"Got to Have Your Love" is a song by American hip hop and

electro funk Electro (or electro- funk)Rap meets ...

group Mantronix, featuring vocals from American recording artist Wondress. It was released by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

in December 1989 as the lead single from Mantronix's fourth studio album, ''

This Should Move Ya ''This Should Move Ya'' is the fourth album by the American hip hop/electro funk group Mantronix, released in 1990. It was the second Mantronix album released on Capitol Records. ''This Should Move Ya'' featured new members Bryce "Luvah" Wilson ...

'' (1990). The song is written by band members

Bryce Wilson Bryce Wilson (born October 7, 1972) is an American record producer/entrepreneur and actor. He was formerly half of late 1990s duo Groove Theory, and former artist on the early 1990s dance music/ electro hip-hop band Mantronix. Mantronix MC ...

and

Kurtis Mantronik Kurtis el Khaleel (born Graham Curtis el Khaleel, September 4, 1965), known by the stage name Kurtis Mantronik, is a Jamaican-born hip hop and electronic-music artist, DJ, remixer, and producer. He was the leader, DJ, and keyboardist of the inf ...

along with Johnny D. Rodriguez, and produced by Mantronix. It reached number four in the UK, number seven in Finland and number eight in Ireland. It is recognized as the group's

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

Song information

"Got to Have Your Love" was written by Mantronix members

and

, alongside Johnny D. Rodriguez. Mantronik stated that "When I did 'Got to Have Your Love', I did it for a reason. I did it because I wanted to get a song on the radio."

Critical reception

Upon the release, Bill Coleman from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' wrote that here, the act "is back on the right track with an R&B-textured hip-hop track (à la vintage Joyce Sims) sporting a sensuous vocal performance by newcomer Wondress. Black radio needs to be on this tip as well." Dave Obee from ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The ...

'' complimented the group for "find nga funky groove". A reviewer from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' felt that they "returns with what is basically a half-hearted

hip-house Hip house, also known as rap house or house rap, is a musical genre that mixes elements of house music and hip hop, that originated in both London, United Kingdom and Chicago, United States in the mid to late 1980s. British group the Beatmaster ...

thang", calling it "slappy, slushy and slumped at the waist." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' viewed it as "attractive hip/house featuring a melodic and soulful lead vocal by Wondress. Classy stuff." David Giles from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' remarked that Mantronik "appears to have stepped into Soul II Soul/ Inner City domain, roping in a bluesy female vocalist and coating her in swooming strings (sampled naturally). Altogether a funker effort than those of his UK counterparts". Jack Barron from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' wrote, "Curtis has obviously been listening to Soul II Soul over there in New York and here compresses together a woman singer called Wondress (what a groovy name) and a rapper on an organic shuffle. Not instantaneous, but I've got a feeling 'Got to Have Your Love' is one of those records which will creep up on you like infatuation as opposed to some pug ugly swine with an axe in its trotter." Miranda Sawyer from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' called it "perfection".

Retrospective response

In his retrospective review of the ''

'' album, Ron Wynn from

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 ...

described "Got to Have Your Love" as a "strong single". While reviewing the compilation album ''The Best Of: 1985-1999'', Andy Crysell from ''

'' stated that the song "remains a bewitching soul classic".

Music video

The song's accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

includes a cameo by former child model and now music producer Felix Howard.

Track listing

# "Got to Have Your Love" (Club with Bonus Beats) – 8:23 # "Got to Have Your Love" (Hard to Get Rap) – 2:48 # "Got to Have Your Love" (Luv Dub) – 6:23 # "Got to Have Your Love" (club edit) – 5:25 # "Got to Have Your Love" (instrumental) – 3:36 # "Got to Have Your Love" (radio edit) – 4:12

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Liberty X version

In 2002, English-Irish music group Liberty X recorded "Got to Have Your Love" for their debut studio album, '' Thinking It Over'' (2002). It was one of three tracks to be recorded for the British version of the album, as it did not feature on the original edition, ''To Those Who Wait''. The song was released on September 9, 2002, as the fourth single from the album and reached number two 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 ...

. It also charted at number eight in Ireland and number 12 in the Netherlands.

Music video

The song's accompanying music video was filmed at Silent Waters in

Montego Bay Montego Bay is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Por ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. It was directed by Alex Hemming and Shay Ola.

Track listing

* UK CD1 # "Got to Have Your Love" – 3:52 # "Good Love" – 3:53 # "Get with You" – 4:00 * UK CD2 # "Got to Have Your Love" (Jam & Faces Vamp mix) – 5:50 # "Got to Have Your Love" (Harry's 3 Way Action mix) – 7:10 # "Got to Have Your Love" (Shanghai Surprise mix) – 6:45 * UK cassette single # "Got to Have Your Love" – 3:52 # " Just a Little" (

Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

remix) – 4:08 # "Everything" – 3:52

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1989 singles 1989 songs 2002 singles Capitol Records singles Films set in Jamaica Films shot in Jamaica Liberty X songs Songs written by Bryce Wilson UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles V2 Records singles