Down

## Single by Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne

"**Down**" is a song by British singer Jay Sean featuring American rapper and labelmate Lil Wayne. It was released as the former's third single from his third studio album there, *All or Nothing*, on May 31, 2009. The song became commercially successful, going on to sell six million copies in the United States and received a large airplay on radio worldwide.

## Background

On 15 October 2008, at the MOBO Awards, Jay Sean announced that he had signed with Cash Money Records. He explained, "It's always been a dream for me to sign to an American label. And it's great to be accepted by the best in the game."

Sean told MTV News that he recorded this song in 90 minutes, after which he received a call from Ronald "Slim" Williams. He recalled: "Slim called me up and was like, 'Yo, man, there's something wrong on the second verse that just doesn't sound right.' I was like, 'Really? What?' He played the song. All of a sudden I heard Wayne's Auto-Tune stuff, and I'm like, 'OK. What's going on? Right! That's Lil Wayne on my song right now!' That day was brilliant."

## Critical reception

Ginger Clements of *Billboard* said of the singer's vocals, "impressive tonal clarity," and added of the song's "triumphant, synth-laden beat and memorable hook" which helped it succeed in topping the chart. Kyle Kramer of *Vice* penned in retrospective assessment, "What's truly iconic, though, is that Wayne took a totally generic pop song for the period, hopped onto it with his bizarro pop flow, and turned it into something memorable."

## Music video

The music video, directed by Richard Pengelley, was first shot in London on April 24, 2009, with Cash Money crew without Lil Wayne. The video was shot over two days. The Buckinghamshire mansion featured is Hedsor House, an enormous private mansion and park. The video features Hispanic American model Korrina Rico as the lead lady, dancers, bright blue lights and bottles. During the rap break, Lil Wayne is seen wearing a red T-shirt with the word 'COMMUNIST' in white capitalized letters.

## Personnel

* Alan Sampson – instrumentation
* Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – masterer
* Chad Jolly – engineer
* Claude Kelly – background vocals
* Dwayne "Lil Wayne" Carter, Jr. – featured artist, vocals, writer
* Finis "KY" White – engineer
* Jared Cotter – background vocals
* Jeremy "J-Remy" Skaller – writer, producer
* Kamaljit "Jay Sean" Jhooti – lead artist, vocals, additional producer
* Robert "Bobby Bass" Larow – writer, producer
* Ronald "Slim" Williams – executive producer
* Serban Ghenea – mixer

## Lyrics

**Lyrics**
[Intro: Jay Sean]

Baby, are you down, down, down, down, down?

Down, down

Even if the sky is fallin' down

Down, down (Ooh-ooh-ooh)

[Verse 1: Jay Sean]

You oughta know

Tonight is the night to let it go

Put on a show

I wanna see how you lose control

[Pre-Chorus: Jay Sean]

So leave it behind

'Cause we have a night to get away

So come on and fly with me

As we make our great escape

[Chorus: Jay Sean]

So baby, don't worry

You are my only

You won't be lonely

Even if the sky is fallin' down

You'll be my only

No need to worry

Baby, are you down, down, down, down, down?

(Down, down)

Baby, are you down, down, down, down, down?

(Down, down)

Even if the sky is fallin' down

[Verse 2: Jay Sean]

Just let it be

Come on and bring your body next to me

I'll take you away, hey

Turn this place into our private getaway

[Pre-Chorus: Jay Sean]

So leave it behind

'Cause we have a night to get away

So come on and fly with me

As we make our great escape

So why don't we run away?

[Chorus: Jay Sean, *with Lil Wayne*]

Baby, don't worry (Away)

You are my only (Oh-ooh)

You won't be lonely (No)

Even if the sky is fallin' down

You'll be my only (Yeah)

No need to worry (No)

Baby, are you down, down, down, down, down?

(Down, down) Woo!

Baby, are you down, down, down, down, down?

(Down, down) Mmh, you down?

*Even if the sky is fallin' down*

[Verse 3: Lil Wayne]

Like she 'posed to be, she gets down low for me

Down like her temperature, 'cause to me she's zero degree

She cold, over-freeze, I got that girl from overseas

Now she my Miss America, now can I be her soldier, please?

I'm fightin' for this girl on the battlefield of love

Don't it look like Baby Cupid sendin' arrows from above?

Don't you ever leave the side of me, indefinitely, not probably

And honestly, I'm down like the economy

Yeah!

[Chorus: Jay Sean, *Lil Wayne*, **Both**]

Baby, don't worry

You are my only

You won't be lonely (*Whoa!*)

Even if the sky is fallin' down (*Down, down, babe*)

You'll be my only (No-ooh)

No need to worry (No-ooh)

Baby, are you down, down, down, down, down? (And the sky is fallin' down)

(Down, down) Mmh, down (*Down, down*)

Baby, are you down, down, down, down, down? (*Are you down, are you down too?*)

(Down, down) Ooh, no-ooh, and the sky is fallin' down

Even if the sky is **fallin' down**

[Outro: Jay Sean, *Lil Wayne*]

Ooh, no-ooh, and the sky is fallin' down

*C3*

## References

1. ↑ Clements, Ginger (August 3, 2009). "Jay Sean Featuring Lil Wayne, "Down"". *Billboard*.
2. ↑ Kramer, Kyle (December 12, 2016). "A Year of Lil Wayne: Jay Sean's "Down" and a Verse That Changed Everything". *Vice*.

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