"I Know What You Want" is a song written by American rapper

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

, and produced by

Rick Rock Ricardo Thomas, also known as Rick Rock, is an American record producer originally from Montgomery, Alabama and based in Fairfield, California. He is a founding member of the former rap group Cosmic Slop Shop and the Federation with fellow ra ...

for Rhymes' sixth album '' It Ain't Safe No More...'', released on November 26, 2002. The song is a duet with American singer

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

, and was co-written by

Rah Digga Rashia Tashan Fisher (born December 18, 1974), known professionally as Rah Digga, is an American rapper and actress. She is best known as a longtime member of the Flipmode Squad, a hip hop group led by Busta Rhymes. Her debut album, ''Dirty Ha ...

, Rampage,

, and

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 Splif ...

. It also includes verses from Rhymes' group, the

Flipmode Squad Flipmode Squad is a hip hop collective founded and fronted by rapper Busta Rhymes. The first Flipmode album debuted in 1998 with ''The Imperial'', Rampage and Rah Digga went on to record solo efforts. In the move to J Records in 2000, Lord Hav ...

: Spliff Star, Baby Sham, Rah Digga, and Rampage. Released as the second single from ''It Ain't Safe No More'' on February 24, 2003, it was a hit across the world, peaking at number 3 in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Rhymes' previous single, "Make It Clap," had failed to reach the top forty on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. "I Know What You Want" stayed in the top forty for twenty-one weeks, and was ranked 17 on the Hot 100 2003 year-end chart. For Carey, it was a return to form after a string of unsuccessful singles, and it became one of her biggest hits in years.

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

later included it on her first

remix album A remix album is an album consisting of remixes or rerecorded versions of an artist's earlier released material. The first act who employed the format was American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson (''Aerial Pandemonium Ballet'', 1971). As of 2007 ...

'' The Remixes'' (2003) and the British and Japanese reissues of Carey's ninth studio album ''

Charmbracelet ''Charmbracelet'' is the ninth studio album by American singer Mariah Carey, released on December 3, 2002, through MonarC Entertainment and Island Records. The album was Carey's first release since her breakdown following the release of her fi ...

'' (2002). The plotline for the video for "I Know What You Want" was continued in the video for the 2021 single " Where I Belong", in which Rhymes collaborated again with Carey.

Critical reception

In ''

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 ...

'', Brian Garrity wrote that on "I Know What You Want," Busta Rhymes "takes an R&B turn". Amazon.com editor Dalton Higgins wrote that in this duet Busta "croons".

Commercial performance

The song charted at number 3 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

making it Rhymes' highest charting song at the time until 2005 and Carey's then most-recent top five hit since her 2001 single, "

Loverboy Loverboy is a Canadian rock band formed in 1979 in Calgary, Alberta. Loverboy's hit singles, particularly " Turn Me Loose" and "Working for the Weekend", have become arena rock staples and are still heard on many classic rock and classic hits r ...

". The song has sold 175,000 copies in the UK.Mariah Carey official top 20 biggest-selling songs in the UK

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. retrieved: May 3, 2010.

Sampling

The song has been sampled in the song "I Got You" by

Trippie Redd Michael Lamar White II (born June 18, 1999), known professionally as Trippie Redd, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is one of the most prominent members of the SoundCloud rap scene, which gained mainstream acclaim in the late ...

. Also this song has been sampled by G-Unit in a song called "Baby if you get on your knees" (2020) and "Where I Belong", the 2021 follow up duet by Rhymes and Carey.

Music video

The

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 ...

was directed by Chris Robinson. It features Busta Rhymes, the Flipmode Squad, and Carey lounging around an expensive

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

as they debate whether they "know what they want". During Carey's appearance, her jewelry brand "Automatic Princess" was advertised. Meanwhile, Busta watches over the female interest of the video played by

video vixen A video vixen (also referred to as a hip hop honey or video girl) is a female model who appears in hip hop-oriented music videos. The video vixen image has become a staple in popular music, especially within the genre of hip hop.Story, Kaila ...

La'Shontae "Tae" Heckard, as she reads a

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on Daredevil (Marvel Comics ser ...

-stylized graphic novel. Her husband in the video is played by martial artist and actor

Michael Jai White Michael Jai White (born November 10, 1967) is an American actor, director and martial artist. He was the first African American to portray a major comic book superhero in a major motion picture, starring as Al Simmons, the protagonist in the 1997 ...

. A brief animated sequence drawn from the graphic novel is featured. The video premiered on BET

Access Granted ''Access Granted'' is an American television series that features an in depth look at the planning, filming and production of R&B and hip hop music videos. Each week a different artist and their new music video are featured, with the video pre ...

on April 17, 2003. Some of the music video is used in Busta Rhymes' new music video "Where I Belong".

Formats and track listings

Canadian CD single # "I Know What You Want" (Radio Edit) # "I Know What You Want" (Instrumental Radio Edit) European CD single # "I Know What You Want" (Album Version) # "

Break Ya Neck "Break Ya Neck" is the second single by American rapper Busta Rhymes from his fifth album ''Genesis'' (2001). The song was produced by Dr. Dre and Scott Storch. Truth Hurts provides background vocals. The song contains an interpolation of the R ...

" Australian/European CD maxi-single # "I Know What You Want" (Album Version) # "Break Ya Neck" # "I Know What You Want" (Instrumental) # "I Know What You Want" (Video) UK CD maxi-single # "I Know What You Want" # "Call the Ambulance" (Remix featuring

M.O.P. M.O.P. (short for Mash Out Posse) is an American hip hop duo composed of East Coast rappers Billy Danze and Lil' Fame. The song " Ante Up", was released on their ''Warriorz'' album in 2000. The group has frequently collaborated with DJ Premi ...

) # "Call the Ambulance" (featuring Rampage) # "I Know What You Want" (Video)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

Busta Rhymes
website {{authority control 2002 songs 2003 singles Busta Rhymes songs European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Mariah Carey songs Music videos directed by Chris Robinson (director) Number-one singles in Hungary Number-one singles in Poland Number-one singles in Romania Songs written by Busta Rhymes Songs written by Rick Rock