"Vivrant Thing" is the first single released by Q-Tip on his debut solo album '' Amplified''. The song is also featured in

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

's 1999 compilation '' The Anthology''. It was produced by Q-Tip himself,Exclusive: Q-Tip Interview
''moovmnt.com'' Retrieved on May 26, 2010. although

Jay Dee A jay is a member of a number of species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the Crow family, Corvidae. The evolutionary relationships between the jays and the magpies are rather complex. For example, the Eurasian m ...

was also in the credits (they were a production duo). "Vivrant Thing" became the fourth rap song to reach number one on the ''Billboard''

Hot R&B Airplay R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (previously known as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay) is a chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the top R&B and hip hop songs in the United States, based on audience impressions from a panel of radio stations monitored ...

chart since its 1992 inception. The single also reached number seven on the main Hot R&B Singles & Tracks chart, with its performance being driven overwhelmingly by airplay due to its lack of domestic availability in any configuration besides 12-inch vinyl. The single was a success, charting the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 26, making it Q-Tip's highest charting solo single to date. The beat contains a sample of "I Wanna Stay" by the

Love Unlimited Orchestra The Love Unlimited Orchestra was a 40-piece string-laden orchestra formed by American singer Barry White, and serving as a backing unit for White and for female vocal trio Love Unlimited. From the early 1970s on, they also recorded several sing ...

. The remix features stanzas by rappers

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 ...

and

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 ...

. The song was used as the opening scene on the television series, '' The Game'', in the episode, "The List Episode", on March 30, 2008. The beat was frequently used in the animated series ''

MTV Downtown ''Downtown'' is an American animated series and sitcom on MTV on urban life, based on interviews with real people. The show, created by Chris Prynoski, follows a diverse and multiracial cast who live in New York City, and presents their everyday ...

''. It was heard once in the ''

PEN15 ''PEN15'' is an American cringe comedy television series, created by Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, and Sam Zvibleman, that premiered on February 8, 2019, on Hulu. The series stars Erskine and Konkle, who also serve as executive producers alongside Z ...

'' episode, "Miranda".

Critical reception

Kris Ex of

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

called the song an "undeniable groove vehicle". Steve Jones of

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

also described the tune as "bouncy and insistent".

Music video

The music video was directed by

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 ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

1999 debut singles Q-Tip (musician) songs Song recordings produced by Q-Tip (musician) Music videos directed by Hype Williams 1999 songs Arista Records singles Songs written by Q-Tip (musician) Songs written by Barry White Songs written by J Dilla {{1990s-hiphop-song-stub