"Are You Ready?" is an R&B song performed by singer

Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and " ...

. The song was written by Renee Neufville (of the 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 in ...

) and produced by DJ Kay Gee of Naughty by Nature for the soundtrack to the basketball film '' Sunset Park'' (1996). It was released as a promotional radio single for the soundtrack. This song samples "Movin' In The Right Direction" as performed by Steve Parks.

Composition

The song was described by

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

as being a "low-key summertime party groove" that makes use of a "wistful jazz fusion guitar sample" over hip hop drums.

Chart performance

"Are You Ready?" received moderate airplay on some major market

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...

radio stations causing it to peak at #42 on the ''

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 ...

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop 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. It was not eligible for the

Billboard charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

due to the song never being commercially released as a single.

Critical reception

Brendan Frederick from

felt that the song was "The first sign that Aaliyah would survive the scandal" with R.Kelly and that it proved that Aaliyah "had a distinctive sound and an identity that was bigger than any one producer". According to Frederick Aaliyah taunts the critics who counted her out on the hook of the song by saying "You know I'm comin' back—tell me if you're ready."

Charts

References

External links

"Are You Ready" chart information at Billboard.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Are You Ready (Aaliyah Song) 1996 singles Aaliyah songs 1996 songs Elektra Records singles