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I Got That

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"I Got That"
An image of a woman wearing a white top, jeans, and fur jacket poses in front of a bank vault. The rapper's name (Amil) and the songs' names ("I Got That" and "4 da Fam") are shown in the image.
Single by Amil featuring Beyoncé
from the album All Money Is Legal
A-side"4 da Fam"
ReleasedJuly 5, 2000
Studio
GenreHip-hop
Length3:17
LabelSony
Songwriter(s)
  • Amil Whitehead
  • Samuel J. Barnes
  • Jean-Claude Olivier
  • Shawn Carter
  • Makeda Davis
  • LeShan Lewis
  • Tamy Lestor Smith
Producer(s)
Amil singles chronology
"Hey Papi"
(2000) 		"I Got That"
(2000) 		"4 da Fam"
(2000)
Beyoncé singles chronology
"I Got That"
(2000) 		"Work It Out"
(2002)

"I Got That" is a hip-hop song by American rapper Amil from her album All Money Is Legal (2000). She wrote the track with its producers, L.E.S. and Poke & Tone, as well as with Jay-Z, Makeda Davis, and Tamy Lestor Smith. It uses a sample from the 1985 Gwen Guthrie song "Seventh Heaven". In an effort to assess her viability as a solo artist outside of her girl group Destiny's Child, Beyoncé performs the song's chorus and backing vocals. In the lyrics, Amil encourages women to seek out emotional, financial, and romantic independence.

Roc-A-Fella and Columbia Records released "I Got That" on July 5, 2000, as the lead single from All Money Is Legal. It was Amil's debut solo single after featuring on songs by Jay-Z and other Roc-A-Fella artists. Most reviews focused on Beyoncé, who was praised for her vocals; other critics negatively compared the single to the more personal tracks on the album. In the United States, "I Got That" topped the Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart in September 2000. According to retrospective articles, the song was not well-remembered, either being forgotten or overlooked since its release. Jay-Z and Darren Grant directed the music video, which shows Amil and Beyoncé shopping.

Background and recording

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Jay-Z signed Amil to his record label Roc-A-Fella after she was featured on his 1998 single "Can I Get A...".[1][2] She was the first female rapper on Roc-A-Fella,[3] working as what music journalist Clover Hope described as "the crew's go-to female voice".[2] A high-profile member in the label, being promoted as its First Lady,[4] Amil would continue to collaborate with Jay-Z for "Nigga What, Nigga Who (Originator 99)" and "Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up)" (both in 1999) and "Hey Papi" (2000),[1][4] and she appeared on several songs by other Roc-A-Fella artists.[2][5] During this time, her features received a significant amount of radio airplay;[5] VH1's Renaud Jean-Baptiste Jr. singled out the success of her songs with Jay-Z as leading to the creation of her 2000 album All Money Is Legal.[4]

Amil wrote "I Got That" with its producers—L.E.S. and Poke & Tone members Jean-Claude Olivier and Samuel J. Barnes—along with Jay-Z, Makeda Davis, and Tamy Lestor Smith.[6] The Source's Aliya S. King contrasted Poke & Tone's work on the song with the rest of the album, which she said was handled by "a slew of up-and-comer producers".[7] "I Got That" was recorded by Steve Sauder at the Hit Factory in New York City, where it was mixed by Rich Travali, and by Mark Mason at Platinum Post Studios in Winter Park, Florida. All of the tracks for All Money Is Legal, including "I Got That", were mastered by Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound Studios in New York City.[6]

"I Got That" features Beyoncé,[6] who performs the chorus and provides backing vocals.[8][9] It was her first collaboration with her future husband Jay-Z.[10][11] Beyoncé recorded her parts in early 2000 during a separate recording session. Her then-manager Mathew Knowles paid Roc-A-Fella for the feature as a way to assess her viability as a solo artist, since she was still a part of girl group Destiny's Child at the time.[12] Beyoncé pursued a solo career three years after "I Got That", releasing her debut album Dangerously in Love in 2003.[13][14]

Music and lyrics

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"I Got That"
Amil was described as using a "sultry, sing songy rapping" style by David Browne[15] and a "girlish, take-no-guff voice" by The Philadelphia Inquirer's Dan DeLuca for "I Got That" and throughout All Money Is Legal.[16]
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"I Got That" is a hip-hop song that lasts for three minutes and seventeen seconds.[6][15] It contains a sample from the 1985 Gwen Guthrie single "Seventh Heaven".[6] Spin writer Andrew Unterberger felt that the composition had a "squelching, slithering" production,[8] while David Browne likened it to music by a girl group in Entertainment Weekly.[15] Browne said that Amil has "sultry, sing songy rapping" style throughout All Money Is Legal, most notably on "I Got That".[15] The Philadelphia Inquirer's Dan DeLuca thought that Amil performs with a "girlish, take-no-guff voice", specifically on the tracks "Girlfriend" and "I Got That".[16] Beyoncé's vocals were described as breathy by Unterberger,[8] and as "buttery" by Camille Augustin in Vibe.[17]

The lyrics are about encouraging women to pursue emotional, financial, and romantic independence.[18] Amil conveys this by rapping about how she can support herself without needing anything from men:[13][19] "I don't need a man to / Do for Amil what Amil can do."[13] She further expresses this by bragging about buying her own clothing, jewelry, and a Mercedes-Benz.[20] Vibe's Desire Thompson highlighted the verse, "What chick you know cock Glocks back?", while summarizing the song as about a "woman having her own with snarky bars to match".[10]

Critics discussed the lyrics in relation to the rest of All Money Is Legal and with Amil's past songs.[21] Clover Hope thought that while Amil's previous songs focus on scamming men to survive, "I Got That" expands her style to include boasting that she is "earning her own money, too".[13] In the San Antonio Express-News, Anthony M. Thompson believed that this focus on female independence represents how Amil was able to give a "distinct, woman's touch" to her album.[22] DeLuca said that Amil carries over a similar message into the album tracks "All Money Is Legal" and "Girlfriend", in which she "surveys a world where everything is for sale and a girl had best look out for herself".[16]

Release and reception

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Roc-A-Fella and Columbia Records released "I Got That" as All Money Is Legal's lead single on July 5, 2000.[23] It was made available on the 12-inch and CD formats,[24][25] including as a double A-side with the album's second single "4 da Fam" (2000).[25] The song appeared on the compilation albums R&B Masters in 2001 and Urban Sounds: Hip-Hop & Reggae 1996-2000 in 2003.[26][27]

Jay-Z and Darren Grant directed the single's music video,[28][29] which features Amil and Beyoncé shopping at stores.[13] Eve makes a cameo appearance,[13] and Beyoncé wears an outfit that Billboard described as resembling a "fiery cowgirl".[30] It was Beyoncé first music video as a solo artist.[30] The video was on the list of BET's most-played clips for the weeks of August 1 and 8, 2000, and it also played on The Box—a now-defunct music video network—during the same two weeks.[31][32]

Most of the critical commentary focused on Beyoncé's feature.[33] Andrew Unterberger believed that it deserved more commercial success, largely in part to her performance of the chorus.[8] Praising Amil as having a "one-of-a-kind sound", Camille Augustin felt that this was complemented by Beyoncé's vocals.[17] Kathy Iandoli for Dazed thought the feature turned "I Got That" into more of a Destiny's Child song, considering this proof that Beyoncé was the lead of the group. Iandoli wrote that the single also demonstrated that Amil had the potential for a "long successful career being the female rap guest feature".[34] In a more negative review, a writer for Vibe included "I Got That" as one of the worst hip-hop collaborations in 2000.[35]

Other critics negatively compared "I Got That" to other tracks on All Money Is Legal.[36][37] A Billboard reviewer called it a "catchy enough radio-ready tune", but enjoyed the album more when Amil took on personal issues, specifically for "Smile 4 Me" and "Quarrels".[37] Says Who of the Michigan Chronicle wrote that the album had "a few pleasant surprises" after listeners went beyond "I Got That", which was described as an "easy first single".[36]

"I Got That" reached number one on the US Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart for the week of September 16, 2000; it was on the chart for twelve weeks.[38] On the urban contemporary radio chart published by Radio & Records, the song peaked at number forty-six.[39] According to retrospective articles, the single was not well-remembered, either being forgotten or overlooked.[40] In 2018, Desire Thompson wrote that the single had "slipped between the cracks" because of the abundance of female rappers in the early 2000s, such as Da Brat, Eve, Lil' Kim, Missy Elliott, and Trina.[10]

Credits and personnel

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Credits adapted from the liner notes of All Money Is Legal:[6]

References

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b Duncan 2000, p. 139.
  2. ^ a b c Hope 2021, pp. 223–224.
  3. ^ Osorio 2011.
  4. ^ a b c Jean-Baptiste Jr. 2015.
  5. ^ a b Ramirez 2014.
  6. ^ a b c d e f All Money Is Legal 2000.
  7. ^ King 2000, p. 235.
  8. ^ a b c d Spin 2015.
  9. ^ Seymour 2000.
  10. ^ a b c Jefferson & Thompson 2018.
  11. ^ Miller 2015.
  12. ^ Taraborrelli 2015, p. 264.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Hope 2021, p. 224.
  14. ^ Spanos 2024.
  15. ^ a b c d Browne 2000.
  16. ^ a b c DeLuca 2000, p. I12.
  17. ^ a b Augustin 2013.
  18. ^ Billboard 2000c, p. 35; Righi 2000, p. A55; Spin 2015
  19. ^ The Brotha Cazze 2000, p. E5.
  20. ^ Little 2000, p. 3E.
  21. ^ DeLuca 2000, p. I12; Hope 2021, p. 224; Thompson 2000, p. 17H
  22. ^ Thompson 2000, p. 17H.
  23. ^ Hope 2021, p. 224; "I Got That" 2000a; Johnson 2000
  24. ^ "I Got That" 2000a.
  25. ^ a b "I Got That" 2000b.
  26. ^ AllMusic A.
  27. ^ AllMusic B.
  28. ^ Pointer 2014.
  29. ^ Vevo.
  30. ^ a b Billboard 2018.
  31. ^ Billboard 2000a, p. 96.
  32. ^ Billboard 2000b, p. 93.
  33. ^ Augustin 2013; Iandoli 2014; Spin 2015
  34. ^ Iandoli 2014.
  35. ^ Vibe 2000, p. 59.
  36. ^ a b Says Who 2000, p. B-3.
  37. ^ a b Billboard 2000c, pp. 35–36.
  38. ^ Billboard.
  39. ^ Radio & Records 2000, p. 150.
  40. ^ Iandoli 2014; Jefferson & Thompson 2018; Preezy 2017

Citations

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