Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. Their 2012 debut single "Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was ...
. It marks the third collaboration between the artists after the remix of the duo's hit single "
Cruise" in 2013, and the song "Walk Away" from Nelly's album ''
M.O.'' in the same year.
It is the lead single from Nelly's country-influenced eighth studio album ''
Heartland''.
Florida Georgia Line released an "FGL Remix" of the track on the digital-exclusive deluxe edition of their fifth studio album ''
Life Rolls On
''Life Rolls On'' is the fifth and final studio album by American country music duo Florida Georgia Line. It was released on February 12, 2021 through BMLG Records. It includes the hit singles " I Love My Country" and "Long Live", as well the ma ...
''.
Background
"Lil Bit", a hip hop and country rap beat, was co-written by
Tyler Hubbard
Tyler Reed Hubbard (born January 31, 1987) is an American singer-songwriter, and musician, best known as a former member of the Nashville-based duo Florida Georgia Line. Hubbard, a native of Monroe, Georgia, had been involved with music since ...
of
Florida Georgia Line
Florida Georgia Line is an American country music duo founded in 2010 by Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. Their 2012 debut single "Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was ...
and
Nelly
Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal R ...
along with country artist Blake Redferrin and producer
Jordan Schmidt
Jordan Schmidt (born February 26, 1988) is a Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum songwriter and music producer. He has co-written, engineered or produced songs for Kane Brown, Morgan Wallen, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, blackbear, Dan + Shay, K ...
, during a three-week visit to
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...
by Nelly. He stated the track "merges
is hip-hop style with
lorida Georgia Line's
Lorida is an unincorporated community in eastern Highlands County, Florida, United States. It lies along U.S. Route 98 between the cities of Sebring and Okeechobee.
In addition to some light industry located along U.S. 98 corridor, Lorida an ...
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...
style once again" and he hoped attract fans of both genres to the song.
Nelly described his relationship with
Florida Georgia Line
Florida Georgia Line is an American country music duo founded in 2010 by Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. Their 2012 debut single "Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was ...
as "super tight", calling them "family" and said that working with them again was a "no brainer".
Critical reception
Angela Stefano of ''Taste of Country'' said the song had a "dance-ready beat" that fits "comfortably within Nelly's catalog".
Dylan Bestler of ''NY Country Swag'' noted that the track has a "unique sound" that "leans more heavily into rap than country", adding that while it seemed unlikely the song would receive airtime on country radio, it "could be a fun song" in
Florida Georgia Line
Florida Georgia Line is an American country music duo founded in 2010 by Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. Their 2012 debut single "Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was ...
live shows. Chris Parton of ''Sounds Like Nashville'' said the track had "classic-rap flow" which is "mixed with self-assured singing", noting the influence of
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...
in the chorus. Chuck Arnold of ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'' ranked the song as the second worst one of 2021.
Live performances
Nelly and
Tyler Hubbard
Tyler Reed Hubbard (born January 31, 1987) is an American singer-songwriter, and musician, best known as a former member of the Nashville-based duo Florida Georgia Line. Hubbard, a native of Monroe, Georgia, had been involved with music since ...
performed "Lil Bit" on ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...
'' in November 2020.
They also performed the song on the
nineteenth season finale of
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
's ''
The Voice
The Voice may refer to:
Fictional entities
* The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics
* The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe
* The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleop ...
''.
Hubbard's bandmate
Brian Kelley was unable to join them due to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...
preventive measures after moving into his new home.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
{{Florida Georgia Line
2020 songs
2021 singles
Nelly songs
Florida Georgia Line songs
Country rap songs
Songs written by Nelly
Songs written by Jordan Schmidt
Songs written by Tyler Hubbard
Songs written by Blake Redferrin
Columbia Records singles
Vocal collaborations