"It's a Party" is the second single from American rapper Busta Rhymes' debut studio album ''

The Coming ''The Coming'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Busta Rhymes. It was released on March 26, 1996, by Elektra Records. The album contains contributions by Def Squad members Redman, Keith Murray, and Jamal, Q-Tip, Zhané, Leaders of th ...

'' and features American R&B duo

Zhané Zhané ( ) was an American R&B duo, best known for their 1993 hit " Hey Mr. D.J.", which reached No. 6 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Other popular hits include " Groove Thang" (U.S. No. 17) and minor hit " Sending My Love", both released i ...

. It was written by Rhymes and Zhané-member Rene Neufville, and produced by

Easy Mo Bee Osten Harvey Jr. (born December 8, 1965), better known by his stage name Easy Mo Bee, is an American hip hop and R&B record producer, known for his production work for artists such as Big Daddy Kane and Miles Davis, as well as his affiliation ...

. Peaking at number 52 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the song was a moderate success. The song was released as a double

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

single with several remixes and the album cut " Ill Vibe" featuring fellow rapper Q-Tip, which also appears on ''The Coming'', as its B-side.

Background

After former group

Leaders of the New School Leaders of the New School was an American hip hop group based in Long Island, New York. History The crew was composed of Uniondale, New York, natives Charlie Brown (born Bryan Higgins on September 19, 1970) and Dinco D (born James Jackson on No ...

broke up,

Rhymes A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...

had problems with recording a full album on his own. Rhymes called up A Tribe Called Quest-member and mentor Q-Tip asking for help. "It's a Party" marks the second collaboration between Busta Rhymes and

after previously collaborating on the remix to

Craig Mack Craig Jamieson Mack (May 10, 1971 – March 12, 2018) was an American rapper and record producer, and was famous during his tenure under Bad Boy Records. Early life and career Craig Jamieson Mack was born in The Bronx, New York, and raised on ...

's "

Flava in Ya Ear "Flava in Ya Ear" is the debut single by American rapper Craig Mack, from his album ''Project Funk da World''. The original club mix single was released on 12" vinyl in July 1994 on the Bad Boy Entertainment record label, packaged with a series of ...

", which also features

the Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

, Rampage and LL Cool J, and on " The Points", which also features the Notorious B.I.G., Coolio, Redman, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and numerous others. The album on which "It's a Party" appears on, ''

'', also contains another song produced by Mo Bee, named "

Everything Remains Raw ''The Coming'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Busta Rhymes. It was released on March 26, 1996, by Elektra Records. The album contains contributions by Def Squad members Redman, Keith Murray, and Jamal, Q-Tip, Zhané, Leaders of th ...

Composition

"It's a Party" is a hip hop and R&B song, written by

and

-member Rene Neufville, and produced by

. The song is composed in time and the key of

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...

, with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

of 178 beats per minute. It has a duration time of five minutes and fifty-three seconds.

Critical reception

Daryl McIntosh of ''Albumism'' noted that the song shows that Busta Rhymes "could entertain more than just the 'hard-knocks' at the party ndnow captur sthe ladies' attention". He added that "the late-night gem added a new chapter to the growing legend of Busta Rhymes".

Music video

The official

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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for "It's a Party" was 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 ...

and depicts Busta Rhymes and

at a party. Flipmode-members

Spliff Star William A. Lewis (born April 18, 1971), professionally known as Spliff Star, is an American rapper and record producer from Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York. He's best known for his work with Busta Rhymes. Both ''Vibe'' and ''Complex'' listed Spliff ...

and Rampage make cameo appearances.

Track listing

United States 12" single

United Kingdom 12" single

United Kingdom CD single

Charts

References

{{Zhané 1996 songs 1996 singles Busta Rhymes songs Zhané songs Hip hop songs Contemporary R&B songs Songs written by Busta Rhymes Music videos directed by Marcus Raboy Elektra Records singles