"Take It to the Head" is a song by American hip hop producer

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (; born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry ar ...

, released as the lead single from his sixth studio album, ''

Kiss the Ring ''Kiss the Ring '' is the sixth studio album by American disc jockey and record producer DJ Khaled. It was released on August 21, 2012, by We the Best Music Group, Cash Money Records and Universal Republic Records. The album was supported by the ...

''. The song features American singer

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

, American rappers

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

and

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 ...

, and Trinidadian rapper

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 ...

. The song was premiered via DJ Khaled's

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on March 26, 2012. It was later released for digital download in the United States on April 3, 2012. The single was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

by the

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(RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 digital copies. Musically, "Take It to the Head" is a hip hop song with elements of trap from Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne and Rick Ross, and R&B from Chris Brown.

Critical reception

David Jeffries highlighted it and wrote a positive description: " Nicki Minaj joins labelmate Wayne, along with Chris Brown and Rick Ross, for "Take It to the Head," a song perfect for rainy days as the lyricists go from sullen to champion over a slow-rolling Runners production." BBC music said of the single, "Single Take It to the Head, meanwhile, is oddly ineffectual considering the talent showcased. Rick Ross comes off lackadaisical, Nicki Minaj offers far from her greatest verse, a mumbling Lil Wayne's mouth sounds fuller of iced grill than usual, while Khaled hollers unselfconsciously over the whole palaver like an actual ghetto Tim Westwood." Mark Bozzer also wrote a positive review: "the Runners/Khaled-produced bachelorette party favourite, "Take It To The Head," featuring Breezy, Rozay, Nicki Minaj and Weezy." XXL panned the song noting it incapable of recapturing the magic of last album’s lead single but he also wrote that it's better than today’s average radio record: "appreciate in listening value over time."

Music video

The video was filmed on April 30, 2012, inside Disaster!: A Major Motion Picture Ride...Starring You!, one of the rides in

Universal Studios Florida Universal Studios Florida is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida, that opened on June 7, 1990. Owned and operated by NBCUniversal, it features numerous rides, attractions, and live shows that are primarily themed to movies, television, and ...

. It was directed by

Colin Tilley Colin Tilley (born June 27, 1988) is an American filmmaker, music video director, and television commercial director. Tilley is the CEO and owner of Boy in the Castle Productions. He has directed more than 300 music videos. Tilley directed, pr ...

. It premiered on May 20, 2012, on

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, through PMN’s MTV Entertainment Group Subdivision. The channel launched initially as an all-music ...

Sucker Free ''Sucker Free'', known as ''Sucker Free Daily'' on weekdays and then ''Sucker Free Countdown'' on Sundays, was a former hip-hop video block on MTV2. Previously, ''Sucker Free'' aired weekdays for one hour, then eventually sporadically until the w ...

'' and it was uploaded on DJ Khaled's

Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

account on May 25. In addition to Khaled and the track's featured artists, the video features cameos from rappers

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 ...

, Birdman,

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

and

Mack Maine Jermaine Anthony Preyan (born January 15, 1982), better known by his stage name Mack Maine, is an American record executive, songwriter, and rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was named president of Lil Wayne's record label Young Money Enter ...

, among others. The video takes place at The

BART Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves List of Bay Area Rapid Transit stations, 50 stations along six routes and of track, including eBART, a spur line running t ...

. Brown appears in a cage as he sings the chorus. Rick Ross performs his verse on the sidelines of the train tracks as during the verse, Drake appears. Then Minaj raps her verse sitting on the train tracks as gasoline barrels on fire behind her. Then Wayne performs on the back of a destroyed train as Busta Rhymes, Mack Maine and Birdman make small appearances during Wayne's verse.

Remix

The remix features Chris Brown,

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of Hip-hop, hip hop group D.I.T.C., Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a sol ...

Ace Hood Antoine Franklin McColister (born May 11, 1988), known professionally Ace Hood, is an American rapper. Born in Port St. Lucie and raised in Deerfield Beach, Florida, he was discovered by DJ Khaled and became the first act to sign with his rec ...

Jae Millz Jarvis Antonio Mills (born September 11, 1983), better known by his stage name Jae Millz, is an American rapper from Harlem, New York. He is best known for his performances on Young Money Entertainment's 2009 singles "BedRock" and " Every Girl, ...

, Maino,

Lil Twist Christopher Lynn Moore (born January 11, 1993), better known by his stage name Lil Twist, is an American rapper from Dallas, Texas. He signed to Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment, an imprint of Republic Records in 2010.

, T-Streets,

Bun B Bernard James Freeman (born March 19, 1973), known professionally as Bun B, is an American rapper. He is best known as one half of the Southern rap duo UGK (Underground Kingz), a group he formed in 1987 alongside Pimp C. Aside from his work wi ...

and Lil Chuckee.

Live performances

Minaj and Wayne performed the song during Minaj's Pepsi Promotional Show as a part of her Pink Friday Tour. Minaj has also recited her verse on her Pink Friday: Reloaded Tour.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Lil Wayne singles 2012 songs 2012 singles DJ Khaled songs Chris Brown songs Nicki Minaj songs Rick Ross songs Lil Wayne songs Songs written by Kevin Cossom Songs written by Nicki Minaj Songs written by Lil Wayne Cash Money Records singles Music videos directed by Colin Tilley Songs written by Rick Ross Song recordings produced by the Runners Songs written by Jermaine Jackson (hip-hop producer) Songs written by Andrew Harr Songs written by Andre Davidson Songs written by Sean Davidson Song recordings produced by the Monarch (production team)