For the Night

"For the Night" is a song by American rapper Pop Smoke, featuring Lil Baby and DaBaby, from the former's posthumous debut studio album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon (2020). The song was written by Pop Smoke, Lil Baby, DaBaby, and CashMoneyAP who are credited under their legal names of Bashar Jackson, Dominique Jones, Jonathan Kirk, and Alex Petit. It was also written along with Christoffer Buchardt and Cedric Leutwyler. CashMoneyAP and Palaze produced the song with assistance from Jess Jackson, Mike Dean, and Wylo. The song was released as the fourth single from the album on October 3, 2020, by Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records, while an extended play (EP) was released for the song a few days later.

"For the Night" is a hip hop, drill, trap, soul song with lyrics about nighttime occurrences. The single debuted and peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100, giving Pop Smoke his first, Dababy his fourth, and Lil Baby his fifth top 10 hit in the US. It entered the top five on record charts in Belgium, Portugal, and Greece. It received platinum certifications in Australia and the US. Many critics praised the track as one of Pop Smoke's best songs.

Background
According to CashMoneyAP, Pop Smoke found the song's original beat on Danish record producer Palaze's YouTube channel. CashMoneyAP commented that they got help to rework the song with Palaze, Daniel Mxras, Jess Jackson, and Mike Dean. CashMoneyAP added keys and bass while he got help from Palaze with the drums. Steven Victor stated when Pop Smoke recorded his part of the song, they were all very excited as it was their first time hearing Pop Smoke rap in a different tone. Victor later recalled that they were in the Bahamas working on the album when Pop Smoke played the song out of nowhere. Victor lauded the song and said they need to add Lil Baby to it. Victor said it was originally supposed to feature Lil Baby and YoungBoy Never Broke Again. CashMoneyAP had been communicating with YoungBoy Never Broke Again before the song's creation and thought the song was his type of music. YoungBoy Never Broke Again wanted to be on it, but CashMoneyAP later changed his mind because he felt the timing wasn't right.

Victor thought having Lil Baby on "For the Night" would be "creatively" and "sonically" good. Pop Smoke had always wanted to work with Lil Baby and have him on his album. When Lil Baby sent his vocals to Victor, the record executive thought the song was even more complete. After 50 Cent joined Victor on completing Pop Smoke's album, he called DaBaby to be part of the song. DaBaby initially didn't know that Lil Baby would also be part of the track. DaBaby mentioned that it was a pleasure to be part of the song, saying it was special to work on it after Pop Smoke was murdered at the age of 20. Jess Jackson had to figure out how to combine Lil Baby's timbre work with DaBaby on "For the Night". He opined that Lil Baby and DaBaby had "such bright, mid-forward, nasally vocal voices", while Pop Smoke was completely the opposite. Jess Jackson had Mike Dean had mixed and added additional production and for the track. The song originally had an original sample, but it wasn't clearable. The two producers recreated all of the music from scratch while keeping CashMoneyAP's drums.

Writing and composition
The song was written by Pop Smoke, Lil Baby, DaBaby, and CashMoneyAP, who are credited under their legal names of Bashar Jackson, Dominique Jones, Jonathan Kirk, and Alex Petit. It was also written along with Christoffer Buchardt and Cedric Leutwyler. "For the Night" was produced by CashMoneyAP and Palaze. Jess Jackson, Mike Dean, and Wylo were credited as the song's additional producers.

Musically, "For the Night" is a hip hop, drill, trap, soul song. The song incorporates an acoustic guitar, folk flutes, heavily autotuned vocals, and processed moans from Lil Baby and DaBaby. Wongo Okon of Uproxx wrote that the Pop Smoke, DaBaby, and Lil Baby "fantasize about nighttime occurrences". Hannah Giorgis of The Atlantic commented that Lil Baby and DaBaby add arioso and vigor to the song. Jade Gomez of Paste and Heran Mamo of Billboard magazine noted that DaBaby pays tribute to Pop Smoke in his verse: "Rest in peace to the Pop, make me smoke ya." August Brown of the Los Angeles Times regarded DaBaby's verse as an elegy for Pop Smoke, while Briana Younger of NPR said DaBaby eulogizes Pop Smoke explicitly, and noted the song's syrupy hook stands out from Pop Smoke's usual fare.

Critical reception
Variety's A.D. Amorosi complimented Pop Smoke's ability to step outside his conventional style, writing: "[The song makes] you realize Pop Smoke had the potential for languorous, even sweet, song-craft beyond drill". The staff of the Independent Tribune described the song as a "monster hit that also featured other acts leading the new class of rap". Giorgos opined that the song evokes the "recklessness of a summer party or the languid flirtation of stoop-side conversations", while Okon labeled the track as "sinister". In his review for Pitchfork, Alphonse Pierre regarded it as a "forced Rap Caviar-bound marathon". The Independent critic Roisin O'Connor stated that the song's autotuned vocals and folk flutes seemed "passé ahead of Pop Smoke's gruff". The Los Angeles Times ranked "For the Night" as one of the best song's of 2020, with August Brown saying it was a "convincingly dragged-out, haunting angle on his craft at the precipice of global stardom".

Ashton Howard of Earmilk declared the rappers delivered a "phenomenally charismatic appearance". In their review for HipHopDX, David Aaron deemed the song a "social media-ready smash". The staff of Billboard magazine explained the song helped Pop Smoke prove his versatility, arguing that "he held court between the twin hurricanes that are all-stars Lil Baby and DaBaby, each of whom delivers succinct displays of just what make them such singular characters in the current hip-hop scene". Writing for The Wall Street Journal, Mark Richardson noted the song was "warmer" and "more welcoming" than Pop Smoke's earlier songs. In a less enthusiastic review, Charles Lyons-Burt of Slant Magazine saw it didn't "adept at complex wordplay", but praised DaBaby's vocals as "tough-talking" and a "chest-puffing brio".

Release and commercial performance
"For the Night" was released on Pop Smoke's posthumous debut studio album Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, as the third track on July 3, 2020. The song was later released as the album's fourth single on October 3, 2020, by Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records. An EP for "For the Night" of the same name was released on October 7, 2020. The EP also featured "Hello", "The Woo", "Got It on Me", "Creature", and "Aim for the Moon.

Following the release of Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, "For the Night" debuted and peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100, giving Pop Smoke his first, DaBaby his fourth, and Lil Baby his fifth top 10 hit in the US. The song simultaneously peaked at number four on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number one on the US Rhythmic charts, becoming Pop Smoke's first song to top the Rhythmic chart and any Billboard chart altogether. "For the Night" remained atop the Rhythmic chart five nonconsecutive weeks, making it Pop Smoke's longest reign at number one. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the single a platinum certification, which denotes a million units based on sales and track-equivalent on-demand streams.

The single also reached the top 10 in Canada, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland. "For the Night" further reached the top five in Belgium, Portugal, and Greece, with the latter of the three becoming the most successful, peaking at number one on the country's singles chart. The song was certified platinum in Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) while being certified gold in Austria and the United Kingdom by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and British Phonographic Industry (BPI), respectively.

Track listings

 * For The Night - EP
 * 1) "For the Night" (featuring Lil Baby and DaBaby) - 3:12
 * 2) "Hello" (featuring A Boogie wit da Hoodie) - 3:11
 * 3) "The Woo" (featuring 50 Cent and Roddy Ricch) - 3:22
 * 4) "Got It on Me" - 2:45
 * 5) "Creature" (featuring Swae Lee) - 3:23
 * 6) "Aim for the Moon" (featuring Quavo) - 2:56

Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal.


 * Bashar Jackson – vocals, songwriter
 * Dominique Jones – vocals, songwriter
 * Jonathan Kirk – vocals, songwriter
 * Alex Petit – production, programming, songwriter
 * Christoffer Buchardt – programming, songwriter
 * Cedric Leutwyler – songwriter
 * Palaze – production
 * Jess Jackson – additional producer, mixing engineer
 * Mike Dean – additional producer
 * Wylo – additional producer
 * Corey Nutile – recording engineer
 * Rose Adams – assistant mixer
 * Sage Skofield – assistant mixer
 * Sean Solymar – assistant mixer
 * Princston Terry – engineer
 * Stephen Farrow – engineer
 * Daniel Moras Raab – programming
 * Thomas Mann – vocal mixing