After weeks of teasers and speculation, Quavo and Lana Del Rey have finally released their new song “Tough.” It comes with a music video, directed by the musicians and Wyatt Spain Winfrey, in which Quavo and Del Rey slow dance together while singing along to the song, play guitar on a cottage porch, and bask in the foliage of a rural landscape. Watch the pastoral “Tough” video below.
“Tough”—co-produced by Andrew Watt and Cirkut—harkens back to the hip-hop-influenced sound of Del Rey’s debut, Born to Die. It’s also the singer’s first collaboration with a rapper since Lust for Life, which included songs with the Weeknd (“Lust for Life”), A$AP Rocky (“Groupie Love”), and Playboi Carti (“Summer Bummer”). (Del Rey’s 2023 song “Peppers” technically features Tommy Genesis, but it’s for a sample of the Canadian rapper’s “Angelina,” not original contributions.)
Del Rey shared Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd last year. She has suggested that a new country album, Lasso, will come out in September.
Since releasing his second solo studio album, Rocket Power, in August 2023, Quavo has dropped a number of singles, including “Mink,” “Clear the Smoke,” and “Himothy.”