Wikipedia

Nonstop (song)

For other songs, see Nonstop.

"Nonstop" is a song by Canadian musician Drake from his fifth studio album, Scorpion (2018). It was released as the sixth single from the album on July 31, 2018. The song was produced by Tay Keith, with co-production handled by No I.D. and additional production by Noel Cadastre.

"Nonstop"
White text reading "NONSTOP" on a black background
Single by Drake
from the album Scorpion
ReleasedJuly 31, 2018[1]
StudioRitz Carlton, Toronto, ON
Genre
Length3:58
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Drake singles chronology
"In My Feelings"
(2018) 		"Nonstop"
(2018) 		"Sicko Mode"
(2018)
Music video
"Nonstop" on YouTube

"Nonstop" was critically well-received, being labeled one of Scorpion's best tracks by several critics, even cynics of the album. Commercially, it has reached number one in Canada as well as the top ten in Australia, Greece, Ireland, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom; along with reaching top 5 in the United States, prior to being released as a single.[2] Additionally, "Nonstop" was the most streamed song in the US during the first week of Scorpion's release.[3] The song gained renewed popularity in 2020, after being used in viral TikTok videos.[4]

Background

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On July 13, 2018, BlocBoy JB released his own remix of "Nonstop" on YouTube.[5]

Production and composition

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"Nonstop," recorded by Drake near the end of Scorpion's production,[6] is a trap rap song with the chorus line "My head is spinnin', from smokin' the chicken, the bass is kickin" sampled from DJ Squeeky and Mack Daddy Ju's song "My Head Is Spinning" (1995).[7][8] Due to the sample being by artists from Memphis, Tennessee, multiple journalists have categorized the use of the sample as a reference to Drake's Memphis influences.[8][9][10] He references LeBron James going back and forth wearing "6" and "23" shirts to symbolize his sudden rise to stardom.[11] Journalist Dee Lockett suggested the line "Yeah I'm light skinned, but I'm still a dark nigga" referenced a photo of Drake in blackface used by Pusha-T on the cover of his diss track "The Story of Adidon."[12]

Critical reception

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Some reviewers of Scorpion, including its detractors, mentioned "Nonstop" as one of its top tracks.[13][14][15][16][17] Caitlin White Uproxx wrote its upbeat nature made it one of the best parts of a record of mostly "joyless, moody songs," describing it as "almost a banger" and noting its many "hilarious lines."[15] A top-five track list from Business Insider described it as "the sharpest possible version of his uniquely corny bravado."[18] The Ringer in 2018 ranked "Nonstop" the 105th all-time Drake song, listing it in the field of "Songs That You Would Not Quote on Your Instagram."[19] In 2020, Billboard, ranking "Nonstop" the 47th best of Drake's 209 Hot 100 hits, called it "one of the nastiest tracks the rapper's ever put out," elaborating that "it breathes an air of invincibility into you the second the bass starts rolling."[20] Some reviewers noted Tay Keith's "infectious" instrumental,[13][21][22] especially its bass line,[13][23][17] and Drake's versatility,[14][24] noting his attempt at replicating flows from contemporaneous rappers.[25][26] Patrick Lyons and Craig Jenkins, however, was critical of his tries to copy current trends, with Jenkins categorizing "Nonstop" as "a Playboi Carti song on a Klonopin"[27] and Lyons panning "his use of a young producer and somewhat lazy 21 Savage flows."[7]

Commercial performance

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When first released on Spotify as part of Scorpion, "Nonstop" was the most streamed song from the album on its first day, racking 9,298,297 streams (5,749,019 in the United States alone); it broke a record set by "Look What You Made Me Do" by Taylor Swift which garnered around eight million in a day.[28]

"Nonstop" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 chart dated July 14, 2018 at number 2,[29] tying as Drake's third number two-charting single as a lead act with "Best I Ever Had" and "Hotline Bling" which reached number two in 2009 and 2015, respectively. The song debuted and peaked at number two for one week, behind Drake's own single "Nice for What". "Nonstop" remained in the top ten of this chart for one week before dropping out on July 21, 2018.

In Drake's native Canada, "Nonstop" debuted at number 1 on the Canadian Hot 100, becoming Drake's fifth number-one single on the chart and tying as his third number one single from his Scorpion album, along with "God's Plan" and "Nice for What". It was later unseated from the top spot on the issue dated July 21, 2018 by Drake's follow-up single "In My Feelings".

In the United Kingdom, "Nonstop" peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart. On September 14, 2018, "Nonstop" received a silver certification by the British Phonographic Industry.

Music video

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The music video for "Nonstop" was released on July 27, 2018, exclusively on Apple Music before being uploaded to Drake's YouTube channel on August 3;[30] while previous videos for Scorpion tracks ("God's Plan," "Nice For What" and "I'm Upset") were directed by Karena Evans and high-concept, "Nonstop" is a much more realistic video[10] directed by Theo Skudra and filmed in London. It begins with footage from Drake's performance at the 2018 Wireless Festival before he goes out clubbing, drinks tea on top of a building, and rides throughout London on a double-decker bus. It features cameos from French Montana, Quavo, and Noah "40" Shebib.[30][31] "Nonstop" was Skudra's first Drake music video to be documentary-style, which would be true for the director's later videos for "Chicago Freestyle," "War," and "When to Say When." According to Skudra, "It kind of is the epitome of our working relationship. To be able to capture these parties or these moments, they're just things that are hard to find in a director-artist relationship."[32] Drake came up with the idea of filming the video at one of his London events, while the double-decker bus scene was done out of a joke made by a make-up artist near the end of shooting.[32] The part where Drake drinks tea on a hotel rooftop became a meme on social media upon the video's release.[33]

Flip The Switch challenge

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In 2020, the song resurfaced due to a TikTok meme challenge.[34] The challenge involves two people swapping clothes and roles with each other and then switching the light off, proceeding to "go wild"[34] once Drake raps, "Look, I just flipped the switch (flipped, flipped)."[4] One of the most popular videos are of US senator and former 2020 presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren and actress Kate McKinnon in a dressing room at Saturday Night Live.[4]

Personnel

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Credits adapted from the album's liner notes and Tidal.[35][36]

  • Noah Shebib – recording
  • Noel "Gadget" Campbell – mixing
  • Greg Moffet – mixing assistance
  • Ronald Moonoo – mixing assistance
  • Harley Arsenault – mixing assistance
  • Noel Cadastre – production, recording
  • No I.D. – production
  • Tay Keith – production

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[69] 5× Platinum 350,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[70] Diamond 160,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[71] Platinum 80,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[72] Platinum 90,000‡
France (SNEP)[73] Gold 100,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[74] Gold 200,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[75] Gold 25,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[76] Gold 25,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[77] Platinum 10,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[78] Gold 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[79] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[80] 7× Platinum 7,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Country Date Format Label(s) Ref.
United States July 31, 2018 Rhythmic contemporary
[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Top 40-Rhythmic Future Releases". All Access. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018.
  2. ^ Trust, Gary (July 9, 2018). "Drake Claims Record 7 of Hot 100's Top 10, 'Nice For What' No. 1 for Eighth Week". Billboard. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  3. ^ Trust, Gary. "Drake Claims 7 of Hot 100's Top 10, Breaking the Beatles' Record, As 'Nice For What' Returns to No. 1 For Eighth Week". Billboard magazine. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c McKinney, Jessica (March 26, 2020). "12 Songs Blowing Up on TikTok (That Are Actually Worth Listening to)". Complex. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  5. ^ Espinoza, Joshua (July 13, 2018). "Listen to BlocBoy JB's Remix of Drake's 'Nonstop'". Complex. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  6. ^ Dandridge-Lemco, Ben (July 13, 2018). "Tay Keith on producing for Drake's Scorpion: 'He wanted that Memphis slap'". The Fader. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Lyons, Patrick (July 2, 2018). "Shrinking Drake's 25-Track 'Scorpion' Into a More Digestible 13-Track Album". Billboard. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Rindner, Grant (June 30, 2018). "Drake's Obscure Sample On "Nonstop" Is His Latest Homage to Memphis". Genius. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  9. ^ Wood, Mikael (July 1, 2018). "Review: On 'Scorpion' Drake is tired and tiring – but as beautiful an artist as ever". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Breihan, Tom (July 27, 2018). "Drake – 'Nonstop' Video". Stereogum. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  11. ^ "Every reference to Toronto (that we could find) on Drake's Scorpion". Toronto Life. June 29, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  12. ^ Lockett, Dan (June 29, 2018). "Your Complete Guide to Drake's New Album, Scorpion". Vulture. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  13. ^ a b c Findlay, Mitch (June 29, 2018). "Drake Justifies His Thug On Wavy Banger 'Nonstop'". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  14. ^ a b Barker, Andrew (July 2, 2018). "Album Review: Drake's 'Scorpion'". Variety. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  15. ^ a b Reiff, Corbin (July 5, 2018). "All The Songs On Drake's Mammoth New Album 'Scorpion,' Ranked". Uproxx. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  16. ^ Breihan, Tom (July 2, 2018). "Premature Evaluation: Drake Scorpion". Stereogum. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  17. ^ a b Lefevre, Jules (July 3, 2018). "Five Tracks From Drake's 'Scorpion' That Are Actually Worth Listening To". Junkee. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  18. ^ "5 best songs on Drake's new album 'Scorpion' that are worth a listen". Business Insider. July 3, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  19. ^ "Every Drake Song, Ranked". The Ringer. July 4, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  20. ^ "Every Drake Hot 100 Hit, Ranked: Staff Picks". Billboard. April 13, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  21. ^ Cox, Jamieson (July 2, 2018). "Drake: Scorpion". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  22. ^ "Ranking Every Song on Drake's 'Scorpion' From Worst To Best". Highsnobiety. March 25, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  23. ^ Kidd, James (July 6, 2018). "Album review: 'Scorpion' finds Drake stung and self-absorbed". The National. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  24. ^ Purdom, Clayton (July 2, 2018). "Scorpion is a whole shitload of Drake". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  25. ^ Cush, Andy (July 2, 2018). "There's a Solid Drake Album Hidden Somewhere Inside Scorpion". Spin. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  26. ^ Richards, Chris (June 29, 2018). "The world doesn't need another soggy Drake album, but here, have two". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  27. ^ Jenkins, Craig (July 2, 2018). "Drake Fails to Grow on Scorpion". Vulture. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  28. ^ Ingham, Tim (June 30, 2018). "Drake destroys Spotify day-one records with 132m+ plays of new album Scorpion". Music Business Worldwide. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  29. ^ "The Hot 100: The Week of July 14, 2018". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  30. ^ a b "Drake Parties in New "Nonstop" Video: Watch". Pitchfork. July 27, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  31. ^ Krol, Charlotte (July 27, 2018). "Drake runs through London in new video for 'Nonstop'". NME. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  32. ^ a b Destefano, Mike (May 28, 2020). "How Theo Skudra Became Drake's Go-To Visual Artist". Complex. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  33. ^ Hautman, Nicholas (July 27, 2018). "Drake Sips Tea in a Do-Rag in His New 'Nonstop' Music Video and Immediately Becomes a Meme". Us Weekly. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  34. ^ a b "A Roundup of Celebrities Who Have Done the 'Flip the Switch' Challenge (So Far)". Billboard. March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  35. ^ Scorpion (CD liner notes). Drake. Republic Records. 2018. 86318-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  36. ^ "Scorpion / Drake TIDAL". Tidal. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  37. ^ "Drake – Nonstop". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  38. ^ "Drake – Nonstop" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
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  40. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 27. týden 2018 in the date selector. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  41. ^ "Track Top-40 Uge 27, 2018". Hitlisten. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
  42. ^ "Drake – Nonstop" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  43. ^ "Drake – Nonstop" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  44. ^ "Official IFPI Charts – Digital Singles Chart (International) – Week: 28/2018". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  45. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Stream Top 40 slágerlista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  46. ^ "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  47. ^ "Top Singoli – Classifica settimanale WK 27" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  48. ^ "2018 39-os savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. September 28, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  49. ^ "Drake – Nonstop" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  50. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. July 9, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  51. ^ "VG-lista – Topp 20 Single uke 27, 2018". VG-lista. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  52. ^ "Drake – Nonstop". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  53. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  54. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 27. týden 2018 in the date selector. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  55. ^ "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  56. ^ "Drake – Nonstop". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  57. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  58. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  59. ^ "Drake Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  60. ^ "Drake Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  61. ^ "Drake Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  62. ^ "ARIA Top 40 HIP HOP/R&B Singles 2018". Australian Recording Industry Association. January 17, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  63. ^ "Canadian Hot 100 – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  64. ^ "Top AFP - Audiogest - Top 200 Singles 2018" (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  65. ^ "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  66. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  67. ^ "Rhythmic Songs – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  68. ^ "Top 100 Songs of 2019". Rolling Stone. January 10, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  69. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2024 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  70. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Drake – Nonstop" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  71. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Drake – Nonstop". Music Canada. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  72. ^ "Danish single certifications – Drake – Nonstop". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  73. ^ "French single certifications – Drake – Nonstop" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  74. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Drake; 'Nonstop')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  75. ^ "Italian single certifications – Drake – Nonstop" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  76. ^ "OLiS - oficjalna lista wyróżnień" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 8, 2023. Click "TYTUŁ" and enter Nonstop in the search box.
  77. ^ "Portuguese single certifications – Drake – Nonstop" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  78. ^ "Spanish single certifications – Drake – Nonstop". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  79. ^ "British single certifications – Drake – Nonstop". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  80. ^ "American single certifications – Drake – Nonstop". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
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