The music video was released on February 10, 2013.

On September 4, 2012, Drake was seen filming the music video for the song which was being directed by Director X. I am proud of every part of my past and I'm excited for this song to find a place in your life as well.' The song makes use of instrumentation from drums and a piano MTV describes it as 'departure' from his earlier works. I did not buy my way into this spot and it was the furthest thing from easy to achieve. He commented of its concept, 'I feel sometimes that people don't have enough information about my beginnings and therefore they make up a life story for me that isn't consistent with actual events. Lyrically, 'Started from the Bottom' addresses Drake's early life and career beginnings. At the 55th Grammy Awards, Drake teased that an official remix would be released. The song was officially released on iTunes on February 6, 2013. However, it was instead premiered on February 1 through Drake's 'October's Very Own' blog, as he preferred to release it without prior interviews. 'Started from the Bottom' was originally planned to be released on February 10, 2013, coinciding with the Grammy Awards.

Started from the bottom sampled