"No Lie" is the debut single by American rapper

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (formerly Tity Boi), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Ci ...

featuring Canadian rapper

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

, released as the lead single from the former's debut studio album '' Based on a T.R.U. Story'' (2012). Produced by

Mike Will Made It Michael Len Williams II (born March 23, 1989), known professionally as Mike Will Made It (often stylized as Mike WiLL Made-It) or simply Mike Will, is an American record producer. He is best known for producing trap beats for several Southern hi ...

, the song was released to

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

on May 8, 2012, and based on digital downloads was able to debut in the top 50 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The single has sold 1,400,000 copies digitally and has been certified 3× Platinum.

Critical reception

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 ...

'' commented on the track by saying "...'No Lie' recalls

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

's recent '

She Will "She Will" is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne featuring Canadian rapper Drake. Written alongside producer T-Minus, it was released on August 16, 2011 as the fourth single from the former's ninth studio album ''Tha Carter IV''. It was certif ...

' single when Drake steps in to slow things down on the chorus, but 2 Chainz sounds hungrier than his counterpart here, steamrolling over the beat and slinging weak rhymes. 2 Chainz' voice is silent on the track for about a minute and 40 seconds as Drake struts into focus, and while the Canadian superstar gamely handles his assignment, the listener misses Chainz' urgency until he returns, possessed, for the third verse. Wordplay isn't the MC's strong suit, but it doesn't need to be-his career renaissance can be chalked up as much to his acceptance of his own firecracker energy as his smart selection of beats. No lie: 2 Chainz probably has another hit on his hands."

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 the song #17 on their list of the best 50 songs of 2012.

Chart performance

The song debuted at number 46 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 based on digital downloads alone. In its 16th week on September 8th, 2012, the song peaked at number 24. For the week of August 18, 2012, the song reached No. 1 on the Billboard

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart becoming Drake's 10th No. 1 on the chart. Thus the tie that he had previously possessed with

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

for most No. 1 hits on the chart was broken. After the ascent of "No Lie" to No. 1, Drake now has the most No. 1 hits on the

R&B/Hip-Hop songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...

chart for any rapper in history. The single also reached the summit of the

Rap Songs Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio statio ...

chart, and became Drake's 13th No. 1 hit, thus extending his record for most No. 1 hits on the chart over runner-up

Diddy Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, Combs worked as a ...

who has ten. As of August 2013, the song has sold 1,400,000 copies in the United States.

Music video

The music video for "No Lie" premiered on

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

on June 18, 2012. It was filmed in

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

and directed by

Director X Julien Christian Lutz (born October 31, 1975), known professionally as Director X, is a Canadian music video director. Having trained under Hype Williams, Lutz has been credited for directing over a hundred music videos spanning various genres si ...

.Rap-Up.com , , Video: 2 Chainz f/ Drake – ‘No Lie’
/ref>

Remix

Many artists took part in freestyling this track including,

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and actor. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he signed with the local independent label Rostrum Records to re ...

Roscoe Dash Jeffery Lee Johnson Jr. (born April 2, 1990), better known by his stage name Roscoe Dash, is an American rapper. He is best known for his guest appearance alongside Wale on Waka Flocka Flame's 2010 single "No Hands," which peaked at number 13 o ...

and

King Los Carlos Coleman, better known by his stage name King Los or simply Los, is an American rapper and songwriter from Baltimore, Maryland. He is best known for his affiliation with American rapper Puff Daddy, having frequently served as his ghostwrit ...

. Wiz Khalifa's freestyle is titled "Don't Lie". Lil Wayne freestyled this track on his mixtape ''

Dedication 4 ''Dedication 4'' is the eleventh mixtape by American rapper Lil Wayne. The mixtape, hosted by DJ Drama, was originally supposed to be released on August 15, 2012, but got delayed several times and was released on September 3, 2012. It is the four ...

''.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Radio and release history

References

{{authority control 2012 debut singles 2 Chainz songs Drake (musician) songs Songs written by 2 Chainz Songs written by Drake (musician) Music videos directed by Director X Song recordings produced by Mike Will Made It Black-and-white music videos Songs written by Mike Will Made It Songs written by Marquel Middlebrooks 2012 songs Def Jam Recordings singles Songs written by 40 (record producer) Song recordings produced by 40 (record producer)