Music Review: David Guetta, Akon, & Ne-Yo "Play Hard"

David Guetta, Akon & Ne-Yo

Play Hard

Album: Nothing But The Beat

Year: 2013

      Ne-Yo sketches in plans to have fun after a long day at work in the uptight “Play Hard.”

     Anxious blips open the single, setting a squeamish tone. In the pre-chorus, Ne-Yo stands in line to order a drink. His suitcase packed with notes and research, sits in the car untouched. After several meetings, close to a hundred emails and a dozen reports, he has to have some fun. He’s successful at his job as a hedge fund analyst, receiving excellent reviews every year.  His parents raised him to have a strong work ethic. When he said he wanted a new car at 16, his parents told him to get a job to pay for it. He wants to do well and be proud of his work. (“Hey, said us hustler's work is never through/We makin' it 'cause we make it move/The only thing we know how to do/Said it's the only thing we know how to do.”)

        In the chorus, his entire life is work. A 12 hour day starting from early morning until late evening. At 8 pm, though, on a Friday night, he’s at his favorite bar, drinking and dancing. At midnight, his second wind kicks in, lifting his head out of its fog. However, he has put a full night in. He’s got another couple hours ago. (“Work hard, play hard/Work hard, play hard./We work hard, play hard/Keep partyin' like it's your job/Work hard, play hard/Work hard, play hard/We work hard, play hard/Keep partyin' like it's your job.”

       Akon finds a pretty girl on the dancefloor and cheers her on as she grinds against him, reaching the bottom of the floor. She’s one of the better dancers he’s seen at the club tonight. He gives Ne-Yo a wink, letting him it’s ok if he wants to talk to her. She blows him a kiss and he takes center stage. He got his paycheck and is spending all on drinks. (“Come on baby and drop this/Scrub that floor and just mop it/Show these gangsters how you cock block it/Don't care what you got in your pocket/I get the way that you rockin'/Flip that thang thang don't stop it/When I just bang bang and pop it/While the club crowded just watch you (work it out)/Got a gang of cash and it's all thrown out on the bar (now work it out)/And it's going fast cuz I feel like a superstar (now work it out)/And you may not have it, I might just broke the law (now work it out)/It's your time to grab it, now make this whole thing yours (now work it out.”)

         Ne-Yo sings the pre-chorus and chorus again.

       Everywhere he looks in the club, women are staring at him. He stays in his shape and flexes his muscles while dancing. He has great friends and supports his cash-strapped city’s growing nightlife. (“Some pressure that flicking plush/Ladies can't get enough/Got my fitness, I'm looking buff/And all my people with me, I trust/Holdin' down for my city/If they askin' you, I'm not guilty/All the thing that I'm guilty of is making you rock with me (work it out)/Got a gang of cash and it's all thrown out on the bar (now work it out)… it's your time to grab it, now make this whole thing yours (now work it out.”)

             Ne-Yo sings the pre-chorus and chorus twice to end the single.
 

            Ne-Yo’s responsible,  uneasy vocals second-guess everything as he frantically checks Facebook for any incriminating pictures. Even while hanging out with his friends, he’s still thinking of his job.

           Akon, on the other hand, with his hyper rap, gives a quick wave and returns to his pop locking and break dancing on the dancefloor. He hasn’t seen much of Ne-Yo all night, actually. He’s been talking to the bartenders and participating in games. At least someone is enjoying themselves.

        Guetta’s dry arrangement samples Alice DeeJay’s “Better Off Alone,” leaving it as is. At most, he stretches a synth during Akon’s rap, adding nothing new to the sample. Speeding it up, while it wouldn’t have been an improvement, would’ve been something.

          The conservative “Play Hard” puts in the least amount of effort possible.