"Rain on Me" is a song by R&B singer Ashanti, released in August 2003 as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from her second album '' Chapter II''. It contains a sample of " The Look of Love" by

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...

that was used on

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

's song "G'z Up Hoes Down", a track that was removed from his debut album ''

Doggystyle ''Doggystyle'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Snoop Dogg (then known as Snoop Doggy Dogg). It was released on November 23, 1993, by Death Row Records and Interscope Records. The album was recorded and produced following Snoop's app ...

'' for sample clearance issues (and later cleared for the compilation album '' 15 Years on Death Row''). "Rain on Me" reached number seven on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and the top 20 in the United Kingdom. In 2004, the song earned Ashanti a

Grammy 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 pre ...

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 ...

. The song's music video was released on August 28, 2003, and features Ashanti playing a superstar abused by a jealous boyfriend, played by actor

Larenz Tate Larenz Tate (born September 8, 1975) is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles as O-Dog in ''Menace II Society'' and as Councilman Rashad Tate in ''Power''. Tate's other films and television series include the fil ...

. The rap remix found on the ''

Collectibles by Ashanti ''Collectables by Ashanti'' is a remix compilation album by American R&B-pop singer Ashanti, released in 2005. It is the last Murder Inc. release to be distributed by Def Jam. Background The album, which consists of six remixes of past singles ...

'' album interpolates "Can I Live" by rapper

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

, which also samples the same Hayes song (and also produced by

Irv Gotti Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. (born June 26, 1970), professionally known as Irv Gotti, is an American DJ, music producer, record executive, and the CEO and co-founder of Murder Inc. Records. He is best known for producing multiple number-one rec ...

). The remix also features

Hussein Fatal Bruce Edward Washington Jr. (April 3, 1973July 10, 2015), better known by his stage name Hussein Fatal or sometimes as Fatal Hussein, was an American rapper, best known for his collaborative work with Tupac Shakur as a member of the rap group Ou ...

and fellow

The Inc. Records Murder Inc. Records, LLC. (formerly The Inc. Records) is an American record label founded by brothers Chris and Irv Gotti in 1998. The label's flagship artist is Ja Rule. According to Chris Gotti, Murder Inc. had sold over 30 million units wor ...

labelmates Charli "Chuck" Baltimore and

Ja Rule Jeffrey Bruce Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule (), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in New York City, he debuted in 1999 with ''Venni Vetti Vecci'' and its lead single "Holla Holla". Durin ...

Lyrics and music video

Ashanti's lyrics for "Rain on Me" address the pains and challenges of facing, and eventually overcoming, an abusive relationship. Wanting to make a cinematic and narrative-driven video for the song, she worked with LidRock and director

Hype Williams Harold Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video director, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Early life Williams was born in Queens, New York. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Adel ...

to produce the clip. Ashanti explained: "We wanted to make a short movie that was 'real' — that showed that no matter if you're rich or poor, black or white, famous or not, domestic violence can touch your life." The abusive boyfriend was played by actor

, best known for starring in ''

Dead Presidents ''Dead Presidents'' is a 1995 American crime film co-written, produced and directed by the Hughes brothers, Hughes Brothers. The film chronicles the life of Anthony Curtis (Larenz Tate), focusing on his teenage years as a high school graduate an ...

'', a film which also features " The Look of Love" by

. In the video, Ashanti and Tate (playing her boyfriend André) are shown in a relationship together while close-up scenes of her bruised face and glimpses of the two of them fighting appear throughout. Towards the climax, Tate is caught cheating on Ashanti with another girl as she tells him to leave. After a last confrontation, Ashanti ends the relationship as sounds of rain and thunder are heard gradually increasing leaving André behind. In the mini-movie version, we see Tate driving in a car as previous scenes are shown before he is hit by a truck and killed. There are three versions of the video: one where the song begins at the start with the video's end showing Ashanti still sitting in a limo looking out of the window; the second with Ashanti singing in the rain wearing a yellow dress as scenes from the first video play in between, and the third (the mini-movie), which has more dialogue spoken by Ashanti and Tate themselves.

LidRock and the Family Violence Prevention Fund

Ashanti partnered with LidRock and the San Francisco-based Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) to raise awareness of domestic violence during National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and to help distribute the mini-movie, which was also shown on

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 ...

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 ...

, and other music video programs. Proceeds from sales of the LidRock discs were put toward the FVPF.
Esta Soler, founder and president of the Family Violence Prevention Fund said: "When we heard 'Rain on Me' and saw the Ashanti LidRock mini movie, we knew the powerful messages about violence that they artfully convey would speak to a lot of people. Ashanti wrote an amazing song that, by itself, has incredible power and emotional resonance. The LidRock minimovie just enhances the song's power, as it realistically portrays the complexity of domestic violence and the characters' inspiring strength in addressing the situation." Additionally, a

public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

about domestic violence featuring Ashanti was aired nationwide on October 17, 2003, on more than 4,000 screens at

Regal Cinemas Regal Cinemas (also Regal Entertainment Group) is an American movie theater chain headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. A division of Cineworld, Regal operates the second-largest theater circuit in the United States, with over 7,200 screens i ...

United Artists Theatres Regal Cinemas (also Regal Entertainment Group) is an American movie theater chain headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. A division of Cineworld, Regal operates the second-largest theater circuit in the United States, with over 7,200 screens i ...

, Edwards Theatres, and Hoyts Cinemas.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2000s ballads 2003 singles 2003 songs Ashanti (singer) songs Contemporary R&B ballads Music videos directed by Hype Williams Songs about domestic violence Songs with lyrics by Hal David Songs with music by Burt Bacharach Songs written by Ashanti (singer) Songs written by Chink Santana Songs written by Irv Gotti