Toosie Slide


"Toosie Slide" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake from his commercial mixtape Dark Lane Demo Tapes. It was released as the lead single on April 3, 2020, through Republic and OVO. The song is titled after social media influencer Toosie, who had previously helped the song go viral. A video was released alongside the song, showing Drake quarantined, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He also demonstrates the Toosie Slide dance in his Toronto mansion. The song debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, making Drake the first male artist to accomplish three number-one debuts.

Background and promotion

On March 29, 2020, social media influencer Toosie uploaded a clip showing him and his friends doing a dance challenge called the "Toosie Slide" while parts of the song are playing in the background. The dance was described as a "modern day 'Cha Cha Slide' by DJ Casper" and went viral after it was introduced to the app TikTok by Toosie, Hiii Key and Michigan duo Ayo & Teo. When it was subsequently shared on other social media pages, people considered possible involvement by Drake. He hinted at an impending release, saying "I'mma drop soon since ya'll got it going insane". Drake then took to his social media on March 31, 2020, to declare the song as his and revealed that it would be released the following Thursday at midnight, on Friday, April 3, 2020. American rapper Lil Baby revealed via Instagram that Drake wanted him on the song, calling himself a "dumbass" for not sending his verse back.

Production

The song was produced by Turkish-Swiss producer Ozan Yildirim, professionally known as OZ, who previously collaborated with Travis Scott on 2018's "Sicko Mode", featuring Drake. In 2019, he again worked with Drake on the songs "Omertà" and "Gold Roses", the latter being a Rick Ross single, featuring Drake. Just prior to "Toosie Slide", OZ produced another Drake-featured track, Future's "Life Is Good". As with most of his productions, OZ makes extensive use of hi-hats and a snare drum on "Toosie Slide". The song also contains bass drum kicks paired with Drake's "melodic" chorus.

Composition and lyrics

A trap song, "Toosie Slide" is a "seductive confection engineered to cause an Internet stir", containing "stuttering cymbals, a couple bass drum kicks" and "elliptical set of beats", leaving room for Drake's lyrics to take the spotlight, which he delivers with "melodic bars". Lyrically, Drake reflects on his "inner pressure", shouting out his friends, flirting with his many admirers and promising "a hot summer of music". He also gives dance directions for the song's titular dance, rapping "It go right foot up, left foot slide/Left foot up, right foot slide/Basically I'm saying, either way we 'bout to slide, aye". Drake makes numerous references to Michael Jackson throughout the song.
Drake said, "When I first made that song, I was only talking about the moonwalk. But Toosie made a dance to that shit, I didn't know it was gonna be a dance song like that".
The song has been compared to "Cupid Shuffle" by Cupid, the Electric Slide dance by Richard L. "Ric" Silver, and "Cha Cha Slide" by DJ Casper, which has similar dance instructions. Billboard called it the "'Cha Cha Slide' of the TikTok generation".

Critical reception

"Toosie Slide" generally polarized critics. Alphonse Pierre of Pitchfork noted that despite Drake's ability of never needing "to chase a hit", for the first time it "feels like he's a step behind" and went on calling the track "strictly a business decision". Micah Peters of The Ringer was highly critical of the song as well as Drake's marketing ploys, comparing him to the DC Comics supervillain Darkseid. Peters further called producer OZ's production "airy, barely there", the hook "awkward syllabic balance" and said "Toosie Slide" feels marginal in the same way "God's Plan" did, "and doubtlessly, it'll also walk to no. 1". Ann Powers of NPR had a similar notion, labelling the song "a bit of trivial fun that will probably become an inescapable hit on the strength of its marketing and its catchy chorus". Conversely, Jason Lipshutz of Billboard named it among the most essential releases of the week, and said "Drake is smart to launch a self-fashioned dance craze in this era, but 'Toosie Slide' also showcases his skill of conjuring hooks and catchphrases out of thin air, which helped make him who he is today". Jessica McKinney of Complex also listed it as part of the "Best New Music of the Week", saying the song is not all gimmick and referenced the COVID-19 pandemic, stating "it is worth listening to when you're riding around in the car or heading out for a quick walk around the block. Maybe someday we'll actually get to hear it in a club".

Commercial performance

The song debuted atop the US Billboard Hot 100 on the chart dated April 18, 2020, making Drake the first male solo artist in US chart history to debut three songs at number one. It became his seventh Hot 100 number one.

Music video

The accompanying music video was released on April 3, 2020, at a length of 5 minutes and 12 seconds. It was directed by Theo Skudra. The visuals prominently feature Drake dancing around in his Toronto mansion, nicknamed "The Embassy", with a mask and gloves on while being in quarantine, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He simultaneously demonstrates the song's titular dance. At the end, the rapper is seen outside of his home with a firework show on his property. The video also features a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant. The choreography in the video was created by Toosie, Hiii Key and Ayo & Teo who sent the footage to Drake. Originally, the dancers were supposed to appear in the video. However, plans were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Synopsis

The music video begins by showing quiet and almost deserted streets of the city, with no sign of cars, nor people moving around. The empty streets signify the quietness of the cities in the light of the lockdowns that have been enforced by governments globally to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus among citizens. The video then shows Drake in an antechamber, showcasing his many awards sitting in trophy cases; through the door, a painting of China's Chairman Mao by Andy Warhol is seen hanging on the wall. Drake then passes by a table covered with the basketball jerseys he is usually seen wearing courtside, including one emblazoned with the name "Bryant", honoring the late American basketball star, Kobe Bryant, who had died earlier in the year from a helicopter crash, on January 26, 2020. The scene then cuts to a foyer, as the rapper passes two sculptures by Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami which blink. The rapper is then seen sitting on "the biggest kitchen island " and the camera pans toward the quarter-mile-long dining room table. Drake continues moving through darkened rooms where portraits of "lost and distanced" heroes, including Prince, Nas, Tupac and Snoop Dogg, hang on the wall. He dances through a door to the pool area, which features "waneon lighting and cabana-like décor". The video concludes with Drake in total darkness, "only his white sneakers visible against the eerily black Toronto sky". Fireworks erupt afterward, and the camera pans back to show the entirety of Drake's 35,000-square-foot, $100 million Toronto estate.
In the video, Drake is seen wearing a hoodie and a "super rare" Fall/Winter 2001 Raf Simons Riot Riot Riot Camo Bomber, an item Kanye West wore regularly during 2014 and 2015. A Bösendorfer piano is seen, which has a violet cover inscribed with skulls. There's also a shot of what appears to be a recording contract, ready to be signed on Drake's dining-room table.
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TikTok dance challenge

Over 4.5 million videos have been made on TikTok using the song, with a combined 6.8 billion views as of June 2020. These videos usually consist of users dancing to a snippet of the song. The hashtag #toosieslide garnered over 5.7 billion views. It was the fourth biggest TikTok song for April 2020. The song peaked on April 20, 2020, garnering over 250 million views on videos made to the song that day.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

Monthly charts

Certifications

Release history