"Twerk It" (stylized as "#Twerkit") is a song by American rapper

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 ...

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 ...

. Written by both performers alongside its producer

Pharrell Williams 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 ...

, the song was intended to serve as the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

for Busta Rhymes' tenth studio album, '' E.L.E.2 (Extinction Level Event 2)'', which was delayed from 2014 to 2020; the final album did not feature this song. "Twerk It" has been said to be Jamaican-inspired and is influenced by

dancehall music Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Roug ...

. A

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the song was shot in

Flatbush Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the nort ...

, New York on June 3, 2013.

Background

The original version was released on May 2, 2013, online,''Rap-Up.com:'
New Music: Busta Rhymes – ‘Twerk It’
Retrieved June 4, 2013. and later as a digital download on May 17.iTunes - Music
#Twerkit - Single Busta Rhymes
Retrieved June 8, 2013. On May 31, Minaj hinted the release of a new song tweeting: "surprise, surprise...recording it tomorrow, shooting it on the 3rd...". It was later revealed that the recorded song was a remix of Busta Rhymes' "Twerk It". On June 6, Busta premiered the song on radio station Hot 97 with DJ Funkmaster Flex,''Twitter:'
RT @MYSTEREJONES: @funkmasterflex just went in on that @BustaRhymes joint on @HOT97 #TWERKIT!!
Retrieved June 7, 2013. and later made it available online. On June 17, the remix version, which is now the official single version, was released as a digital download through iTunes.''iTunes:'
#Twerkit (feat. Nicki Minaj) - Single Busta Rhymes
Retrieved June 17, 2013. The song was released to rhythmic radio stations on June 25, 2013.Top 40/Rhythmic-Crossover > Future Releases
Retrieved June 8, 2013.

Music video

A music video was shot in

at Pulse 48 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 ...

. Minaj came to the video shoot unaware it would have such a large setup saying "I didn't know this was a real video". A behind-the-scenes video was released June 19, 2013, showing Minaj sporting a yellow and polka dot top. and appearances from

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 ...

and Pharrell. Director X commented on the video stating: "The video will have a lot of big booty judy's". The video was directed by Director X and premiered on July 24, 2013, on MTV2 Jams as the Jam of the Week.''Twitter:'
#TWERKIT video WORLD PREMIERING NEXT WEEK!!! #TWERKIT RMX WORLD PREMIERING NEXT WEEK AND #ELE2 ALBUM TRAILER WORLD PREMIERING IN THE MORNING
Retrieved July 17, 2013. A behind-the-scenes video was released on June 19, 2013, by Minaj's friend and video producer Grizz Lee. In the footage, Minaj is seen recording her verse in the studio and shooting the video the next day, sporting a studded captain's hat and twerks for the camera before shooting scenes with Busta and DJ Khaled, who gets the crew laughing with his attempt at a Jamaican accent. Pharrell also stops by the set and shares a funny moment with Nicki in the parking lot.

Remix

On August 1, 2013, Busta Rhymes revealed on RapFix Live that the official remix would feature

Vybz Kartel Adidja Azim Palmer (born 7 January 1976), better known as Vybz Kartel, is a Jamaican dancehall Toasting (Jamaican music), deejay. Among his various nicknames, he is referred to as Worl' Boss, Teacha and King of Dancehall. As summarized by ''Roll ...

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Regarded as a leading figure of Contemporary R&B#2000s, 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, includi ...

T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...

French Montana Karim Kharbouch (Moroccan Arabic, Arabic: IPA pronunciation, æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he immigrated to New York ...

, and

Jeremih Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Jeremih ( ), is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer. He embarked on a musical career after meeting record producer Mick Schultz in 2008, and signed a recording contract wi ...

. On August 8, the remix was released featuring the mentioned artists.

Chart performance

Release history

References

{{Nicki Minaj songs Busta Rhymes songs Nicki Minaj songs 2013 songs Cash Money Records singles Republic Records singles Reggae fusion songs Song recordings produced by Pharrell Williams Songs written by Nicki Minaj Songs written by Busta Rhymes Songs written by Pharrell Williams Music videos directed by Director X 2013 singles Dancehall songs