Released July 26, 2016 Recorded August 2015 Length 4:23 | Format Digital download Genre Dancehall
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Label OVO
BBK
Young Money
Cash Money
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"Too Good" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake, recorded for his fourth studio album Views (2016). It features guest vocals from Barbadian singer Rihanna. It samples the dancehall song "Love Yuh Bad" performed by Popcaan. The song was released as the fourth single from the album in the UK on May 15, 2016; and serviced to US contemporary hit radio on July 26, 2016, as the fifth single in that market. The artists co-wrote the track with its producers Nineteen85, Maneesh Bidaye, and Dwayne Chin-Quee, with additional writing from Andrew Hershey, Andre Sutherland and A. Martin.
Contents
"Too Good" proved to be commercially successful, reaching number 9 in Canada, number 3 in the UK, and number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100. "Too Good" was the third dancehall single to be released from Views, along with "One Dance" and "Controlla".
Composition
"Too Good" is written in the key of G Lydian and has a tempo of 118 beats per minute. The vocals in the song span from A3 to D5 with the song moving in common time.
Production
"Too Good" came into fruition after both Drake and Rihanna recorded her 2016 single "Work", Drake recalled stating "I was like, I think I have one that would follow this one up really nicely. She got in the studio and just bodied it. It was like a flawless victory when she sent it back ... We have a genuine energy between us." "Too Good" was written by Drake, Paul Jefferies, Robyn Fenty, Maneesh Bidaye, Diego Sanchez, Dwayne Chin-Quee, Andrew Hershey, Andre Sutherland and A. Martin, and produced by Nineteen85 and Supa Dups. In addition to Drake's lead vocals, the track features a guest appearance from Rihanna and contains vocal and lyrical samples of "Love Yuh Bad" performed by Popcaan. It is the fourth collaboration between Drake and Rihanna after "What's My Name?", "Take Care" and "Work".
Critical reception
Matthew Ramirez of Pitchfork Media named the song "The Best New Track" of the day and "Too Good" a highlight from Views. Ramirez stated, ""Too Good" is a vestige of the same creative juices that flowed through "Work"'s Caribbean-inspired polyrhythm. (A similar influence is all over Views.) Drake clumsily interprets a Popcaan song that nineteen85 (of dvsn) ends up sampling anyway, but give him some credit for embracing his fake patois. This is one of a few songs on Views that benefits from his unabashed shamelessness in the same way that texting someone at 4 a.m. and claiming you did it on accident is shameless. ("I wanna benefit from the friendship/I wanna get the late night message" is the Drake-iest moment here.) People always feel unappreciated and overworked in their relationships, and here Drake and Rihanna nail that dynamic as only they can—mixing blunt neediness with lust."
Ed Masley of AZCentral said it revisited "the Caribbean dancehall rhythms" of Rihanna's “Work", and going on to note that Drake "and his greatest female duet partner trade off verses in a richly detailed he-said/she-said portrait of what may be going through the other person's head while you're busy convincing yourself that you're the only person putting any effort into this relationship."
Billboard ranked "Too Good" at number 32 on their "100 Best Pop Songs of 2016" list: “Drake hit the jackpot with the dancehall sound of "One Dance," but the addition of Caribbean queen Rihanna on this dueling duet takes his island vibe to the next level. Don't be fooled by the Views track's sunny beat, though: These two should really break up, if they know what's good for them.”