"I Got That" is a song by American rapper

Amil Amil Kahala Whitehead (born September 19, 1973) is an American former rapper and singer. She was prominent in the late 1990s as a Jay-Z protégé, and recorded the single " Can I Get A..." with him for the '' Rush Hour'' soundtrack. Amil's d ...

, featuring collaborative vocals by American singer Beyoncé. It was released on July 5, 2000 as Amil's debut solo single, from her debut album, ''

All Money Is Legal ''All Money Is Legal'', also known as ''A.M.I.L.: (All Money Is Legal)'', is the debut studio album by American rapper Amil. It was released on August 29, 2000, through Roc-A-Fella, Columbia, and Sony Music. Jay-Z, Damon Dash, and Amil serve ...

'' (2000). The song was produced by L.E.S. and

Poke & Tone The Trackmasters are an American hip hop production duo composed of music producers Poke (Jean-Claude Olivier) and Tone (Samuel Barnes), best known for their commercial hit records in the mid-late 1990s and early 2000s. Frank "Nitty" Pimentel joi ...

, and was written by Amil, Shawn Carter, Tamy Lestor Smith, Samuel J. Barnes, Leshan Lewis, Makeda Davis, and

Jean-Claude Olivier Jean-Claude Olivier (28 February 1945 – 12 January 2013), often referred to simply as "JCO", was a French motorcycle racer and president of Yamaha Motor France S.A. from 1992 to 2010. He helped launch the careers of many famous French riders i ...

. It marked one of the first songs released by Beyoncé outside of Destiny's Child. The lyrics revolve around female empowerment and independence. "I Got That" received primarily positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

. It peaked at number one on the

Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles 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 p ...

''Billboard'' chart. The song was promoted through a music video, and featured on the list of the most-played clips on

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and played on '' The Box''. It was also included on the compilation albums ''R&B Masters'' (2001) and ''Urban Sounds: Hip-Hop & Reggae 1996–2000'' (2003).

Recording and release

"I Got That" was written by Amil Whitehead, Shawn Carter (Jay-Z), Tamy Lestor Smith, Samuel J. Barnes, Leshan Lewis, Makeda Davis, and

. The production was provided by L.E.S. and

. It was recorded in

The Hit Factory The Hit Factory is a recording studio in New York City owned and operated by Troy Germano. History On March 6, 1975, Edward Germano, a singer, record producer, and one of the principal owners of the Record Plant Studios New York, purchased the ...

and Platinum Post Studios in

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. The track was mixed by Rich Travali and recorded by Mark Mason and Steve Sauder. The single includes collaborative vocals by singer Beyoncé. It was the first collaboration between Beyoncé and rapper Jay-Z. "I Got That" was released on July 5, 2000, 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 Amil's debut album ''

'' (2000). The song was made available as a

12-inch single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

through

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. It was also included on a double A-side with the album's second single " 4 da Fam". "I Got That" was included on the compilation albums ''R&B Masters'' (2001), and ''Urban Sounds: Hip-Hop & Reggae 1996–2000'' (2003). A music video was released to promote the single, and included scenes with Beyoncé. It was featured on the list of the most-played clips on

and played on '' The Box'' for the weeks of August 1 and August 8, 2000. The video was uploaded to Amil's

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...

channel on October 7, 2009.

Composition and lyrics

The lyrics in "I Got That" encourage women to become more independent. A contributor for ''Spin'' wrote that the song focused on "statement of simple financial and romantic independence", and Sowmya Krishnamurthy of

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described it as "girl power-infused".

Music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

compared the song's sound and lyrics to music released by the group Destiny's Child. The composition includes a sample from Gwen Guthrie's 1986 single "Seventh Heaven". A writer for the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

'' described the single's instrumental as "danceable", and a contributor for Knight Ridder interpreted Amil's verses as "girlish".

Reception

"I Got That" received primarily positive reviews from music critics. In a 2015 article, a reviewer from ''Spin'' magazine praised Beyoncé's vocals on the chorus, and described the song as "squelching ndslithering". A contributor for ''Billboard'' described the single as "a catchy enough radio-ready tune", and Kathy Iandoli of ''

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'' felt that it showcased Amil's potential as a rapper. David Browne of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' cited "I Got That" as an example of how Amil's "sultry, sing songy rapping locks into the beats". In a negative review, a writer for ''Vibe'' criticized Amil's collaboration with Beyoncé on its list of "Matches Made in Error". On a ''Billboard'' poll asking fans to choose Beyoncé's best feature, "I Got That" received the fewest votes. "I Got That" peaked at number one on the

''Billboard'' chart on September 16, 2000, and remained on the chart for 12 weeks.

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''All Money Is Legal'': *Written-By – Amil Whitehead, Shawn Carter, Tamy Lestor Smith, Samuel J. Barnes, Leshan Lewis, Makeda Davis, and

*Produced-By – L.E.S. and

*Recorded By – Mark Mason, Steve Sauder *Featuring – Beyoncé *Mixed By – Rich Travali

Charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{authority control 2000 songs 2000 debut singles Amil songs Beyoncé songs Music videos directed by Darren Grant Roc-A-Fella Records singles Songs written by Samuel Barnes (songwriter) Songs written by Jean-Claude Olivier Songs written by Jay-Z Song recordings produced by Trackmasters Songs with feminist themes Songs written by Amil