“Believe” by Meek Mill (ft. Justin Timberlake)

“Believe” is a song intended to be a motivational tune, in which Meek Mill is basically stating that if a listener adopts an attitude similar to his own, such would contribute greatly to their success. And the simplest way to describe said attitude is as it being tantamount to faith. In other words, even when Meek was in harrowing predicaments, such as being incarcerated or having “super zero” dollars in his bank account, he maintained his belief in God and that if he persevered and stayed determined he would overcome these situations, which in both cases he did. 

So we can say that he is presenting himself as a living example of the power of believing. Meanwhile in the chorus, Justin Timberlake expresses his personal confidence that the addressee (which once again can be interpreted as the listener him or herself) can also succeed. Additionally he presents himself similarly to Meek Mill, in that he’s also had his ‘body broken’ but kept his soul, i.e. his positive-belief system, intact. 

And the outro, which is based on a popular children’s prayer and is recited by both artists, is the part of this song which is most indicative of its religious nature. So whereas classifying this track as say a gospel would be a stretch, the artists’ spiritual convictions are still made quite evident, right down to the song’s cover art. But beyond that, as illustrated with the track’s title, this tune primarily serves as a testament to the power of unyielding positivity thinking.

Facts about “Believe”

“Believe” marks the first time top-ranked artists Meek Mill and Justin Timberlake have collaborated. And in addition to serving as the vocalists, they both also co-wrote the song along with Benjamin Johnson and the track’s producer, Rob Knox.

Mill began teasing “Believe” during December of 2019. And it was officially released on February 7th 2020.

The music video to this track has Maxime Quoilin to thank for its direction.

The aforementioned children’s prayer which is featured in the outro is popularly known as “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep”.