"B Boy Baby" is a song written by British recording artist

Mutya Buena Rosa Isabel Mutya Buena (born 21 May 1985) is an English singer and songwriter who rose to fame as a member of girl group the Sugababes. With the Sugababes, Buena had four UK number one singles, an additional six top-ten hits and three multi-pl ...

with prominent background vocals by singer

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

. The song heavily samples "

Be My Baby "Be My Baby" is a song by American girl group the Ronettes that was released as a single on Philles Records in August 1963. Written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector, the song was the Ronettes' biggest hit, reaching number 2 in ...

" by

The Ronettes The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector), her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley. The ...

, written by

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

Ellie Greenwich Eleanor Louise Greenwich (October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009) was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Be My Baby", "Maybe I Know", " Then He Kissed Me", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" ...

Jeff Barry Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg; April 3, 1938) is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are " Do Wah Diddy Diddy", " Da Doo Ron Ron", " Then He Kiss ...

, with new lyrics by

Angela Hunte Angela Hunte-Wisner, known by the stage name Angela Hunte, is an American-Trinidadian singer-songwriter, and producer. She is best known for being a contributing writer for Empire State of Mind, with Alicia Keys and Jay Z, a song which won he ...

, It was produced by

Salaam Remi Salaam Remi Gibbs (born May 14, 1972) is a Grammy winning American record producer known for his association with Nas, Amy Winehouse, Robby, Fugees, Fergie, Estelle, Black Thought, and Miguel, and for his reggae-tinged (often referred to as ...

for Buena's debut album, ''

Real Girl ''Real Girl'' is the debut and only album by British singer Mutya Buena. It was released on 4 June 2007 via Universal Records, following her departure from UK girl group the Sugababes in December 2005. Singles "Real Girl", the album's lead s ...

'' (2007) and released as the fourth and final single from the album in December 2007.

Background

Buena left the girl group

Sugababes Sugababes are a British girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by All Saints manager Ron Tom, Sugababes releas ...

in December 2005, shortly after the birth of her daughter. She began working on her debut solo album after signing with

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

. "B Boy Baby" resulted from sessions with British producer Salaam Remi, famous for his work with Amy Winehouse,

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

, and

Fugees Fugees (; sometimes The Fugees) is an American hip hop group formed in the early 1990s. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to fame with its ...

. It borrows lyrical and melodic passages from "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes, with the sampled chorus sung by Winehouse.

Reception

Sharon Mawer of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote, "Buena raps the verses on "B Boy Baby" before launching into a chorus consisting of a slowed down version of the Ronettes/Phil Spector '60s masterpiece which even Amy Winehouse couldn't save from dreary boredom."

Popjustice Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 by UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for ''NME'', ''The Guardian'', ''Attitude'' and many others. It is composed of the work of editor Robinson, features editor Michael Cra ...

's Peter Robinson hoped that Winehouse's appearance on the "almost universally disapproved-of" song could help Buena's fledgling solo career "turn around." The single was ultimately a commercial failure, charting at number 73 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. However, promotion for the single did see ''Real Girl'' return to the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

, re-entering the lower end of the charts at number 88 and rising to number 83. "B Boy Baby" has since been used in various adverts on UK television.

Music video

The video premiered on 4Music on 4 December 2007. It was filmed in Millennium Square, Bristol, and features "The Physical Jerks" – a group of break dancers. Amy Winehouse was supposed to appear in the video, however, she was ultimately unable to.

Track listing

* CD single # "B Boy Baby" (Radio Edit) – 3:02 # "Fast Car" (

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

Live Lounge The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo, and later by Jo Whiley on her weekday mid-morning, and later weekend lunchtime radio shows, then by Fearne Cotton ...

Session) – 3:12 # "B Boy Baby" (Video) – 3:05 * Digital download EP # "B Boy Baby" (Radio Edit) – 3:02 # "B Boy Baby" (Soul Seekerz Remix) – 5:36 # "B Boy Baby" (Music Kidz Remix) – 6:37

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 2007 singles Songs written by Ellie Greenwich Songs written by Jeff Barry Songs written by Phil Spector Amy Winehouse songs Mutya Buena songs Year of song missing 4th & B'way Records singles Songs written by Angela Hunte