For Free

"For Free"
Single by DJ Khaled featuring Drake
from the album Major Key
ReleasedJune 3, 2016 (2016-06-03)
Recorded2016
GenreHip-hop
Length3:03
Label
Songwriters
Producers
Frankie Cutlass
DJ Khaled singles chronology
"Gold Slugs"
(2015)		 "For Free"
(2016)		 "I Got the Keys"
(2016)
Drake singles chronology
"Why You Always Hatin?"
(2016)		 "For Free"
(2016)		 "Back on Road"
(2016)

"For Free" is a song by American disc jockey DJ Khaled, featuring Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on June 3, 2016 by We the Best Music Group and Epic Records as the lead single from DJ Khaled's ninth studio album, Major Key. The song was produced by Nineteen85 and Jordan Ullman and co-produced by Frankie Cutlass.[1] The song was certified 4× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on July 6, 2021, for selling over four million copies in the United States.[2]

Background

On Snapchat, DJ Khaled talked about "the Drake vocals finally [being] in", referencing the then-unreleased song. The hip-hop song, its opening lines and cadences are interpolated from the opening lyrics of Too Short's "Blow the Whistle", produced by Lil Jon, and interpolates Akinyele's "Fuck Me For Free", produced by Frankie Cutlass. One of Drake's verses pays homage to Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly song, "For Free? (Interlude)".[3]

Chart performance

On the chart dated June 25, 2016, "For Free" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 18, powered by first-week digital download sales of 104,748 copies.[4] It became DJ Khaled's fourth highest-charting single, peaking at number 13 on August 20, 2016 (behind 2011's "I'm on One" with Drake, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne and 2017's "Wild Thoughts", with Rihanna and Bryson Tiller and "I'm the One", with Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, and Lil Wayne). In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number 25, while peaking at number 47 in Canada and at number 79 in France, making it Khaled's most successful single in those countries until the release of "I'm the One" in the UK and Canada and "Wild Thoughts" in France.

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[18] 2× Platinum 160,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[19] Platinum 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[21] 4× Platinum 4,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format Label Ref.
United States June 3, 2016 [22]

References

  1. ↑ Shake (June 3, 2016). ". DJ Khaled & Drake Team Up On New Summer Anthem, "For Free"". Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  2. ↑ "RIAA Certifications - DJ Khaled". Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  3. ↑ Lang, Cady (June 3, 2016). "Drake and DJ Khaled Release New Track 'For Free'". Time. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  4. ↑ Mansell, Henry (June 18, 2016). "Hip Hop Single Sales: DJ Khaled, Drake & Desiigner". HipHopDX. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  5. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (June 18, 2016). "ARIA Singles: Drake Returns to No 1". Noise11. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  6. ↑ "DJ Khaled Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  7. ↑ "DJ Khaled feat. Drake – For Free" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart on 10/6/2016 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Official Singles Chart on 10/6/2016 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  10. ↑ "DJ Khaled Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  11. ↑ "DJ Khaled Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  12. ↑ "DJ Khaled Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  13. ↑ "DJ Khaled Chart History (Rhythmic Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  14. ↑ "ARIA Top 50 Urban Singles 2016". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Hot 100 Songs - Year-End 2016". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Rhythmic Songs – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  18. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – DJ Khaled – For Free". Music Canada.
  19. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – DJ Khaled feat. Drake – For Free". Radioscope. Retrieved July 31, 2025. Type For Free in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
  20. ↑ "British single certifications – DJ Khaled – For Free". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 5, 2022. Select singles in the Formats field. Type For Free DJ Khaled in the "Search:" field.
  21. ↑ "American single certifications – DJ Khaled – For Free". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  22. ↑ Walker, Angus (June 3, 2016). "DJ Khaled – For Free Feat. Drake | Stream [New Song]". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.