"Where I Wanna Be" is a song by American hip hop recording artist

Shade Sheist Tramayne Rayel Thompson (born October 22, 1979), known by his stage name Shade Sheist, is an American rapper from Inglewood, California. He began his career in 2000 by contributing the single " Where I Wanna Be" to a compilation executive produce ...

featuring

Nate Dogg Nathaniel Dwayne Hale (August 19, 1969 – March 15, 2011), known professionally as Nate Dogg, was an American singer and rapper. He gained recognition for providing guest vocals for a multitude of hit rap songs between 1992 and 2007, earning the ...

and

Kurupt Ricardo Emmanuel Brown (born November 23, 1972), better known by his stage name Kurupt, is an American rapper and record producer who aided gangsta rap's rise via 1990s verses helping set lasting trends. He is one half of the rap duo Tha Dogg Po ...

. It was released on December 12, 2000 via

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

as the first single from Shade Sheist's debut studio album ''

Informal Introduction ''Informal Introduction'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Shade Sheist. It was released on September 10, 2002, through MCA Records. Recording sessions took place at Larrabee Studios, at Soundcastle, at Skip Saylor Recording, and at We ...

''. Recording sessions took place at Larrabee West Recording Studios in

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...

Production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

was handled by Eddie Berkeley and

KayGee Keir Lamont Gist (born September 15, 1969), professionally known by his stage name KayGee, is an American DJ and record producer from East Orange, New Jersey, best known as a member of hip hop trio Naughty by Nature. He has won a Grammy Award f ...

with

Damizza Damion Young (born 1974), better known by his stage name Damizza, is an American radio executive, record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in po ...

serving as co-producer and presenter. The single found chart success domestically and internationally, peaking at number 95 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States and number 14 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Conception and release

Written by Tramayne Thompson (

), Nathaniel Hale (

), Ricardo Brown (

), Edward Berkeley, Keir Lamont Gist ( Kay Gee of Naughty by Nature), Derek Bush and Robert L. Huggar, "Where I Wanna Be" was first featured on the ''

Damizza Presents Where I Wanna Be ''Damizza Presents... Where I Wanna Be'' is a compilation album presented by American record producer Damizza. It was released on October 31, 2000 through London Records. Production was handled by Eddie Berkeley, Jermaine Dupri, KayGee, Warren ...

'' compilation album, which Shade Sheist and

executive produced. After writing and recording tracks for other artists, television, film and video game soundtracks, Shade Sheist released his debut studio album ''

'' in 2002 through

. "Where I Wanna Be" was released on December 12, 2000 in the United States and in 2001 in the UK as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from the album. The song contains a sample of Toto's " Waiting for Your Love", written by Robert Kimball and

David Paich David Frank Paich (born June 25, 1954) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist and singer of the rock band Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrote much of Toto's original material, including the ba ...

Critical reception

In a mixed review,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Dean Carlson gave the song two-and-a-half starts out of five, stating: "Shade Sheist's 'Where I Wanna Be' hoped to resurrect the forgotten art of summer hip-hop. It failed, of course, but in a gallant sort of way... It was from there, with Nate Dogg and Kurupt chasing each other's slow rhymes at the wayside, that 'Where I Wanna Be' eventually became a sort of heat-induced muscle relaxant this side of

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...

's "

A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays" "A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays"" is a song by American hip hop trio De La Soul, released as the first single from their second studio album, ''De La Soul Is Dead'' (1991). The track includes vocal contributions from rapper Q-Tip, R&B sin ...

" or

Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo (rapper), Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie (singer ...

' "Magic", if only substituting their pleasantries for suspiciously placed arrogance. It was an unworkable contradiction when it came down to it, but 'Where I Wanna Be' became the number one rap single for four months in America and went on to crack the British Top 20 the following summer".

Chart performance

In the United States, the single made it to number 95 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number 49 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

, and number 2 on the

Hot Rap Songs Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by '' Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...

. It also peaked at number 14 on the

and number 2 on the

UK R&B Singles Chart The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Albums, or simply the UK Urban Chart) are 40-posi ...

. It remains Shade Sheist's most commercially successful hit to date.

Formats and track listings

;CD single # "Where I Wanna Be" (Clean Radio Version) - 3:47 # "Where I Wanna Be" (Original LP Version) - 4:25 # "Where I Wanna Be" (Dub-a-holics R&B Switch Mix - Clean) - 5:01 # "Where I Wanna Be" (Video - UK Edit) - 3:47 ;12" vinyl ''Side A'' # "Where I Wanna Be" (Extended Original Version) - 4:51 # "Where I Wanna Be" (Clean Radio Version) - 3:47 ''Side B'' # "Where I Wanna Be" (Dub-a-holics R&B Switch Mix - Explicit Version) - 5:01

Release history

Charts

References

External links

* {{Kurupt 2000 songs 2000 singles Nate Dogg songs Sire Records singles London Records singles Songs written by Kurupt Songs written by Nate Dogg Songs written by KayGee Music videos directed by Marc Klasfeld Songs written by David Paich