Rihanna

Lore & Background

The collaboration began when Rihanna met Drake backstage at an event, personally asking him to record a verse after Tor Erik Hermansen of Stargate noted she asked for the files. Although initially intended as a remix with a solo version for Loud, the track made the final cut on the album instead. In November 2009, Drake praised Rihanna's upcoming album Rated R in an interview with MTV News, revealing they had worked on a track that didn't make the final cut but describing it as "a special record." When asked about the new song, Rihanna told MTV News that Drake is "the hottest rapper out right now" and noted he wrote his verse after just three days. She described the result as a very youthful, playful, and melodic track, stating Drake was the perfect choice because he is "a young rapper who has incredible melodies." Traci Hale explained her role was mostly lyrical while Dean and Stargate handled the music, inspired by love and sex.

In Their Own Story

The song's creation involved recording sessions at Roc the Mic Studios in New York City and Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Rihanna's vocals were recorded by Kuk Harrell, Josh Gudwin, and Marcos Tovar, while Drake recorded his parts at The Hit Factory Studios in Miami with Noah "40" Shebib. The final mix was crafted by Phil Tan at Ninja Beat Club in Atlanta. Lyrically, the track features a specific arithmetic-based joke during Drake's verse where he raps, "The square root of 69 is 8 something, right / 'Cuz I been trying to work it out." This line drew mixed reactions; while Nick Levine called it a "dodgy joke," Jon Dolan criticized it by saying Drake sounded like a "nerdy guy from a fraternity." Despite this, the song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in its third week after jumping from number 83, becoming Rihanna's eighth overall number-one single and Drake's first. It also reached number one in Hungary and the United Kingdom.

Reader's Guide

"What's My Name?" serves as a prime example of Rihanna's ability to blend romance with playful energy. The song is certified six-times Platinum in the US and Gold or higher in eight additional countries, reaching the top five in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, and Slovakia. It was promoted through live performances on Saturday Night Live in the United States and during the series 7 finale of The X Factor in the United Kingdom in December 2010. An accompanying music video directed by Philip Andelman depicts a romantic encounter between Rihanna and Drake in a grocery store, alongside scenes of them walking through Manhattan's Lower East Side. Critics praised the production and Rihanna's vocal performance, with Molly Lambert noting that Rihanna "doesn't have to tell us how desirable she is – it is a given." The track received a nomination at the 54th Grammy Awards for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

Did You Know?

• Drake wrote his verse for the song in just three days after hearing it.
• The track topped the Billboard Hot 100 before the album's lead single, "Only Girl (In the World)", which reached number one two weeks later.
• Rihanna personally asked Drake to record a verse after meeting him backstage at an event, a request Tor Erik Hermansen noted was rare from artists of her level.
• The song features a specific lyric where Drake jokes about the "square root of 69" being "8 something."
• "What's My Name?" earned Rihanna her third number-one single in 2010 and her eighth overall on the Billboard Hot 100.