"Way 2 Sexy" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake, featuring American rappers Future and Young Thug. Released on September 3, 2021 as the lead single from Drake's sixth studio album Certified Lover Boy, it is a bass-heavy take on Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy" (1991), which it interpolates throughout the chorus and refrain. A comedic music video was released on the same day as the song and sees the artists pay homage to numerous pop culture events and icons. "Way 2 Sexy" received mixed responses from critics.
The song began impacting US pop, rhythmic, and urban radio stations as the album's lead single simultaneously with Certified Lover Boy release.
Background
"Way 2 Sexy" was initially rumored to be released on August 27, 2021, to challenge Kanye West's Donda album; DJ Akademiks posted footage of the video shoot and claimed it would coincide with West's release, amid West and Drake's feud. Although that release failed to materialize, on September 13, 2021, Billboard magazine reported that the song had begun to impact US pop, rhythmic and R&B/hip-hop radio stations as the album's lead single.
Drake, Future, and Thug previously collaborated on Drake's "D4L" from his mixtape Dark Lane Demo Tapes (2020).
Composition
A bass-heavy track, it samples British band Right Said Fred's 1991 single "I'm Too Sexy", a former number one Billboard hit. Future performs the chorus, reworking the sampled track's hook, rapping about how he is "too sexy for your girl, too sexy for the world, his fame, and his chain". Drake delivers lines about safe sex, and questions a "thotty" about her motives. Future's verse contains "toxic rhymes about ghosting women", with Thug closing the track, boasting about how he is able to spoil his girlfriend with expensive gifts. The song is in the key of E minor with a tempo of 136 BPM with a time signature of 4/4 in common time.
Critical reception
HipHopDX called the track a stand-out from the album. Referencing the trio's previous collaboration, "D4L", Billboards Heran Mamo said they "come back hotter than ever to flip Right Said Fred's 1991 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit 'I'm Too Sexy'. GQ said it "has the most club banger energy" on Certified Lover Boy, but acknowledged that the song and its video received mixed reactions. Pitchforks Matthew Strauss named it among the early standouts on Certified Lover Boy, pointing out how Drake "is having fun the way he did on his Scary Hours 2 EP and Smiley's "Over the Top". The A.V. Clubs Nina Hernandez wrote positively: "besides sampling Right Said Fred to great effect, [the song] also succeeds by including well-deployed appearances from Young Thug and Future". Brandon Yu of Variety said "Way 2 Sexy" is "perhaps the album's most polarizing track: the beat is glorious and boisterous, while the core sample (Right Said Fred's 'I'm Too Sexy') and Future's chorus are immediately cringey, even as the naturally zanier Young Thug slides in with ease".
Noting Drake's refrain as "perfectly catchy and entirely ridiculous", Alexandra Pauly of Highsnobiety called the song "catchy yet cringe-y", and referencing the video, stated: "As funny as Drake's 'Way 2 Sexy' video is, there's something unsettling about a man in his mid-30s using his 'nice guy' image — which he never hesitates to milk — as a way to prop up his ego and sexual appeal". NMEs Luke Morgan Britton wrote: "[...] even worse than the sample itself, and the purposely corny video, are the song's lyrics", further opining that "the usually-brilliant Young Thug serves up regrettable lines". Will Dukes of Rolling Stone labeled the song a "no-brainer anthem", writing that "despite a sticky Future hook, there's something that rings a bit hollow: Drake deliberately lags behind the track, sounding sluggish, rather than sui generis (as on 2017's triumphant 'Gyalchester')". NMEs Rihan Daly said "It is, quite frankly, one of the worst songs of the year". Complexs Jessica McKinney said "Way 2 Sexy' is intentionally corny and sleazy", countering that "sometimes that works for Drake, and those songs (and videos) go viral on social media, but I think he went a little too far this time. It comes off too gimmicky".