Songfacts®:

• Rihanna sings about "strip clubs and dollar bills" on this feminine spin of the cash-and-strippers lyrical content that is so popular with male rappers. The song was produced by hip-hop beatmaster Mike WiLL Made It and it could be classed as an urban sequel to the producer's hit with Juicy J, "Bandz a Make Her Dance."
  
  "Urban music was pop for the '90s when Bad Boy had their crazy reign and then you had the Beyoncé and the Usher records," Mike WiLL told Billboard magazine. "Real dope music is coming back. I feel like that's part of my job. Being 23, being young and coming in the game, and Rihanna being 24-we wanted to make a song that would be a game-changer. After they hear 'Pour It Up,' girls won't be scared to flex, won't be scared to talk about their money."
• After being asked to submit some tracks for Rihanna, Mike Will sent three demos. "I did multiple records for her. I did the stadium-[sounding] record and, of course, I had to do a record like 'Pour It Up,' because it was that turn-up," he told MTV News.
  
  Rihanna picked out this tune, which was the closest one to the producer's signature sound. "I know that's what they were really looking for from me. That's why they really called me in there, to give them a record like that," he said. "It kinda has like a 'Bandz a Make Her Dance' feel to it, but it still has Rihanna's own hop."
• Rihanna recruited four southern rappers - Jeezy, Rick Ross, Juicy J and T.I. - to spit rhymes for the song's remix. She largely takes a back seat on the hip-hop reworking of the strip-club anthem.
• Young Jeezy cites Kendrick Lamar's "Swimming Pools (Drank)" in his verse, presumably in response to being mentioned in the Compton rapper's "The Art of Peer Pressure."
• The pole dancing themed music video was filmed in May 2013 and co-directed by Rihanna. Among the exotic dancers featured in the clip are Nicole "The Pole" Williams, Candace Cane, and Secret Moneii. The uncensored version of the video lasted just 10 minutes on Vevo before the streaming service set it to private view only.
• "Pour It Up" was one of a dozen songs Rihanna squeezed into her set at the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show. She didn't call on the guest rappers from this or any other songs from her catalog, instead doing the whole performance solo. She was supported by a team of hooded dancers and a set included platforms to give it a 3D feel. This was Rihanna's first performance since the Grammy Awards in 2018.