Are You That Somebody
Encyclopedia
"Are You That Somebody?" is a Grammy nominated single performed by American
singer Aaliyah
, recorded for the Dr. Dolittle soundtrack
. The song was written and composed by Static Major
, who also sang backing vocals, and Timbaland
, who, in addition to writing the song, produced and performed a guest rap for it. The song was sent to U.S. Pop radio stations on September 29, 1998 (see 1998 in music
). The song samples the sound of a baby cooing from Prince
's 1982 hit "Delirious" and D. Train
's 1982 dance classic "You're the One for Me".
The song was listed 387th on The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born, a list of songs compiled by Blender
magazine. It was also ranked 18th on Spin
magazine's Top 20 Singles of the 90's, and 5th on The Village Voice
' s 1998 Pazz & Jop
critics' poll. Pitchfork Media
included the song at number 8 on their Top 200 Tracks of the 90s. Aaliyah
received a Best Female R&B Vocal Performance Grammy Award
nomination for the single.
in an interview with Vibe magazine, when he first presented the song to Aaliyah, she initially showed disdain for it. However, she eventually agreed to record it.
for "Are You That Somebody?" was directed by Mark Gerard, with choreography by Fatima Robinson
. It begins with Timbaland and a crew of men riding motorcycles to a cave where Aaliyah and other women are waiting. As Timbaland and the crew arrive, a hologram of a metal door seals the opening of the cave. The men notice that the seal is a hologram and drive through it. Inside the underground cave clips of Dr. Dolittle are projected on several walls in the background.
As Aaliyah's first verse starts she holds a large bird on her arm and everyone begins to perform the choreography. There are scenes with just the women dancing, just the men dancing, both the women and men dancing, and Aaliyah performing alone. Also shown is Timbaland rapping with the group Playa
in the background. The video ends with Aaliyah and the dancers performing a flamenco
dance.
The video was retired on MTV
's TRL
and was the third most-played clip on MTV
in 1998.
There are two versions of the video, one with the footages of Dr. Dolittle on the wall and second, without these scenes and with a little different editing (this version was released on I Care 4 U
DVD). The video was shot in a real cave at Griffith Park
in Los Angeles, California
.
commented that the song "remains one of '90s' R&B's most astounding moments."
(Mad Skillz during that time), Danja Mowf, & Lonnie B. of the group Supafriendz & Timbaland.
In New Zealand
, it jumped from number forty-three to number one; the song with biggest jump to number-one of that year.
In the Netherlands
, it peaked at number one and stayed in the chart for twenty-two weeks; it also became one of her most successful songs there. The song was also successful in: Belgium
, where it peaked at number forty-two; Switzerland
, where it peaked at number seven; and Germany
, where it peaked at number thirty-one. It also reached the top twenty in the United Kingdom
, becoming her highest-charting hit at that point in her career. The song also reached the top 10 in Canada
.
rapper Drake
interpolated a portion of the song's chorus in his verse on Young Money Entertainment
's "BedRock"; "Girl I gotta watch my back, 'cause I'm not just anybody."
In 2011, a cover with a rap verse by Wax
was recorded by The Red Ribbon Army.
Samples from the song have been used in numerous electronic, and, most recently, dubstep tracks.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer Aaliyah
Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton , who performed under the mononym Aaliyah , was an American R&B recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 10, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside...
, recorded for the Dr. Dolittle soundtrack
Dr. Dolittle (soundtrack)
Dr. Dolittle is the soundtrack to the 1998 film, Dr. Dolittle. It was released on June 16, 1998 through Atlantic Records and consisted of a blend of hip hop and contemporary R&B. The soundtrack was a huge success, peaking at 4 on both the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and was...
. The song was written and composed by Static Major
Static Major
Stephen Ellis Garrett also known as Static Major, was a Grammy Award-Winning American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer from Louisville, Kentucky. He was a member of the R&B trio Playa. Static Major gained posthumous fame for appearing on Lil Wayne's 2008 album Tha Carter III on the...
, who also sang backing vocals, and Timbaland
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
, who, in addition to writing the song, produced and performed a guest rap for it. The song was sent to U.S. Pop radio stations on September 29, 1998 (see 1998 in music
1998 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...
). The song samples the sound of a baby cooing from Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
's 1982 hit "Delirious" and D. Train
D. Train
D. Train was an American R&B duo, who scored several significant hits on both the Billboard Dance and R&B charts during the first half of the 1980s.-Overview:...
's 1982 dance classic "You're the One for Me".
The song was listed 387th on The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born, a list of songs compiled by Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
magazine. It was also ranked 18th on Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
magazine's Top 20 Singles of the 90's, and 5th on The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
Pazz & Jop
The Pazz & Jop critics' poll is a poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. It is compiled every year from the top ten lists of hundreds of music critics...
critics' poll. Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
included the song at number 8 on their Top 200 Tracks of the 90s. Aaliyah
Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton , who performed under the mononym Aaliyah , was an American R&B recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 10, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside...
received a Best Female R&B Vocal Performance Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nomination for the single.
Writing and recording
According to Static MajorStatic Major
Stephen Ellis Garrett also known as Static Major, was a Grammy Award-Winning American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer from Louisville, Kentucky. He was a member of the R&B trio Playa. Static Major gained posthumous fame for appearing on Lil Wayne's 2008 album Tha Carter III on the...
in an interview with Vibe magazine, when he first presented the song to Aaliyah, she initially showed disdain for it. However, she eventually agreed to record it.
Music video
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 "Are You That Somebody?" was directed by Mark Gerard, with choreography by Fatima Robinson
Fatima Robinson
Fatima Robinson is a noted music video director and choreographer. Robinson's choreography résumé includes many Aaliyah's Videos, and Mary J. Blige's "Family Affair"...
. It begins with Timbaland and a crew of men riding motorcycles to a cave where Aaliyah and other women are waiting. As Timbaland and the crew arrive, a hologram of a metal door seals the opening of the cave. The men notice that the seal is a hologram and drive through it. Inside the underground cave clips of Dr. Dolittle are projected on several walls in the background.
As Aaliyah's first verse starts she holds a large bird on her arm and everyone begins to perform the choreography. There are scenes with just the women dancing, just the men dancing, both the women and men dancing, and Aaliyah performing alone. Also shown is Timbaland rapping with the group Playa
Playa (band)
Playa was an American R&B/hip-hop group. Composed of Smoke E. Digglera , Digital Black , and the late Static Major , Playa is best known for their 1998 hit album, "Cheers 2 U", produced by longtime collaborator Timbaland...
in the background. The video ends with Aaliyah and the dancers performing a flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
dance.
The video was retired on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's TRL
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
and was the third most-played clip on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
in 1998.
There are two versions of the video, one with the footages of Dr. Dolittle on the wall and second, without these scenes and with a little different editing (this version was released on I Care 4 U
I Care 4 U
I Care 4 U is the fourth album and first compilation album by the American singer Aaliyah, released posthumously by Blackground Records on December 10, 2002, in the United States. Along with her hit singles, a number of shelved tracks were included on the album, including the singles "Miss You",...
DVD). The video was shot in a real cave at Griffith Park
Griffith Park
Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America...
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...
.
Reception
In its album guide, Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
commented that the song "remains one of '90s' R&B's most astounding moments."
Remix
The unofficial remix features rappers SkillzSkillz
Shaquan Lewis, also known as Mad Skillz, Skillz, is an American rapper known for his acclaimed 1996 album From Where???, a reference to his origins in Virginia, not the stereotypical New York City or Los Angeles rapper, and he's also known for his yearly "Rap Ups", which he has done since...
(Mad Skillz during that time), Danja Mowf, & Lonnie B. of the group Supafriendz & Timbaland.
Charts performance
"Are You That Somebody?" was in the midst of its chart run when Billboard changed its policy to allow airplay-only singles to chart on the Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts. It climbed to number four on the Hot 100 Airplay chart and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.In New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, it jumped from number forty-three to number one; the song with biggest jump to number-one of that year.
In the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, it peaked at number one and stayed in the chart for twenty-two weeks; it also became one of her most successful songs there. The song was also successful in: Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, where it peaked at number forty-two; Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, where it peaked at number seven; and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, where it peaked at number thirty-one. It also reached the top twenty in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, becoming her highest-charting hit at that point in her career. The song also reached the top 10 in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Charts
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Flanders) Singles Chart | 42 |
| Belgium (Wallonia) Singles Chart | 40 |
| Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
6 |
| Dutch Singles Chart Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
1 |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
31 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... Singles Chart |
1 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 41 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
11 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
21 |
| U.S. Billboard Pop Songs | 6 |
| U.S. Billboard Radio Songs Radio Songs Radio Songs is an album of duo Robin and Linda Williams on the Red House Records label, released in 2007.Radio Songs consists of recordings made when performing on Garrison Keillor's NPR radio program A Prairie Home Companion. Although Robin and Linda first appeared on the show regularly in 1976,... |
4 |
| U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Airplay Chart Rhythmic Airplay Chart The Rhythmic Airplay Chart is an airplay chart that is featured weekly in Billboard Magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on Rhythmic stations, whose playlist includes mostly hit-driven R&B/Hip-Hop, Rhythmic pop, and some Dance tracks... |
1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart is the airplay component chart of the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. It is not the R&B subset of The Hot 100 Airplay, but rather a separate panel of R&B stations in urban markets used for the R&B/Hip-Hop chart... |
1 |
Covers and interpolations
In March 2007 American Indie rock band, Gossip, covered the song on BBC's music program 6music. A full studio version was leaked in 2009 and later released on the Ministry of Sound Volume 2 compilation in 2010. In 2009, CanadianCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
rapper Drake
Drake (entertainer)
Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....
interpolated a portion of the song's chorus in his verse on Young Money Entertainment
Young Money Entertainment
Young Money Entertainment is an American record label founded by rapper Lil Wayne. Young Money's president is Lil Wayne's lifelong friend Mack Maine. The label is an imprint of Cash Money Records and is distributed by Universal Republic Records...
's "BedRock"; "Girl I gotta watch my back, 'cause I'm not just anybody."
In 2011, a cover with a rap verse by Wax
Wax (rapper)
Michael Jones, better known by his stage name Wax, is an American musician, rapper, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. He became a YouTube star after uploading several of videos of himself rapping and singing, and signed with Def Jam Recordings in March 2011...
was recorded by The Red Ribbon Army.
Samples from the song have been used in numerous electronic, and, most recently, dubstep tracks.
External links
- Aaliyah.com — official site