"No Guidance" is a song by American singer Chris Brown featuring vocals from Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on June 8,2019,as the fourth single from Brown's ninth studio album,Indigo (2019).[2] The song was written by Brown,Drake,Velous and Nija Charles,and produced by Vinylz,J-Louis,Teddy Walton,and Canadian producer 40.[3]
The song follows the conclusion of a highly publicized feud that began between Chris Brown and Drake in 2012 over singer Rihanna,and it represents their first one-on-one collaboration. "No Guidance" garnered positive reviews from music critics,who complimented the song's catchiness and Brown's vocal performance. The song received great success,becoming Brown's highest-charting single as a lead artist on the Billboard Hot 100 since "Forever" (2008). The song dominated on both pop and hip-hop radio,breaking the record for most weeks at number one on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay,being subsequently surpassed by "Go Crazy" (2020),also by Brown.[4]
Brown and Drake have a history of feuds dating back to 2012 over singer Rihanna,which escalated in June of that year when friends of the musicians started throwing bottles at each other in a New York City nightclub.[2] In 2013,Brown even dissed Drake on Young Jeezy's song "R.I.P. (Remix) " by rapping "Dearly departed,I bought a plane I departed/ And if you started from the bottom,go on and come out the closet," rhyming that on the song's final verse,making a clear reference to Drake and his "Started from the Bottom" single.[7] In the following years,the artists sporadically made offensive comments aimed at each other,expressing their hatred.[8][9] However,on October 12,2018,Drake brought out the singer on his Aubrey &the Three Migos Tour date in Los Angeles and publicly ended their feud.[10] The performance sparked rumors about a possible collaboration,and Drake later teased a collaboration with Brown on Instagram in early 2019.[11]
Following Brown's announcement of having collaborated with Drake on his Indigo album,snippets of an initial version of the song,taken from Brown's 30th birthday party,were leaked online on May 5,2019.[12] On June 5,2019,Brown hinted at the upcoming song on his social media,and just two days later,he announced its release for that very night.[13][14] Even before its release,various news outlets called the song a contender for 2019's "Song of the Summer".[15][16]
Drake,when discussing his reconciliation with Brown during a Tidal interview,talked about the making of the song,saying:“We’ve come together before and tried to link and make music and we were always kind of forcing it”,and after finally resolving their beef in 2018,they found it more natural to work together. Drake stated:"I just always had a lot of admiration for his talent and I think finally he gave me the mutual respect and admiration by allowing me to take the lead on the song".[17]
Composition
"No Guidance" is a mid-tempo R&B song.[1] It was written by Brown,Drake,Velous and Nija Charles,while the production was handled by Vinylz,J-Louis,40 and Teddy Walton. Its production contains an uncredited vocal sample of "Before I Die",written and performed by Che Ecru.[18] In the song,the two artists express their intention to establish a life-changing love relationship with a woman,while also revealing the paranoia stemming from their respective mistakes that led to the end of their previous failed relationships.[1]
Critical reception
"No Guidance" was met with generally favorable reviews from critics. HipHopDX complimented "No Guidance",saying that it "serves as a timeless bluesy groove",and named it "the R&B song of the year".[19][20]Vulture's reviewer Craig Jenkins said that:"their first proper one-on-one collaboration,sparks but never exactly glows",finding it to be "too familiar",but ending up saying that "I’ll be stuck on it for the next few days either way".[1] Desire Thompson of Vibe stated that the song proves that Brown and Drake "make a good R&B team".[21]HotNewHipHop commented that "the smooth production,catchy melody,and laid-back vibe made "No Guidance" an instant classic".[22]
Music video
The image captures Brown during a dancing sequence from the video.
The "No Guidance" music video was directed by Chris Robinson,and released on July 26,2019. The video has a total run-time of 9 minutes and 6 seconds. Drake's reaction to Brown's dance during the dance battle,in which he quips "Ooo wow",has since garnered meme popularity.[23] Singers Tory Lanez and Sevyn Streeter made cameo appearances in the video.
Synopsis
The video starts with some dialogue cuts that set up a party where the two artists accidentally meet. It later depicts the confrontation between Brown and Drake,surrounded by their crews and multiple ladies in a Miami car park,which ends up being a dance battle.[24] During the battle,Brown executes a complex choreography during the song's last verse,while Drake responds with goofy dance moves,interpreted in a comical way. Following the confrontation,the two artists resolve their beef.[25] The music video on YouTube has received over 490 million views as of February 2025.[26]
Commercial performance
In the United Kingdom,"No Guidance" debuted at number eight on the UK Singles Chart on the chart dated June 14,2019,and moved up to number 6 in its second week charting. It serves as Brown's 16th top-ten song and Drake's 17th top ten on the chart.[27] In the United States,the song debuted at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100,making it Chris Brown's 15th top-ten song and Drake's 34th top ten on the chart.[28] It later peaked at number five,making it Brown's first top five as a lead artist since "Forever" (2008).[29] In Canada the song debuted at number 7.[30]
Different singers released their own remix versions of the track. Singer Tinashe released a remix of "No Guidance" on June 11,2019.[36] Rapper Fetty Wap released a freestyle of "No Guidance" on August 3,2019.[37] British singer Craig David performed a remix of it during a BBC Radio 1Xtra singing freestyle.[38] A remix by artist Ayzha Nyree released in 2020 went viral on TikTok.
↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 25. týden 2019 in the date selector. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 25. týden 2019 in the date selector. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
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