"In the Zone" is a song by Puerto Rican recording artist

Ivy Queen Martha Ivelisse Pesante Rodríguez (born March 4, 1972), known professionally as Ivy Queen, is a Puerto Rican singer, rapper, songwriter, and actress. She is considered one of the pioneers of the reggaeton genre, commonly referred to as the Qu ...

featuring Haitian rapper

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

. It was composed by Queen, Jean, Deborah Castillero, Aaron King and Omar Navarro and released on February 9, 1999, as the lead single from her second studio album ''

The Original Rude Girl ''The Original Rude Girl'' is the second studio album by Puerto Rican reggaeton recording artist Ivy Queen released on December 15, 1998 by Sony Discos. It is the follow up studio album to Queen's debut effort '' En Mi Imperio'' released in 199 ...

'' (1998). The song is a hip hop track. The collaboration with Wyclef Jean helped elevate Ivy Queen's status and expose her to American audiences. An accompanying music video was also shot and released. It was directed by Jeff Kennedy and produced by George Barnes. A remix version was also recorded and included on the album featuring extra verses from both Queen and Jean. The song managed to chart at number 38 on the ''

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 ...

Rhythmic Top 40 The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

Background

In 1998, while Wyclef Jean was touring

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, Ivy Queen attended one of his concerts. Wyclef then sent an invitation for fans to come up on stage if they thought they could flow. With encouragement from friends, Queen gained the courage to step up on stage and do her thing. Needless to say her singing and rapping ability amazed Wyclef enough that later they collaborated on a track in the studio, thus "In The Zone" was born.

Composition

"In The Zone" was written by Ivy Queen, Wyclef Jean, Omar Navarro, known artistically as Gran Omar, Deborah Castillero and Aaron King. Gran Omar was Queen's then-husband at the time. The song was recorded at

The Hit Factory The Hit Factory is a recording studio in New York City owned and operated by Troy Germano. History On March 6, 1975, Edward Germano, a singer, record producer, and one of the principal owners of the Record Plant Studios New York, purchased the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It is a hip hop song, which is a departure from the musical styles of

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American Hip hop m ...

featured on her debut effort. Queen's verses are sung in Spanish, and Jean's verses are sung in English. However, Queen can be heard speaking English as well such as in the chorus where Jean says "Ayo, where you from Ivy Queen" where she replies with "

, one time". The official release features five tracks. The first is a dance remix of the song while the second is the Album version. The third track is a salsa version produced by

DJ Nelson Nelson Díaz Martinez (born on April 7, 1972 in San Juan, Puerto Rico), known professionally as DJ Nelson is a Puerto Rican DJ and record producer who played a significant role in the development and popularization of reggaeton. He first made a na ...

. A hip hop remix by King Saphreem is track number four while the a cappella is track five. According to Patricia Meschino of the ''Miami New Times'' the song was a solid collaboration with Jean which introduced her to a new audience.

Release and promotion

Following the album's fourth quarter release on December 15, 1998, Ivy Queen embarked on a tour shortly after throughout Puerto Rico and the United States. The song was released February 9, 1999. An accompanying music video was also shot and released. It was directed by Jeff Kennedy and produced by George Barnes. A second music video was filmed and directed by Gabriel Goldberg. A remix version was also recorded and included on the album featuring extra verses from both Queen and Jean. A second single, "Ritmo Latino" featuring Victor Vargas and WepaMan was also released in 1999. The album was reissued by Sony Discos on August 25, 1999 with an alternate remix of "In The Zone" as the closing track. In August 1998, she performed at Disney Beach Club Resort along with other artists from the Sony Discos label over the course of three days. She appeared at the 1999 Latin Alternative Music Conference before she became famous and was questioned as to why she was there. The founder, Thomas Cookman responded in her defense with "because she's valid".

Track listing

* CD Single

Credits and personnel

*Credits adapted from single's liner notes ;Track One — Brother's Radio Mix *Produced and mixed by: Luis Diaz and Hugo Boss for Diaz Bros. Productions. *Recorded and mixed at: Extreme Music Studios,

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

;Track Two — Original Flow Mix *Produced by:

for Flow Music. *Musical Director: Omar Navarro *Engineered and mixed by: Andy Grassi *Recorded and mixed at:

New York, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...

*A&R by: Deborah Castillero ;Track Three — DJ Sahpreem King Mix *Produced by: Sahpreem King for Sewer Ratz Productions, Inc. / Perpetual Nod Recordings, Inc. *Additional production by: Dr. Paul for Chain Gain Productions Inc. ;Track Four — Latineez Version *Produced and mixed by: DJ Nelson for Flow Music Productions *Congas and guitar by: Georgie Salgado *Additional percussion and bass by: N. Diaz

Charts

References

External links

In The Zone - Music Video
{{authority control 1998 songs 1999 singles Hip hop songs Ivy Queen songs Wyclef Jean songs Jason Nevins songs Spanish-language songs Songs written by Ivy Queen Songs written by Wyclef Jean Songs written by Gran Omar Macaronic songs Spanglish songs Salsa songs House music songs Sony Discos singles