Work Hard Play Hard

Album: O.N.I.F.C. (2012)
Charted: 17
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Wiz Khalifa's first single from his sophomore album, O.N.I.F.C., is a club track, in which the Pittsburgh spitter advises, "Go hard. Make sure you do whatever it is that you gotta do. That's your job," over a military march-inspired beat.
  • The Norwegian production team Stargate and American hitmaker Benny Blanco produced the song. Stargate oversaw the beats for three tracks on Wiz's debut album, including his breakthrough hit, "Black and Yellow," whilst Blanco collaborated with the Pittsburgh MC on his third single, "No Sleep." Blanco was red hot, also charting around this time with productions for Britney Spears, Gym Class Heroes, Katy Perry, and Flo Rida.
  • Wiz is well known for his trademark multiple tattoos, tank tops, camouflaged shorts and rolled marijuana joints. He references the way others have adopted his garb, when he raps: "If I'm in the club, I get a 100 stacks, I'm always rollin' up, so I get love for that. Them n---as stole my swag, but I don't want it back."
  • The Pittsburgh rapper flaunts his cash earned through hard work on the chorus. "The bigger the bill, the harder you ball," he rhymes. "Well, I'm throwin' mine, 'cause my money long. The quicker you here, the faster you go. That's why where I come from the only thing we know is work hard, play hard."
  • Wiz explained to MTV News correspondent Sway Calloway on Sway in the Morning that the album title is an acronym for "Only N---a in First Class," inspired by the name of Mobb Deep rapper Prodigy's H.N.I.C. record.
  • The Bill Paladino-directed video was filmed in Khalifa's hometown of Pittsburgh. There are various images of factory folk, construction workers, a soccer player, and a ballerina, working hard so they can party later. The Taylor Gang rapper appears later in the visual clad in hippie garb, channeling the late Jimi Hendrix.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Janis Ian

Janis IanSongwriter Interviews

One of the first successful female singer-songwriters, Janis had her first hit in 1967 at age 15.

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular Music

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular MusicSong Writing

Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.

Jimmy Jam

Jimmy JamSongwriter Interviews

The powerhouse producer behind Janet Jackson's hits talks about his Boyz II Men ballads and regrouping The Time.

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.

Commercials

CommercialsFact or Fiction

Was "Ring Of Fire" really used to sell hemorrhoid cream?

Reverend Horton Heat

Reverend Horton HeatSongwriter Interviews

The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.