For Free

This article is about the DJ Khaled song. For the Kendrick Lamar song, see For Free? (Interlude). For other uses, see For Free (disambiguation).

"For Free" is a song by American disc jockey DJ Khaled, featuring Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on June 3, 2016 by We the Best Music Group and Epic Records as the lead single from DJ Khaled's ninth studio album, Major Key. The song was produced by Nineteen85 and Jordan Ullman and co-produced by Frankie Cutlass .^[1] The song was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on July 6, 2021, for selling over three million copies in the United States.^[2]

"For Free"
Single by DJ Khaled featuring Drake
from the album Major Key
Released	June 3, 2016 (2016-06-03)
Recorded	2016
Genre	Hip hop
Length	3:03
Label	We the Best Epic
Songwriter(s)	Khaled Khaled Aubrey Graham Paul Jefferies Jordan Ullman Akinyele Adams Frankie Malave Jonathan Smith
Producer(s)	Nineteen85 Ullman
DJ Khaled singles chronology
"Gold Slugs" (2015) "For Free" (2016) "I Got the Keys" (2016)
Drake singles chronology
"Why You Always Hatin?" (2016) "For Free" (2016) "Back on Road" (2016)

Background

On Snapchat, DJ Khaled talked about "the Drake vocals finally [being] in", referencing the then-unreleased song. The hip hop song, its opening lines and cadences are interpolated from the opening lyrics of Too Short's "Blow the Whistle", produced by Lil Jon, and interpolates Akinyele's "Fuck Me For Free", produced by Frankie Cutlass. One of Drake's verses pays homage to Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly song, "For Free? (Interlude)".^[3]

Chart performance

On the chart dated June 25, 2016, "For Free" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 18, powered by first-week digital download sales of 104,748 copies.^[4] It became DJ Khaled's fourth highest-charting single, peaking at number 13 in its ninth week (behind 2011's "I'm on One" with Drake, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne and 2017's "Wild Thoughts", with Rihanna and Bryson Tiller and "I'm the One", with Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, and Lil Wayne). In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number 25, while peaking at number 47 in Canada and at number 79 in France, making it Khaled's most successful single in those countries until the release of "I'm the One" in the UK and Canada and "Wild Thoughts" in France.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2016) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[5] 70 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[6] 47 France (SNEP)[7] 79 Scotland (OCC)[8] 25 UK Singles (OCC)[9] 25 US Billboard Hot 100[10] 13 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[11] 4 US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[12] 26 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[13] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2016) Position Australia Urban (ARIA)[14] 28 US Billboard Hot 100[15] 59 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[16] 16 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[17] 3

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[18]	2× Platinum	160,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[19]	Gold	400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[20]	4× Platinum	4,000,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
United States	June 3, 2016	Digital download Rhythmic Urban Radio	We the Best Epic	[21]