Written by Rock City and producers Mike Will Made It and JBo, it is a club, trap, and R&B song with a minimal hip hop beat.

"Pour It Up" received a mixed response from critics, some of whom cited it as a highlight on Unapologetic, whilst others felt it was out of place.

The song's official remix was released on March 20, 2013, and features additional rap verses from Young Jeezy, T.I., Rick Ross and Juicy J. Rihanna took pole-dancing lessons from Nicole Williams before the shooting of the music video.

[9] Lyrically, it finds Rihanna turning a strip-club anthem into a declaration of independence,[10] pulling out her dollar bills at the strip club, getting drunk, and bragging loudly.

[9] A part of the song hears Rihanna bragging about how she is rich and can pay for a $100 valet service and a night at the strip club.

[14] Kellman also noted that "Pour It Up" is "a characteristically chilly and booming Mike Will collaboration", also praising "Rihanna's trash talk", writing that "it's something else".

[14] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times commented that, "it sounds like a track the ambient-goth outfit Salem might make for a strip club.

"[15] Alex Macpherson of Fact wrote that on 'Pour It Up', "Rihanna goes through mere scornful contempt and terrifies with her blank, relentless focus.

"[11] Dan Martin of NME criticized the song for "killing the mood", calling it an "In Da Club guff".

[18] Philip Matusavage of MusicOMH was negative, commenting that the "sense of emotional trauma displays itself in a different way on the album", calling it "obnoxious",[19] while Randall Roberts of the Los Angeles Times named it "a nausea-inducing track".

[20] Sarah H. Grant of Consequence of Sound reflected that, "the effervescence of her breakthrough Good Girl Gone Bad is lost to some hopeless place", citing "Pour It Up" as an example.

[21] Cultural critic Camille Paglia praised the song in an August 2013 interview: "in the past year, the only things that sparked my enthusiasm and gave me hope for an artistic revival were in pop music... [one being] Rihanna’s eerie “Pour It Up,” which uses a strip club as a hallucinatory metaphor for an identity crisis about sex and materialism.

[32] In September 2013, the director Vincent Haycock, tweeted that he was no longer involved with the project due to "creative differences", Rihanna later replied to him by stating: "Just take your name off the check while u at it!

[37] On February 25, 2014, Rihanna performed the song during Drake's sold-out concert at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France, as part of his Would You like a Tour?

The reports speculated guest appearances from American rappers Juicy J, 2 Chainz, T.I., Rick Ross and Young Jeezy.

[71][72] Michael Depland of MTV said, "While we may never get a proper "Pour It Up" video, we DO (sic) have the next best thing: a brand-new remix featuring Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, Juicy J, and T.I.

"[72] Joe Lynch of Fuse noted the addition of both Rick Ross and Young Jeezy saying, "Even though Rick Ross said he "tried to finger" Young Jeezy at the BET Hip Hop Awards last September, the two rappers have put aside their backstage beef for a higher power: Rihanna.