Lana Del Rey and Quavo come together on “Tough,” making for a wonderfully unique listening experience and a song people will be blasting all summer long.
Stream: “Tough” – Quavo, Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey and Quavo have given fans an undeniably fun, charming, and unexpected summer anthem with their new track, “Tough.”
Lana Del Rey’s dreamy vocals alongside Quavo’s melodic flow makes for a song with addicting replayability. Whether it’s playing in your car while cruising down the highway in the July heat or blasting through your headphones solo, ‘Tough’ will definitely shape up to be one of the songs of the summer. Produced by Andrew Watt, this song about grit is something that was made to get stuck in listeners’ heads in the best possible way.
The last time Del Rey collaborated with a rapper was on the track “Summer Bummer” with A$AP Rocky from her album Lust for Life. While she certainly explored hip-hop soundscapes in her other works, she hadn’t released a song with a rapper before then. One thing was for certain after that moment: Her alluring and sensual voice perfectly complimented a rapper’s typical type of vocal delivery. The harmonic pairing between Quavo and Lana Del Rey is delightfully stunning, producer Andrew Watt (having brought together artists like Britney Spears and Elton John or Lady Gaga and The Rolling Stones) uniting yet another unlikely pair.
At its core, “Tough” is exactly what you’d expect it to be about, guts, resolve, and willpower, Lana Del Rey and Quavo making this satisfyingly clear in their lyricism.
Tough like the scuff
on a pair of old leather boots
Like the blue-collar, red-dirt attitude
Like a .38 made out of brass . . .
Life’s gonna do what it does
Sure as the good Lord’s up above
I’m cut like a diamond
shinin’ in the rough
Tough
The production on the track is definitely something that matches both artists’ previous sounds within their discography, feeling like it’s made up of equal parts Born to Die (Lana Del Rey’s 1st studio album) and Quavo’s Only Built for Infinity Links (Quavo’s 3rd studio album). Both artists also seem to be exploring new sonic realms with the song’s clear country influence: A mix of bells, guitar, and hip-hop beats create a suburban, youthful feel on the song and meld charmingly with the lyrics the two are softly singing into listeners ears.
Even more interesting is the sincerity within the bridge of the track. Del Rey has assuredly been an artist that never shies away her past, the glamorous and unspectacular alike, the bridge of the track proving to be no different.
Hey, say where you come from
It’s not what you wanna do,
it’s what you’re gonna do
Now, it’s no place to run
If that’s what you’re gonna do,
what am I gonna do?
(Tough)
The type of sound that Lana Del Rey and Quavo have created on Tough is something that is particularly rare in today’s musical landscape.
Unlikely pairings are often the ones that bring about music as gripping and memorable as Tough, both artists displaying their range and the exploratory phase that they are entering within their careers.
Tough like the scuff
on a pair of old leather boots
Like the blue-collar, red-dirt attitude
Like a .38 made out of brass
Tough like the stuff in your grandpa’s glass
Life’s gonna do what it does
Sure as the good Lord’s up above
I’m cut like a diamond
shinin’ in the rough
Tough
You wanna come to the Nawf?
I’ll show you around
That’s why I said,
“Come take a ride with me”
When?
Whenever, whenever you ready
Call on me, brr
I’ll give it back when I get there
Aight, that’s a bet
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:: stream/purchase Tough here ::
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Stream: “Tough” – Quavo, Lana Del Rey
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© Wyatt Spain Winfrey
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