"What's My Name?" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna, for her fifth studio album Loud (2010). Featuring guest vocals from Canadian rapper Drake, the song was released as the second single from Loud on October 25, 2010, through Def Jam Recordings and in Germany on January 21, 2011, as a single through Universal Music Group. The dancehall-infused electro-R&B song was produced by the Norwegian production duo Stargate, and was written by the duo along with Ester Dean, Traci Hale, and Drake. Lyrically, it incorporates themes of romance and sex. The song was well received by music critics, who were complimentary towards its production, lyrical content and Rihanna's vocal performance. Drake's contribution was also praised, though a few suggested his rapping was typical or that his presence wasn't necessary.

"What's My Name?" topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, giving Rihanna her third number-one single in 2010, as well as her eighth overall on the chart. The song also topped the charts in Hungary and the United Kingdom and reached the top five in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and Slovakia. The song is certified six-times Platinum in the US and Gold or higher in eight additional countries. The song received a nomination at the 54th Grammy Awards for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

An accompanying music video, directed by Philip Andelman, plays a romantic encounter between Rihanna and Drake in a grocery store along with romantic scenes between the pair and Rihanna walking through Manhattan's Lower East Side. "What's My Name?" was promoted with live performances, including Saturday Night Live in the United States and the series 7 finale of The X Factor in the United Kingdom in December 2010.

Development and release

In November 2009, in an interview with MTV News, Canadian rapper Drake praised Rihanna's then-upcoming fourth studio album, Rated R (2009). During the same interview, he revealed that they have collaborated on a track that didn't make the final cut on the album, "the record we have is great. It's a special record, so for it not to make it, I know something had to click. It's all good. I think the project's gonna be great no matter what." Talking for the same publication, Tor Erik Hermansen of Norwegian production duo Stargate recalled that during an event Rihanna met with Drake backstage and asked him to record a verse on her song, "She's calling me up saying, 'Where are the files?' That's one thing you don't hear often from artists on her level." "What's My Name?" was written by Mikkel S. Eriksen, Hermansen, Ester Dean, Traci Hale and Drake, while the production was done by Stargate. In an interview for HitQuarters, Hale explained that she got into the project thanks to a phone call she received from Dean. She also elaborated that her work on the song was mostly lyrical, while Dean and Stargate did most of the music. When asked what's the inspiration behind the song she stated, "Oh love, love, love! And it's sexy – it started as a real sexy track and then you put something sexy over it."

The collaboration was originally intended to be a remix of the song, while the solo version would have been included on Rihanna's fifth studio album Loud. However, in the end it made the final cut on the album. Regarding Drake's inclusion on the song, Rihanna told MTV News, "Drake is the hottest rapper out right now and we've always been trying to work together." According to her, when he heard the song he liked it and wrote his verse after three days. Rihanna has further described the song as very youthful, playful and very melodic track; according to her that's why Drake was the perfect choice to be on it, "cause he's a young rapper who has incredible melodies". "What's My Name?" was released as the second single from Loud; it was sent to rhythmic contemporary radio in the United States on October 25, 2010, and to contemporary hit radio the following day. The single was made available for digital download on November 12 via the iTunes Store. A CD single featuring the song and a remix of it was released on January 21, 2011, in Germany.

Production

"What's My Name?" was recorded at the Roc the Mic Studios in New York City and at the Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles by Eriksen and Miles Walker. Rihanna's vocals were recorded by Kuk Harrell, Josh Gudwin and Marcos Tovar and Harrell also produced them. Bobby Campbell served as the vocal assistant. Drake's vocals were recorded by Noah "40" Shebib at The Hit Factory Studios in Miami. The recording of his vocals was assisted by Noel Cadastre and Brandon Joner. Its mixing was done by Phil Tan at Ninja Beat Club in Atlanta while Damien Lewis provided an additional and assistant engineering. All the instruments were provided by Eriksen and Hermansen while Dean sang the background vocals.

In May 2011, in The Mix Review, an analyzing commercial productions, Mike Senior of Sound on Sound revisited the original mixing of the song. According to him, before he started the mix, Senior played the song a couple of times before releasing what thing about it "bugged" him. Working it out, he noted that the harmony of the mix is undermined by the kick drum. "What's My Name?" contains basic harmonies that are a bar of F♯ minor, a bar of A major and two bars of D-major. Senior stated that on the other side however, there's a very little in the arrangement that could be seen like a traditional melodic bass-line. As the result of that, the "808-style" kick-drum's pronounce pitched components with a power of 37 Hz and 74 Hz fill that help void with a 'D' note. According to Senior, "the problem is that this only really supports the D‑major chord, destabilizing the home chord of F# minor (by implying that it's actually part of a D‑major 7th chord) and clashing nastily with the A‑major." He further stated that although might not be as apparent on small speakers, it still represents "weakness" for him. The section of the song at 3:12 has four bars without the kick-drum and four without it.

Composition "What's My Name?" is a mid-tempo electro-R&B song, produced by Norwegian producers, StarGate, who return Rihanna to the "Island-pop" of her early career with a backing track consisting of "heavy reggae" and ska beats with synthesised organs. Bill Lamb from About.com noted that before Rihanna's vocals start, there is an internal buildup of "dreamy drum machine rhythms". Overall he described the backing track as "simple" and "atmospheric". The song was written by Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Ester Dean, Traci Hale and Drake and incorporates themes of "sex and romance". Jocelyn Vena from MTV wrote the vocal delivery and lyrical content of the song as "sassy". Lamb as said that "lyrically, [What's My Name?] amounts to romantic, sexual sweet nothings". Rihanna called the collaboration "young and playful", something which Stacy Anderson from Spin and Nick Levine of Digital Spy both picked up, when commenting on the sexual innuendos in the lyrics. In particular, Anderson and Levine noted an arithmetic-based joke during Drake's guest vocal, where he says "The square root of 69 is 8 something, right / 'Cuz I been trying to work it out". Megan Vick from Billboard noted that "Rihanna's lush vocal turn denotes a startling leap in maturity from previous singles".

Critical reception from the Chicago Sun-Times neither praised nor criticized the song, but instead focused on the steamy mood of the composition. "[Rihanna] and panting duet partner Drake steam the recording studio windows as he raps a helpless play-by-play". Bill Lamb from About.com gave the song a positive review, saying that "There it is, the chorus opens the track with "Oh na na...what's my name?" and the hook is firmly implanted. It's not long before Drake's added on rap kicks in with clever, sexy and romantic rhyming. Then the dreamy drum machine rhythms and Rihanna's vocals kick in again. This is a hit ... "What's My Name?" is a good addition to that romantic evening playlist." Jocelyn Vena from MTV praised the "song's chorus" and "Drake's verse". Molly Lambert of Pitchfork Media praised Rihanna's performance saying that "On 'What's My Name', Rihanna doesn't have to tell us how desirable she is – it is a given. There is never any doubt in her delivery that Rihanna really might as well be the only girl in the world".

Nick Levine from Digital Spy said " 'What's My Name?' is essentially the long, luxuriant lovemaking session to 'Rude Boy's hard'n'fast rut... it manages to stay classy even when Drake makes a dodgy joke about the 'square root of 69' and Rihanna delivers a not-so-coy reference to oral sex." Megan Vick from Billboard said "As much as 'What's My Name' is a joint effort, Rihanna owns the song by delivering a more polished version of her pop persona." According to Jon Dolan from Rolling Stone with the release of "What's My Name?" as second single from the album Rihanna created "a perfect little tropical storm". He continued: "[...] Over dark, humid synths and swirling snare skitters, she's in full-on Caribbean-queen mode, dialing up her islander accent and rolling out a to-do list for any adult male seeking entrance into her chambers". However, he also criticized Drake's "square-root of 69" line, stating that Drake sounds like a nerdy guy from a fraternity while he raps it.

Chart performance "What's My Name?" debuted at number 67 on Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for the chart week of October 30, 2010 and steadily rose to a peak of number two. The song debuted at number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100 after being sent to mainstream radio, and in the third week it jumped to number one, after being released digitally, becoming Rihanna's eighth number-one single on the chart and Drake's first. "What's My Name?" managed to reach number one on the chart, before the lead single "Only Girl (In the World)", which topped the chart after two weeks. In the same week, it reached the top spot on US Hot Digital Songs with first week sales of 235,000. Rihanna became the first artist in Billboard Hot 100 history to have their first single go to number one after their second single ("Whats My Name?" followed by "Only Girl (In the World)"). Also, Rihanna became the first artist to score a trio of Hot 100 leaders in a year since 2008, when she achieved the same feat with "Take a Bow", "Disturbia" and featured vocals on T.I.'s "Live Your Life." By its seventh week of digital release, the single crossed the one million mark. The song has sold 3,095,000 downloads in the United States alone, and has been certified 6× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.