Successful (song)

"Successful" is the second single from Canadian rapper Drake's third mixtape, So Far Gone. It is his second single with Lil Wayne, the first being Every Girl, and his second single with good friend Trey Songz, the first being Replacement Girl in 2007.

Background

Drake wrote the bulk of the lyrics after Trey Songz came up with the hook. In an interview with Complex Blog, Drake explains: "It's basically a story. It starts in January 2008 when I was kinda confused like, What am I really doing? I gave up acting all together to really do this music thing, and I was really truly confused. It's way different than acting, there aren't people to depend on, you really have to build your own thing basically from the ground up, you know, so in January not only was I confused about my career, I was also in a very destructive sort of us exhausting relationship with a female and it was just a bad headspace for me to be in. So that's where the tape starts. I just felt that nothing was ever good enough, and she was always searching for more excitement and then we move into “Successful.” I say at the end of the song, “There are so many things I want to say but I just don't know how to say it to you.” I know exactly what I want to say, you know, I just want to be successful, but I don't know if I can do it with you and then it goes into “Let's Call It Off,” which is the breakup."

Chart

Chart (2009)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	13
U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Tracks	11