"Holding You Down (Goin' In Circles)" is a song by American singer

Jazmine Sullivan Jazmine Marie Sullivan (born April 9, 1987) is an American R&B and soul singer. Born and raised in Philadelphia, her debut album, ''Fearless'' was released in 2008. The record topped ''Billboards Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was certifie ...

. It was written by Sullivan, Cainon Lamb, and

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

for her second album, '' Love Me Back'' (2010), while production was helmed by Elliott, with Lamb credited as co-producer. The song was released as the album's leads single in July 2010. It reached number 60 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and received a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nomination for

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (previously called Best Rhythm and Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female) was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards ...

at the

53rd Annual Grammy Awards The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2011, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were broadcast on CBS with a rating of 26.6 million viewers. Barbra Streisand was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year two nights prio ...

Composition

"Holding You Down (Goin' in Circles)" features samples of several songs, including "

La Di Da Di "La Di Da Di" is a song performed by Doug E. Fresh, who provides the beatboxed instrumental, and MC Ricky D (later known as Slick Rick), who performs the vocals. It was originally released in 1985 as the B-side to " The Show". The song has since ...

" by

Slick Rick Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence with Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. Their songs " The Show" and " ...

and

Doug E. Fresh Doug E. Fresh (born September 17, 1966) is a Barbados-born American rapper, record producer, and beatboxer, also known as the "Human Beat Box". The pioneer of 20th-century American beatboxing, Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum machines an ...

, " Be Happy (Remix)" by Mary J. Blige featuring

Keith Murray Keith Omar Murray (born May 29, 1974) is an American rapper from New York. Murray grew up on Carleton Ave, in Central Islip, which is located on the South Shore of Long Island in Suffolk County. Murray was a known member of a local rap collec ...

, "

Top Billin' "Top Billin'" is a single for American hip-hop duo Audio Two, released as the B-side of the single "Make It Funky" from the album ''What More Can I Say?'' It was released before First Priority Music inked a distribution deal with Atlantic Record ...

" by

Audio Two Audio Two was the Brooklyn, New York hip hop duo of emcee Kirk "Milk Dee" Robinson and DJ Nat "Gizmo" Robinson, most famous for its first hit "Top Billin'". History The duo's debut single, "Make it Funky", was released in 1987, but it was ...

, " Impeach the President by The Honey Drippers", "Affirmative Action" by

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 ( ...

featuring AZ,

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

, and Foxy Brown, "

Let Me Clear My Throat "Let Me Clear My Throat" is a song by American hip-hop artist DJ Kool. It was released in April 1996 as the third and final single from his album of the same name. It was recorded live at the Bahama Bay club in Philadelphia.DJ Kool John W. Bowman Jr. (born March 20, 1958), better known by his stage name DJ Kool, is an American DJ and rapper who produced several popular rap singles in the late 1980s. Career Raised in Washington, D.C., his influence from years of working t ...

, and "Make the Music with Your Mouth, Biz" by

Biz Markie Marcel Theo Hall (April 8, 1964 – July 16, 2021), known professionally as Biz Markie, was an American rapper, singer, songwriter, DJ, and record producer. Markie was best known for his 1989 single "Just a Friend", which became a Top 40 hit in ...

.Track listing and credits as per liner notes for ''Love Me Back'' album

Music video

A music video for the song was shot in early August and directed by

Marcus Raboy Marcus Raboy (born November 30, 1965) is an American film director, film and music video director. Since the early 1990s, Raboy has amassed a large number music video credits directing music videos for Mary J. Blige, Dixie Chicks, Rihanna, Lut ...

. In the video, Sullivan is seen throwing a hip-hop house party with some familiar faces, including

Pepa Performance Evaluation Process Algebra (PEPA) is a stochastic process algebra designed for modelling computer and communication systems introduced by Jane Hillston in the 1990s. The language extends classical process algebras such as Milner's ...

from

Salt-N-Pepa Salt-N-Pepa (also stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa or Salt 'N Pepa) is an American hip-hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). Their debut album, ''Hot, C ...

Pete Rock Peter O. Phillips (born June 21, 1970), better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapping, rapper. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time, and is often mentioned alongs ...

, Kwamé, and producer Missy Elliott. Elliott commented on the theme and background of the video via

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

, saying "...she did a 90's house jump off so it was fun. Some hip hop legends was in the building that I look up too!"< On August 30, 2010m the video premiered on Sullivan's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel,

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

, and later premiered on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

's music video countdown show, ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

''.

Remixes

A week prior to the song's official digital release, remixes featuring

Lloyd Banks Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, alongside childhood friends 50 Cent and Tony Yayo. After the ...

and

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a sol ...

were released. Two weeks following the song's digital release, other remixes featuring Wale and

Uncle Murda Leonard Grant (born July 25, 1980), better known by his stage name Uncle Murda, is an American rapper from East New York, Brooklyn. He is Afro Panamanian of his mother's side. He is currently signed to G-Unit Records. He is known for his annual ...

were released to the public as well. On August 27, 2010, the official remix featuring

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

with additional production and vocals by

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, rapper, disc jockey (DJ) and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ. At the ag ...

appeared. On September 7, a remix featuring

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...

was released, they later appeared on a 12" record.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. *

– producer, writer *Paul J. Falcone – additional engineer * Cainon Lamb – co-producer, drum programming, engineer, writer *Brandon Parks – engineer *Jazmine Sullivan – vocals, writer

Charts

Release history

References

{{authority control Jazmine Sullivan songs Songs written by Jazmine Sullivan 2010 singles Songs written by Missy Elliott Hip hop soul songs 2010 songs J Records singles Songs written by Cainon Lamb