Being in this era of trap-dominated music, I was like, ‘Let’s make something that’s a little outside the box and makes you want to dance and be happy, and makes the women want to turn up.’ Everybody wanted to dance when dancehall music came on. We were talking about the vibe from back in the day, how dancehall music used to make people feel and make the girls dance. That one came about by just having a conversation with a few producers that I work with, Allen Ritter and Sevn Thomas. One of the song’s producers, Allen Ritter, told Genius that the song originally came together at a pool party at Drake’s house.īoth official “Work” videos were released on February 22, 2016. On January 26th, Power 106 DJ Justin Credible tweeted that the collaboration between Drake and Rihanna would be coming sooner than anticipated. Snippets of “Work” began to circulate in January 2016 after the pair were spotted shooting a music video in an L.A. We would go to in the Caribbean and just dance and drink and smoke and flirt.” On “Work” co-star Drake, Rihanna added: “Everything he does is so amazing. Because that’s how we speak in the Caribbean.
You get what I’m saying, but it’s not all the way perfect. Rihanna sings in Jamaican Patois throughout, which she spoke about in Vogue’s April 2016 cover story:
This narrative is similar to Rihanna and Drake’s previous collaborations, 2010’s “What’s My Name?” and 2011’s “Take Care.” On “Work,” Rihanna seeks a deep, meaningful connection, however the male character she sings to (played by Drake) is only interested in sex. Work, work, work, work, work, work He said me haffi Work, work, work, work, work, work He see me do mi Dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt So me put in Work, work, work, work, work, work When you ah guh Learn, learn, learn, learn, learn? Meh nuh cyar if him Hurt, hurt, hurt, hurt, hurting Yeah, okay You need to get done, done, done, done at work, come over We just need to slow the motion Don't give that away to no one Long distance, I need you When I see potential, I just gotta see it through If you had a twin, I would still choose you I don't wanna rush into it if it's too soon But I know you need to get done, done, done, done If you come over Sorry if I'm way less friendly I got niggas tryna end me, oh (Yeah) I spilled all my emotions tonight, I’m sorry Rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin' How many more shots until you're rollin'? We just need a face-to-face You could pick the time and the place You spent some time away Now you need to forward and give me all the.