“0 to 100 / The Catch Up” by Drake
The term “0 to 100” is actually one derived from motorvehicle jargon. And what it is representative of within the context of this rap is Drake’s expeditious come-up as a major success. Some analysts have compared the 0 to 100 segment of this track to “Started From the Bottom” (2013), a classic Drizzy came out with the year prior. However “0 to 100” is a lot more directly braggadocious.
Drake is favorably comparing himself to other professional rappers who are not in his pay grade, of which there are many. But he also makes a number of other musings, such as giving a shoutout to his producer / business partner Noah “40” Shebib (in an allusion to their work ethic) and namedropping the NBA in a couple of different ways, both lyrical standards that he is known for.
Another notable subtheme features Drake presenting himself as a tough guy. For instance, he affiliates with Toronto, an ‘unfriendly’ city, by choice. Also before closing out this particular segment he harps back on growing up the child of an absentee dad. But it was also undergoing that hardship that made him into the independent man he is today.
In the bridge, the vocalist alludes to the notion that it is not only he but his “whole squad” who are prospering. This is also a standard Drake established back then, as with “Starting From the Bottom”. That is to say that he may primarily harp on his own success alright, but at the end of the day it is about the prosperity of the extended fam, not just his personally. So it’s almost like he’s the Dominic Toretto of rap or something.
“The Catch Up”
Meanwhile The Catch Up section can be said to be based on a conversely different topic. Here Drake is rather complaining about not being successful enough. Or as he views it, the rap industry is not yet developed enough to accommodate his grandeur.
Now keep in mind that this was back in 2014, a few years before dude was out purchasing quarter-million dollar jets and stuff like that. And this was also before his label, OVO Sound, really took off. In fact on this track, OVO blowing up is one of the things which Aubrey is most looking forward to, i.e. via references to signees such as PartyNextDoor (aka “PND”) and Majid Jordan.
So concerning the title of this particular section, what Drake is saying is this. There may be rappers higher in the game at the moment than he is, as this verse was reportedly inspired by minor back-and-forths he was having with the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z. At the time, said individuals can be said to have been higher on the totem pole than he was.
But what Drizzy is asserting is that he will inevitably “catch up” with them. And by the way this prediction eventually came true, at least as far as record sales go, as to date only Eminem has sold more songs than Drake. So yes James Blake, that was “the way” in which Drake has been able to “catch up” to his musical rivals/peers.
In Conclusion
And conclusively the statement that the vocalist is putting forth, taking both “0 to 100” and “The Catch Up” into consideration, is this. He has already made it big despite, up until that point, only really having been in the game for four years. But still he has every intent to succeed on a grander scale, even to become the top rapper of all-time.
Was “0 to 100 / The Catch Up” a single release?
Yes. On July 15 of 2014, it was released by the following record labels:
- Young Money Entertainment
- Republic Records
- Cash Money Records
Writing:
The song was written by Drake alongside the following artists:
- Chester Hansen
- Noah Shebib
- Anderson Hernandez
- Matthew Samuels
- Quentin Miller
- Paul Jefferies
- Adam Feeney
Production:
“0 to 100 / The Catch Up” was produced by:
- Boi-1da
- Vinylz
- Frank Dukes
- Nineteen85
- Noah Shebib
Awards/Honors:
It was nominated for the awards, “Best Rap Song” and “Best Rap Performance” at the Annual Grammy Awards in the year 2015. It, however, lost both awards to “i” by Kendrick Lamar.
Below are the other nominees:
“Best Rap Song”:
“Best Rap Performance”:
- Childish Gambino’s “3005”
- Eminem’s “Rap God”
- Lecrae’s “All I Need Is You”
Other Accolades:
RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) certified “0 to 100 / The Catch Up”, Platinum on January 30 of 2015, for selling over 1 million digital copies in the U.S.
It was featured in the basketball video game, “NBA 2K16”. “0 to 100 / The Catch Up” was used in the Sprite commercial, “Obey Your Verse” featuring Drake and Nas.
Chart Performance:
- US (35)
- UK R&B (7)
- Germany (2)
Lawsuit/Controversies:
Drake was accused of “stealing” the beat to “0 to 100 / The Catch Up”. In December of 2004, Diddy claimed he sent the beat to Drake to ghostwrite over but Drake kept it for himself. There were reports of Diddy getting physical with Drake outside a night club in Miami.
Sampling:
- XXXTENTACION – “Catch” (2017)
- Meek Mill – “0 to 100 (Remix)” (2014)
- Lil Durk – “0 to 300” (2014)
- Injury Reserve – “Whatever Dude” (2015)
- Horseshoe G.A.N.G. – “We Started This” (2014)
- G-Unit – “Real Quick” (2014)
