"Work Out" is a song by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 recording hip hop

Hip hop music

Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 artist J. Cole, released as the lead single off his debut studio album Cole World: The Sideline Story. The song was officially released on June 27, 2011 through Roc Nation

Roc Nation

Roc Nation is an American management, music publishing and entertainment company founded by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter.-History:In April 2008, Live Nation partnered with Jay-Z to create Roc Nation...

 and Columbia

Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

.

Background

J. Cole released "Work Out" on June 15, 2011, in honor of the second anniversary of his highly acclaimed mixtape The Warm Up

The Warm Up

The Warm Up is the second official mixtape from Fayetteville, North Carolina rapper J. Cole. All of the songs, except for three , are featureless. Other popular songs on the mixtape are "Can I Live", and "Grown Simba". J...

. The song, produced by Cole himself, samples

Sampling (music)

In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...

 "The New Workout Plan

The New Workout Plan

"The New Workout Plan" is the final single from Kanye West's debut album, The College Dropout. Released in late 2004, the single peaked at number fifty-nine on the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart...

" by Kanye West

Kanye West

Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...

 and interpolates

Interpolation (music)

Interpolation in music refers to an abrupt change in musical elements from the main theme.-In classical music:In music and musical composition, especially 20th century and later, interpolation is an abrupt change of elements, with continuation of the first idea...

 "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul

Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...

. The song is featured as a bonus track

Bonus track

In terms of recorded music, a bonus track is a piece of music which has been included on specific releases or reissues of an album. This is most often done as a promotional device, either as an incentive to customers to purchase albums they might otherwise not, or to repurchase albums they already...

 on the album.

Music video

The music video shot in Brooklyn, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 was directed by Clifton Bell. The video depicts J. Cole playing basketball, when a girl catches his eye and he begins to try to win her over.

Purchaseable Release

Country	Date	Format	Label	Ref
United States	June 27, 2011	Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...	Roc Nation Roc Nation Roc Nation is an American management, music publishing and entertainment company founded by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter.-History:In April 2008, Live Nation partnered with Jay-Z to create Roc Nation...

Chart performance

"Work Out" charted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on the week of July 23, 2011 at number eighty-five. "Work Out" re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 on week of September 24, 2011 at number ninety-eight. The song has since peaked at number seventeen.

Charts

Chart (2011)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100	17
US Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	10
US Billboard Rap Songs	4
US Billboard Heatseekers Songs	3
US Billboard Pop Songs	29