Crack a Bottle

"Crack a Bottle" is a song by American rappers Eminem, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent. The song was released as the lead single from the former's sixth studio album Relapse (2009). On February 12, 2009, the song broke the first week digital sales record with 418,000 downloads, topping the previous record held by "Live Your Life" by T.I. featuring Rihanna. This record was broken again the following week by "Right Round" by Flo Rida. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 2010. Background "Crack a Bottle" initially gained attention in December 2008, when an unfinished version of the song was initially leaked under the name "Number One" on the mixtape 4th Quarter Pressure Part 2, while a final working version was leaked on January 6, 2009. Various media outlets had reported that the recording was to be the first single from Eminem's 2009 album Relapse, however the Italian branch of Universal Music Group, owner of Interscope Records, later denied this, stating that "Crack a Bottle" was only a promotional recording. Despite all this, the song was released on February 2, 2009, and made available for paid digital download, with 50 Cent stating that the song will be included on his upcoming album Before I Self Destruct. According to Danielle Harling of HipHopDX—a website dedicated to hip hop music coverage—the song will ultimately be present on both Relapse and Before I Self Destruct, while in contrast, Daniel Kreps of Rolling Stone Magazine stated that it is still unsure which rapper will feature this song on his upcoming album. Despite the confusion, Universal eventually announced that "Crack a Bottle" would be included in Relapse exclusively, although it did not consider it the album's first single. The song samples "Mais dans la lumière" by Mike Brant, written by Jean Renard, who also received songwriting credits for the song. The same sample is used in the song Preservation by Aesop Rock and Del tha Funkee Homosapien, found on Wu-Tang Clan's 2005 album Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture. The song is in the key of C-sharp minor. American rapper Jay Rock released a remix to the song. Rappers Cashis and Bobby Creekwater were featured in the official remix of "Crack a Bottle". Rick Ross also released a remix as a diss to G-Unit. Critical reception Billboard gave a positive review of the song: "Although not quite as strong as the title track to Eminem's 2004 album Encore, the return of Eminem, Dr.