Doin' It Right Lyrics – STS X RJD2

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

1. Opening track on the 2015 collaborative album STS x RJD2 - a curtain-raiser that doubles as mission statement.
2. Brass-laced hip-hop with party-call hooks, cut to an old-soul bounce and crisp drum programming.
3. Issued with a live-performance style video featuring West Philadelphia Orchestra - a deliberate celebration of band energy and local scene.
4. Picked up for multiple syncs - a 2016 studio comedy trailer, a 2017 blockbuster soundtrack, and a Netflix series needle drop.
5. Arrangement is built for crowd control: chantable chorus, verse punch lines, and horns that punch through festival PAs.

Creation History

The partnership came out of mutual respect between Atlanta-raised rapper STS and producer RJD2, whose crate-digger instincts and drum chops have long favored big hooks and bigger textures. On this cut they lean into a celebratory palette: sharp snare, swaggering horns, and a hook that functions like a stage director - “hands up” is both instruction and invitation. The official video captures that spirit by stitching performance footage with the West Philadelphia Orchestra, a local brass ensemble whose punchy lines amplify the track’s block-party DNA. Contemporary coverage highlighted the way the live horns and STS’s easy glide lock to RJD2’s groove-first blueprint.

Even outside the album cycle, the song kept moving. Editors heard the bounce and the chorus and slotted it where momentum was needed - film trailers, wide-release soundtracks, and TV placements. That afterlife had less to do with trend-chasing and more to do with craft: two pros building a modern party record that still feels hand-played.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

There is no literal plot, just an emcee stepping into the room and staking claim to the night. Verse one sets the tone - flirt, flex, and a wink at hip-hop lineage - then pivots into a roll call of influences and a promise: enjoy the show, he will be back to “spit like a spigot.” Verse two widens the lens, mixing punch-line bravado with sports and boxing imagery, then flips into a ring-walk cadence about winning on merit, not politics. The hook does the heavy lifting - a simple instruction that scales from clubs to arenas - while the horns and drums frame it like a parade.

Song Meaning

“Doin’ It Right” is a toast to presence - showing up with craft and joy, and doing the job in a way that welcomes everyone under the roof. The lyrics toggle between come-on and call-out, but the throughline is generosity: make room on the floor, celebrate your crew, and ride the pocket. The orchestral brass gives it a street-band feel, a nod to cities where horn lines lead the party out of the venue and into the block. It is not naïve to commercial realities either - these are performers who know how to make a room move and how to bottle that effect for screens large and small. The result reads like a thesis for the duo’s project: classic party-writing updated with modern punch and pacing.

Genre and rhythm

Call it brass-forward hip-hop with a live-band spine. RJD2 builds a tight pocket - straight 4-4, hand-cut drum feel - then layers anthemic horn figures that work like hooks inside the hook. STS keeps syllables short and percussive, riding consonants against the snare. The result is the kind of track DJs love to drop at peak time - everything is legible, nothing drags, and the chorus resets the room every time it hits.

Emotional arc

The emotional arc is uncomplicated by design: confidence to ignition. Verse humor softens the edges, the horn stabs add uplift, and each return to the chorus feels like kinetic confirmation. It is the sound of a headliner turning a crowd into a choir.

Cultural touchpoints

STS shouts out A Tribe Called Quest - an affectionate bow to a line of party-minded craftsmen - and laces verse two with boxing legends and gridiron wordplay. Those references are not digressions; they frame performance as sport, with the hook as the knockout combination. In a mid-2010s landscape crowded with minimalist beats, this one felt proudly big - closer to a modern block party than to headphone introspection - which helped it travel from album cut to trailer bait.

Key Facts

• Artist: STS x RJD2
• Featured: West Philadelphia Orchestra appears in the live video presentation
• Composer: STS (DonCarlos Price), RJD2 (Ramble Jon Krohn)
• Producer: RJD2
• Release Date: May 2015 (album), single and video promoted in May 2015
• Genre: Hip-hop with live brass and classic break sensibility
• Instruments: Drum programming, bass, sampled and live brass, turntable and keyboard textures
• Label: RJ’s Electrical Connections
• Mood: Triumphant, high-energy, celebratory
• Length: 3:47
• Track #: 1 on STS x RJD2
• Language: English
• Album: STS x RJD2
• Music style: Brass-laden party rap with crowd-chant chorus
• Poetic meter: Accentual verse aligned to a 4-4 backbeat, heavy on internal rhyme and punch-line enjambment

Canonical Entities & Relations

• STS - co-writes and performs the verses and hook.
• RJD2 - produces the track, co-writes, and appears in performance footage.
• West Philadelphia Orchestra - brass ensemble featured in the live-style video.
• STS x RJD2 - album containing the song.
• Lip Sync Music Inc. - licensing entity credited on a major 2017 film soundtrack listing.
• Underground Arts - Philadelphia venue appearing in coverage of the live-video shoot.

Questions and Answers

What makes this opener feel so immediate on first play?

The chorus speaks in commands, the brass shouts back, and the drum grid is forward. No preamble - you are in the room and the room is moving.

Why does the video lean on live brass instead of a standard concept shoot?

To underline the core idea: this is a party song built like a band tune. Visually showing horns reminds you where the weight comes from - breath and metal, not just samples.

Is there a lyrical throughline beyond the crowd work?

Yes - a performer code. Win clean, represent for everyone in the house, and keep the showmanship sharp. The sports metaphors are not just references; they are an ethos.

How did it translate to screens?

Editors hear the clean downbeats and the easy-quote chorus. That makes it trailer-friendly and scene-friendly without having to mute the verses.

Does it connect to RJD2’s earlier approach?

It does - think of his knack for big, hummable motifs and rugged drums. Here the horns are the motif and the mix leaves space for an emcee with stage instincts.

Where does STS’s style land within 2010s rap?

He splits the difference between punch-line showman and old-school host, comfortable breaking the fourth wall while still landing precise internal rhymes.

Why did critics and blogs spotlight the collaboration?

Because it toggled between studio craft and stage electricity. According to contemporary coverage, the live-video approach with West Philadelphia Orchestra showcased exactly that blend.

Is there anything in the arrangement that makes it easy to license?

The chorus’s simple scansion and the brass hits leave editors plenty of clean frames to cut on. It reads as triumphant without specifying a narrative.

Awards and Chart Positions

No major chart entries are recorded for this single. Its footprint shows up through high-visibility syncs and soundtrack placements rather than traditional chart peaks.

How to Sing Doin' It Right

This is built for a lead MC who can host a room. The job is breath control, mic craft, and timing - not range acrobatics. Think of it as athletic speech over a brass-led groove.

Core metrics: Tempo ~84 BPM in 4-4; key center reported around E flat major or nearby modal colors; duration ~3:47. The comfortable baritone pocket sits roughly A2 to D4 for most emcees, with energy ramped by diction, not pitch.

1. Tempo - lock the pocket: Rehearse at 84 BPM and at 168 double-time to harden subdivisions. Land chorus syllables on the kick and the snare - especially “hands up.”
2. Diction - percussive consonants: Practice “get your hands in the air” as clipped eighths. Keep plosives tidy to avoid pops. Smile on vowels to keep the chorus bright.
3. Breathing - micro sips: Plan breaths at bar ends, not mid-phrase. The hook repeats quickly - take small inhales after “tonight” and before “we gon’ get down.”
4. Flow - crowd-host cadence: Use a half-smile and eye contact on the first hook to set trust, then push volume 5 to 7 percent for verse two to ride the horn hits.
5. Accents - ride the brass: Punch the words that align with horn stabs. It makes the band feel bigger and tightens call-and-response.
6. Doubles - selective layering: Add a narrow double on the last two “if you’re doin’ it right” lines. Keep verses single so ad-libs have room at the bar tails.
7. Mic technique: Work 2–3 inches off the capsule. Tilt slightly off axis on the word “right” to avoid sibilant build-up. Back off during crowd callouts.
8. Common pitfalls: Rushing the downbeat on the second hook, over-ad-libbing under horn fills, and letting diction smear at higher volume. Record a run, fix only the three smudgiest consonants, run it again.

Practice materials: A clean instrumental loop at 84 BPM, a click track, and a comp track with light chorus doubles for reference. Rehearse 10 minutes of hook cycles, 10 minutes of verse-on-click, then full takes with crowd-call practice.

Additional Info

The duo rolled out “Doin’ It Right” with an eye-catching video - live footage cut with studio sound, directed by Nick Rose - that brought in West Philadelphia Orchestra to underline the brass-first identity. Music press singled out that choice, framing the track as a collaboration that works because it blends a crate-digger’s arrangement sense with an emcee who can host a party without shouting. As stated in a 2015 blog round-up and track post, the song read as a highlight of the album’s rollout, which also featured a separate single ahead of release.

On the sync front, it popped up all over the mid-late 2010s calendar: a studio comedy trailer during spring 2016, a placement on the Baywatch soundtrack in 2017, and a first-season needle drop in a Netflix dramedy. A major beer brand also tapped it for a national spot in 2015. These wins tracked with RJD2’s seasoned licensing game - he had been candid in interviews about the realities of music placement, and the track’s clean, chanty hook made it an easy pick. According to NME magazine style coverage of similar mid-2010s sync trends, editors favored songs with bold downbeats and clear vocal calls - boxes this single ticks.

Sources: Stereogum, Hypebeast, Apple Music, Spotify, IMDb, iSpot.tv, MusicBrainz, SongBPM, GetSongBPM.