"Got Your Back" is a song by American rapper T.I.

T.I.

Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. , better known by his stage name T.I., is an American rap artist, film and music producer, actor and author. He is also the founder and co-chief executive officer of Grand Hustle Records....

 The song features American R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson

Keri Hilson

Keri Lynn Hilson is an American R&B singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, Hilson began her music career as a songwriter, penning tracks for several artists in the mid-2000s as part of the five-person production and songwriting team, The Clutch...

 who he wrote the DJ Toomp

DJ Toomp

Aldrin Davis, better known as DJ Toomp, is an award-winning American record producer and DJ who works in Atlanta, Georgia. In the late 1980s he was MC Shy-D's DJ and went on tour with him and the 2 Live Crew as they performed at various venues across the country with other artists such as N.W.A...

-produced track with. Preceeded by the street singles "I'm Back

I'm Back (song)

"I'm Back" is a single by American rapper T.I. that is featured on the album No Mercy and also as an iTunes & Amazon MP3 deluxe edition bonus track...

" and "Yeah Ya Know (Takers)

Yeah Ya Know (Takers)

Yeah Ya Know is the second promotional single by American rapper T.I. that was intended for his seventh studio album No Mercy. It will also serve as an official soundtrack for the crime-thriller film Takers and can be found on T.I.'s mixtape prior to the album, Fuck a Mixtape. The song was...

", "Got Your Back" is on T.I.'s studio album, No Mercy and can be found as a bonus track of the album and on T.I.'s mixtape, Fuck a Mixtape. However, the track will now be featured on the album No Mercy as an iTunes

ITunes

iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 and Amazon MP3

Amazon MP3

Amazon MP3 is an online music store owned and operated by Amazon.com. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights management from the four major music labels , as well as many independents...

 deluxe edition bonus track. Got Your Back was certified Gold by the RIAA on December 15, 2010.

Background

In an interview with Jamie Foxx

Jamie Foxx

Eric Marlon Bishop , professionally known as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, singer-songwriter, stand-up comedian, and talk radio host. As an actor, his work in the film Ray earned him the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actor as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a...

, when asked about the song, T.I. said, "[It's] basically just me showing my appreciation to all the ladies who got they man’s back in the world, acknowledging the one who had my back and acknowledging the ones that got they man’s back at the same time."

Composition and critical reception

The song features a "bright", "bouncy" electro/synth beat. Hilson sings the hook, while T.I. raps the verses and harmonizes in the song's melodic bridge. According to Robbie Daw of Idolator the song's intro is reminiscent of Hilson's "Knock You Down

Knock You Down

"Knock You Down" is a song by American singer-songwriter Keri Hilson, taken from her debut studio album, In a Perfect World... . The song features guest vocals from American singer-songwriter Ne-Yo and American rapper Kanye West. The song was written by Hilson, West, and Ne-Yo along with Kevin...

". Although stating the song fell a little short, a Chicago Now

Chicago Tribune

The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...

writer called it a "solid, feel-good summer joint", and commented, "All the elements are here for this one to blow up with the masses: a catchy, repetitive hook from Keri Hilson, a poppy, feel-good production, and some memorable messages from T.I."

According to DJBooth, the song "essentially attempts to recreate the success of 'Whatever You Like', calling the Hilson-T.I. pairing, "A combination like that could only mean one thing; we’ve got a hit on our hands." Ed Easton Jr. of WXRK said the song takes T.I. back to "Whatever You Like", commenting, "Keri Hilson adds a perfect mix of pop and passion to the hook of the song, as it is a bit of a dance track that all the ladies and some guys can vibe to this summer." UK SoulCulture thought that releasing a "song for the streets and song for the ladies" was trying to recreate the vibe of his last album, but wasn't sure if the latest set lived up to par. Andrew Martin of Prefix Magazine was less than impressed with the song, calling Hilson's hook and T.I.'s sing-song moments "cringe worthy."

Music video

The music video was directed by Chris Robinson

Chris Robinson (director)

Chris Robinson is an American film director working mostly with music videos and commercials. He has directed commercials for brands such as iPod, Coca Cola and Verizon and music videos for songs like "Fallin'" and "You Don't Know My Name" by Alicia Keys, "Roc Boys" by Jay-Z, the grammy nominated...

. It was filmed on June 30, 2010, and premiered on July 22, 2010. It features cameo appearances from T.I.'s wife Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, and actors Lance Gross

Lance Gross

Lance Darnell Gross is a NAACP Image Award-winning American actor currently portraying Calvin Payne in the TBS sitcom Tyler Perry's House of Payne, and other Tyler Perry productions such as the Meet The Browns film. He has also been on The Bernie Mac Show as well as Eve...

, Keith Robinson

Keith Robinson (actor)

Keith Robinson is an American actor and R&B singer.-Early life:Robinson was born in Louisville, Kentucky and later moved to Atlanta...

, and Jill Marie Jones

Jill Marie Jones

Jill Marie Jones is an African-American actress. She is best known for her role as realtor Toni Childs on the UPN/CW sitcom Girlfriends.-Biography:...

.

Charts

> > > >

Chart (2010)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)	21
German Black (Deutsche Trend)	6
Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...	33
Dutch Singles Chart	81
UK R&B Chart UK R&B Chart The Official UK R&B Chart is a forty-position R&B/Hip-Hop chart compiled by The Official UK Charts Company. Although the chart does not receive any airplay, its compilation is viewed on BBC Radio 1's website and publications such as ChartsPlus and Music Week...	19
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	45