On
Snapchat, DJ Khaled talked about "the Drake vocals finally [being] in", referencing the then unreleased song. The hip hop song samples lyrics and cadences from
Too Short's "Blow the Whistle", produced by
Lil Jon, and interpolates
Akinyele's "Fuck Me For Free", produced by platinum producer
Frankie Cutlass. One of Drake's verses pays homage to
Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly song, "
For Free? (Interlude)".[3]
Chart performance
On the chart dated June 25, 2016, "For Free" entered the US
Billboard Hot 100 at number 18, powered by first-week
digital download sales of 104,748 copies.[4] It became DJ Khaled's fourth highest-charting single, peaking at number 13 in its ninth week (behind 2011's "
I'm on One" with Drake,
Rick Ross and
Lil Wayne and 2017's "
Wild Thoughts", with
Rihanna and
Bryson Tiller and "
I'm the One", with
Justin Bieber,
Quavo,
Chance the Rapper, and Lil Wayne). In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number 25, while peaking at number 47 in Canada and at number 79 in France, making it Khaled's most successful single in those countries until the release of "
I'm the One" in the UK and Canada and "
Wild Thoughts" in France.