Hold You Down

Album: I Changed A Lot (2014)
Charted: 39
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Songfacts®:

  • Khaled slows things down for the ladies on this R&B posse ballad. The piano-led song starts off with Chris Brown introducing the chorus, before Jeremih, Chris Brown (again), Future and August Alsina each contribute a verse in that order. The cut was produced by Bkorn, Lee On the Beats and LDB.
  • The Gil Green-directed video was shot in the Hollywood Hills and finds the four R&B guest artists singing in a mansion. Khaled also does some acting in the clip as well as plugging his Bang & Olufsen headphone line.

    The video is famous for the interlude where Khaled tells a woman, "You smart. You loyal. You grateful. I appreciate that," and hands her stacks of cash. The memeworthy line not only generated interest in the video, but also inspired Khaled and other hip-hop artists to take advantage of meme culture by posting funny gags on social media.
  • The song's official remix finds Usher taking over Chris Brown's part as he sings the hook from the original song. Rick Ross, Fabolous and Ace Hood contribute a verse each, adding a more hip-hop flavor to the mix.
  • Asked by Billboard magazine what inspired him to put the four R&B heavyweights on the same song, Khaled replied: "I remembered when Quincy Jones put El DeBarge, Barry White, Al B. Sure and James Ingram on [the 1989 ballad] 'Secret Garden.' When I was a kid hearing that record, I was amazed. That was all the stars on one record and it sounded bigger than anything out there."

    "So when I made 'Hold You Down,' I wanted to make a collaboration that has never been done before."

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