"Only Wanna Give It to You" is a song by American singer-songwriter and R&B recording artist

Elle Varner Gabrielle Serene Varner (born February 12, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Born into a musical family in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Los Angeles, Varner studied at New York University's Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music. In ...

, released on August 16, 2011 as a digital download. It serves as her debut single and 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 her debut studio album, ''

Perfectly Imperfect ''Perfectly Imperfect'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Elle Varner. It was released on August 7, 2012, under RCA and MBK Entertainment. Recording sessions for the album took place at Jungle City Studios in New York City, ...

'' (2012). The song features American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

J. Cole and was produced by Oak & Pop. The Elle Varner song was released and her only single with

J Records J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG’s record labels in late 2008. It was distributed through the RCA Music Gro ...

prior to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

before closing down the label.

Background

On October 4, 2011, Varner appeared on

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 ...

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rate ...

to premier the video for "Only Wanna Give It to You". While she was there she was asked how the J. Cole collaboration came to be, she explained: "We actually met in college. He went to St. John's and we had a mutual friend at my school and like two years later I saw him in the Sony building when I had just got signed and I bumped into him I was like 'Yo what's up what are you doing here?' and he's like 'Yo I just signed with

Roc Nation Roc Nation is an entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z in 2008. The company is headquartered in Manhattan and has additional offices in Los Angeles and London. Roc Nation comprises a comprehensive talent agency, sports agency, record label, mana ...

' and I"m like 'Yo I just signed with J. Records… When it came time to do the lead single for my album he was the first person I thought of."

Reception

Critical response

DJBooth.net compared the song to

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

and

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of ...

's 1995

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" is a duet song by the American recording artists, rapper Method Man and singer Mary J. Blige who sings the intro, the choruses, and backing vocals. The song is a remix of Method Man's "All I Nee ...

". They give praise to the Oak & Pop heavily influenced beat and Varner's vocals stating "Varner puts her distinctly unique voice on full display, laying down charismatic vocals declaring that she loves her man even more than her shoes".

Music video

The music video, directed by Orson Whales, was filmed in New York City. On October 3, behind-the-scene photos surfaced onto the Internet. The video depicts the 22-year-old singer-songwriter shop for shoes, chase her

leading man A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typica ...

, cruise with her girlfriends in her yellow

Jeep Wrangler The Jeep Wrangler is a series of compact and mid-size four-wheel drive off-road SUVs manufactured by Jeep since 1986 and is currently in its fourth generation. The Wrangler JL, the most recent generation, was revealed in late 2017 and is produ ...

, and appear with J. Cole as he raps his verse in the vibrant visuals. The video also featured a new and up-and-coming group called the "Tribe NYC", which is a collective group of talents who also pays homage to the late 1980s early 90s with their style. The video was released October 4, 2011, with Varner premiering it on BET's 106 & Park later that day.

Chart performance

The song first charted on the week of September 5, 2011 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 ...

at number ninety-four. It has since peaked at number twenty.

Charts

Release Information

Purchasable Release

References

{{J. Cole songs 2011 debut singles Elle Varner songs J. Cole songs Songs written by J. Cole Songs written by Pop Wansel Songs written by Oak Felder Song recordings produced by Pop & Oak Hip hop soul songs Songs written by Elle Varner