Anything (To Find You)
Encyclopedia
"Anything" is a song by American
recording artist Monica taken from her seventh studio album, New Life
(2011). It features additional vocals from American rapper Rick Ross
, and was written and produced by longtime contributors Missy Elliott
and Cainon Lamb with additional penning from fellow R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan
. The song sample
s 1995's "Who Shot Ya?" performed by The Notorious B.I.G.
and Diddy
, and uses interpolation of Marvin Gaye
and Tammi Terrell
's 1968 hit, "You're All I Need to Get By
."
The song's initial version also featured American rapper Lil Kim and was lined up for a release to urban radios in July 2011. However, by the time of its official digital release
as the album's leading single, Kim's vocals had been removed entirely from the track due to contractual issues surrounding B.I.G.'s estate, head by his mother. Released on August 2, 2011, the single version of "Anything" peaked at number twenty-five on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
chart. Upon its chart performance, the song was replaced by another Elliott-crafted production, "Until It's Gone
," as the album's official first single, turning "Anything" into a buzz single preceding New Life.
An R&B-up-tempo song, which exhibits elements of the early- to mid 1990s
hip hop soul
music, "Anything (To Find You)" was well received by music critics, who praised its retro theme and noted it a much-welcomed break from the europop
-dominated influence on contemporary R&B
by the time of its release. An accompanying music video
for the track was shot in Los Angeles
and was directed by Chris Robinson
.
. On July 7, 2011, the full song was leaked onto the internet, featuring guest vocals by both rappers Lil Kim and Rick Ross
. Having initially recorded sixteen additional bars to the eight bars that apppeared on the track, Kim's part was reportedly cut to make room for a second guest part, contributed by Ross. When the song made its debut on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in the week of July 14, 2011, Kim’s name was not listed however. In a statement, J Records
later confirmed that they were forced to remove her vocals from the official version at the last minute due to contractual issues as the sample that she used in her part — an excerpt of The Notorious B.I.G.
's controversial 1995 song "Who Shot Ya?
" – was revoked by his mother Volleta Wallace, the head of B.I.G's estate. Addressing the issue on Twitter
, Monica wrote:
The original version of the song, featuring all sixteen bars recorded by Lil Kim, was leaked on July 30, 2011. The full track also uses an interpolation of Marvin Gaye
and Tammi Terrell
's 1968 hit, "You're All I Need to Get By
."
favored the track stating that "Monica takes listeners back to R&B’s glory days with her soulful voice, Rozay
channels Biggie
, and the Queen Bee delivers a short, yet stinging verse." ThatGrapeJuice
noted that the song "will be sure to entice Urban disc-jockeys everywhere this summer," and further added, "what many will find to be a much needed breath of fresh air in europop
centric world, Monica has once again proven why she is the kind of artist whose creativity and skill is firmly based in her ability to deliver enjoyable music." Billboard
called the track "a throwback to '90s hip-hop," adding: "Monica arrives with lyrics that combine attitude and vulnerability [...] With "Anything (To Find You)", she das issued another soft jam to secure her status as an R&B queen in the company of Mary J. Blige
."
for "Anything (To Find You)" was directed by frequent collaborator Chris Robinson
. As reported by herself on Twitter
, Monica and rapper Rick Ross
filmed the clip in Los Angeles, California
, on August 18, 2011. Based on a concept developed by the singer and Robinson, the video shoot called for multiple flashy 1990s fashions
, boombox
es, colorfully-dressed dancers, and jewelery by designer Simone I. Smith. Monica summed the retro-themed video as being about "paying homage to the era that made [her] – 90's
baby."
The full music video exclusively-premiered through the Vevo
network on September 11, 2011, a day earlier than planned, on Monica's Vevo account. It made its television debut on September 12, 2011 during an episode of BET's
format 106 & Park
, where it eventually reached the top spot on the show's music video countdown.
magazine, "Monica channels the '90s in her latest video [for] "Anything (To Find You)", [presenting] a heavy influence from Mary J. Blige
." The video opens in a lit warehouse, with Brown walking in the passage way before it cuts to her standing with her arms folded. She then knee down and began to sing the into verse of the song. The clip then shows Rick Ross in his own scene rapping his verse to the song. Monica goes into her first verse, doing three girls choreographed routines with an 80's vibe. Doing the first run of the hook, Monica is seen singing on a bed and sitting on a curb with gold lights in the background. The video then continues with another scene of Monica singing behind a gold background with a black tank top and with a white jumpsuit. After the scenes quickly jumped from another, the video then ends with Monica 2-stepping and singing her final lines from the song.
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
chart on July 14, 2011 based on airplay alone. Afterwards it jumped from number fifty-seven to fifty-one on that particular chart, before eventually entering the top 30. Reaching its peak position of number twenty-five, it became Monica's least successful lead single since 2002's "All Eyez on Me
.". However, the song became Monica's sixteenth top forty entry on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks chart.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
recording artist Monica taken from her seventh studio album, New Life
New Life (Monica album)
New Life is the upcoming seventh studio album by American R&B recording artist Monica. The album will serve as Monica's debut release with RCA Records, following the disbandment of her former label, J Records in October 2011. The album is scheduled to be released on February 21, 2012. A buzz...
(2011). It features additional vocals from American rapper Rick Ross
Rick Ross (rapper)
William Leonard Roberts II , better known by his stage name Rick Ross, is an American rapper. He derived his stage name from the drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross, to whom he has no connection...
, and was written and produced by longtime contributors Missy Elliott
Missy Elliott
Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott , is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actressA five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have five albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one...
and Cainon Lamb with additional penning from fellow R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan
Jazmine Sullivan
Jazmine Marie Sullivan is an American recording artist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is also the protégé of rapper Missy Elliott. Her debut single "Need U Bad" reached number one on Billboards Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, while her second single, "Bust Your Windows" peaked at number four...
. The song sample
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
s 1995's "Who Shot Ya?" performed by The Notorious B.I.G.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Christopher George Latore Wallace , best known as The Notorious B.I.G., was an American rapper. He was also known as Biggie Smalls , Big Poppa, and The Black Frank White .Wallace was raised in the Brooklyn borough...
and Diddy
Sean Combs
Sean John Combs , also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award. He was originally...
, and uses interpolation of Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
and Tammi Terrell
Tammi Terrell
Thomasina Winifred Montgomery, known as Tammi Terrell was an American singer-songwriter most notable for her association with Motown and her duets with Marvin Gaye. As a teenager she recorded for the Scepter–Wand, Try Me and Checker record labels. She signed with Motown in April 1965 and enjoyed...
's 1968 hit, "You're All I Need to Get By
You're All I Need to Get By
"You're All I Need to Get By" is a song recorded by the American R&B/soul duo Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell and released on Motown Records' Tamla label in 1968. It was the basis for the 1995 single "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" from Method Man and Mary J...
."
The song's initial version also featured American rapper Lil Kim and was lined up for a release to urban radios in July 2011. However, by the time of its official digital release
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
as the album's leading single, Kim's vocals had been removed entirely from the track due to contractual issues surrounding B.I.G.'s estate, head by his mother. Released on August 2, 2011, the single version of "Anything" peaked at number twenty-five on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart. Upon its chart performance, the song was replaced by another Elliott-crafted production, "Until It's Gone
Until It's Gone
"Until It's Gone" is a song by American recording artist Monica. It was written and produced by longtime contributor Missy Elliott with additional penning from Jazmine Sullivan and Cainon Lamb for Monica's upcoming seventh studio album, New Life , sampling Phyllis Hyman's 1977 record "I Don't Want...
," as the album's official first single, turning "Anything" into a buzz single preceding New Life.
An R&B-up-tempo song, which exhibits elements of the early- to mid 1990s
1990s in music
For music from a year in the 1990s, go to 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99This article includes trends in popular music in the 1990s....
hip hop soul
Hip hop soul
Hip hop soul is sub-genre of contemporary R&B which fuses R&B, neo soul and dance elements with hip hop. The term did not originate until the promotion for Mary J. Blige's debut album What's the 411? in 1992 when Uptown Records proclaimed her to be the "Queen of Hip Hop Soul" and generally...
music, "Anything (To Find You)" was well received by music critics, who praised its retro theme and noted it a much-welcomed break from the europop
Europop
Europop refers to a style of pop music that first developed in today's form in Europe, throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and ’90s...
-dominated influence on contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
by the time of its release. An accompanying music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the track was shot in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and was directed by Chris Robinson
Chris Robinson (director)
Chris Robinson is an American film director working mostly with music videos and commercials. He has directed commercials for brands such as iPod, Coca Cola and Verizon and music videos for songs like "Fallin'" and "You Don't Know My Name" by Alicia Keys, "Roc Boys" by Jay-Z, the grammy nominated...
.
Background and release
"Anything (To Find You)" was written and produced by Missy ElliottMissy Elliott
Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott , is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actressA five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have five albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one...
. On July 7, 2011, the full song was leaked onto the internet, featuring guest vocals by both rappers Lil Kim and Rick Ross
Rick Ross (rapper)
William Leonard Roberts II , better known by his stage name Rick Ross, is an American rapper. He derived his stage name from the drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross, to whom he has no connection...
. Having initially recorded sixteen additional bars to the eight bars that apppeared on the track, Kim's part was reportedly cut to make room for a second guest part, contributed by Ross. When the song made its debut on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in the week of July 14, 2011, Kim’s name was not listed however. In a statement, J Records
J Records
J Records was an American record label, owned and operated by Sony Music Entertainment, and was distributed through the RCA Music Group.-Company history:...
later confirmed that they were forced to remove her vocals from the official version at the last minute due to contractual issues as the sample that she used in her part — an excerpt of The Notorious B.I.G.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Christopher George Latore Wallace , best known as The Notorious B.I.G., was an American rapper. He was also known as Biggie Smalls , Big Poppa, and The Black Frank White .Wallace was raised in the Brooklyn borough...
's controversial 1995 song "Who Shot Ya?
Who Shot Ya?
"Who Shot Ya?" is a controversial hip-hop song by The Notorious B.I.G., a B-side to his 1995 hit single, "Big Poppa". The track was later released on the posthumous Born Again, the remastered edition of Ready to Die, and The Greatest Hits....
" – was revoked by his mother Volleta Wallace, the head of B.I.G's estate. Addressing the issue on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, Monica wrote:
"I am just finding out what has happened to my single and myself and Missy are beyond hurt that Lil Kim was removed. She’s our friend, a legend, and Lil Kim will get the respect she deserves at all cost. The clearance was revoked and I’m fighting to get it reinstated by the Biggie Estate [...] I am as thorough as they come and I Love Lil Kim, bottom line is Ms Wallace has the final say and she said No. If we put it out we get sued."
The original version of the song, featuring all sixteen bars recorded by Lil Kim, was leaked on July 30, 2011. The full track also uses an interpolation of Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
and Tammi Terrell
Tammi Terrell
Thomasina Winifred Montgomery, known as Tammi Terrell was an American singer-songwriter most notable for her association with Motown and her duets with Marvin Gaye. As a teenager she recorded for the Scepter–Wand, Try Me and Checker record labels. She signed with Motown in April 1965 and enjoyed...
's 1968 hit, "You're All I Need to Get By
You're All I Need to Get By
"You're All I Need to Get By" is a song recorded by the American R&B/soul duo Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell and released on Motown Records' Tamla label in 1968. It was the basis for the 1995 single "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" from Method Man and Mary J...
."
Critical reception
The single has been generally well received by critics. Rap-UpRap-Up
Rap-Up is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on the hip hop and R&B aspect of the music industry, and...
favored the track stating that "Monica takes listeners back to R&B’s glory days with her soulful voice, Rozay
Rick Ross
Rick, Ricky or Richard Ross may also refer to:* Rick Ross , American rapper* Richard J. Ross, a Massachusetts State Senator* Richard Ross , an American photographer...
channels Biggie
The Notorious B.I.G.
Christopher George Latore Wallace , best known as The Notorious B.I.G., was an American rapper. He was also known as Biggie Smalls , Big Poppa, and The Black Frank White .Wallace was raised in the Brooklyn borough...
, and the Queen Bee delivers a short, yet stinging verse." ThatGrapeJuice
Grape juice
Grape juice is obtained from crushing and blending grapes into a liquid. The juice is often sold in stores or fermented and made into wine, brandy, or vinegar. In the wine industry, grape juice that contains 7-23 percent of pulp, skins, stems and seeds is often referred to as "must"...
noted that the song "will be sure to entice Urban disc-jockeys everywhere this summer," and further added, "what many will find to be a much needed breath of fresh air in europop
Europop
Europop refers to a style of pop music that first developed in today's form in Europe, throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and ’90s...
centric world, Monica has once again proven why she is the kind of artist whose creativity and skill is firmly based in her ability to deliver enjoyable music." Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
called the track "a throwback to '90s hip-hop," adding: "Monica arrives with lyrics that combine attitude and vulnerability [...] With "Anything (To Find You)", she das issued another soft jam to secure her status as an R&B queen in the company of Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
."
Background
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Anything (To Find You)" was directed by frequent collaborator Chris Robinson
Chris Robinson (director)
Chris Robinson is an American film director working mostly with music videos and commercials. He has directed commercials for brands such as iPod, Coca Cola and Verizon and music videos for songs like "Fallin'" and "You Don't Know My Name" by Alicia Keys, "Roc Boys" by Jay-Z, the grammy nominated...
. As reported by herself on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, Monica and rapper Rick Ross
Rick Ross
Rick, Ricky or Richard Ross may also refer to:* Rick Ross , American rapper* Richard J. Ross, a Massachusetts State Senator* Richard Ross , an American photographer...
filmed the clip in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, on August 18, 2011. Based on a concept developed by the singer and Robinson, the video shoot called for multiple flashy 1990s fashions
1990s in fashion
The 1990s was the genesis of two sweeping shifts in Western fashion: the beginning of the rejection of fashion which continues into the present decade among a large section of the population, and the beginning of the mainstream adoption of tattoos , body piercings aside from ear piercing and to a...
, boombox
Boombox
Boombox is a colloquial expression for a portable cassette or CD player. Other terms known are ghetto blaster, jambox, or radio-cassette. It is a device capable of receiving radio stations and playing recorded music , usually at relatively high volume...
es, colorfully-dressed dancers, and jewelery by designer Simone I. Smith. Monica summed the retro-themed video as being about "paying homage to the era that made [her] – 90's
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
baby."
The full music video exclusively-premiered through the Vevo
Vevo
Vevo is a music video website. It is a joint venture among Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Abu Dhabi Media with EMI licensing its content to the group without taking an ownership stake. The service was launched officially on December 8, 2009...
network on September 11, 2011, a day earlier than planned, on Monica's Vevo account. It made its television debut on September 12, 2011 during an episode of BET's
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
format 106 & Park
106 & Park
106 & Park is a Top Ten Hip-Hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that airs weekdays at 6:00 PM on BET . Since its inception, it was the network's #1 rated show...
, where it eventually reached the top spot on the show's music video countdown.
Synopsis
Summed up by EssenceEssence (magazine)
Essence is a monthly magazine for African-American women between the ages of 18 and 49. The magazine covers fashion, lifestyle and beauty with an intimate girlfriend-to-girlfriend tone.-History:...
magazine, "Monica channels the '90s in her latest video [for] "Anything (To Find You)", [presenting] a heavy influence from Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
." The video opens in a lit warehouse, with Brown walking in the passage way before it cuts to her standing with her arms folded. She then knee down and began to sing the into verse of the song. The clip then shows Rick Ross in his own scene rapping his verse to the song. Monica goes into her first verse, doing three girls choreographed routines with an 80's vibe. Doing the first run of the hook, Monica is seen singing on a bed and sitting on a curb with gold lights in the background. The video then continues with another scene of Monica singing behind a gold background with a black tank top and with a white jumpsuit. After the scenes quickly jumped from another, the video then ends with Monica 2-stepping and singing her final lines from the song.
Chart performance
Before being released as a digital download and rhythmic radio, "Anything (To Find You)" instantly debuted at number 71 on the US BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart on July 14, 2011 based on airplay alone. Afterwards it jumped from number fifty-seven to fifty-one on that particular chart, before eventually entering the top 30. Reaching its peak position of number twenty-five, it became Monica's least successful lead single since 2002's "All Eyez on Me
All Eyez on Me (song)
"All Eyez on Me" is a dance-pop song written by American R&B singer Monica, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins and LaShawn Daniels for her original third studio album, All Eyez on Me . It was produced by Jerkins, incorporating excerpts of Michael Jackson's 1983 hit "P.Y.T...
.". However, the song became Monica's sixteenth top forty entry on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks chart.
Track listing
-
- Digital download
- "Anything (To Find You)" (featuring Rick RossRick Ross (rapper)William Leonard Roberts II , better known by his stage name Rick Ross, is an American rapper. He derived his stage name from the drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross, to whom he has no connection...
) – 3:42
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|
Purchasable release
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | August 2, 2011 | Digital single | J Records J Records J Records was an American record label, owned and operated by Sony Music Entertainment, and was distributed through the RCA Music Group.-Company history:... |
| August 8, 2011 | Urban Mainstream Mainstream Urban Mainstream Urban is a term used to describe a radio format similar to an Urban Contemporary format. The format differentiates itself due to two factors: playlist composition and target demographic... radio |
||
| August 30, 2011 | Rhythmic radio | ||