"Freek'n You" is a song by American R&B group Jodeci recorded for their third album, '' The Show, the After Party, the Hotel'' (1995). It was released as the album's first single in June 1995 by Uptown and

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

. The song was both written and produced by

DeVante Swing Donald Earle DeGrate Jr. (born September 29, 1969), better known by his stage name DeVanté Swing, is an American record producer, singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known as the main songwriter and producer of the R&B group Jodeci, whic ...

, and peaked at number 14 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Listed by ''

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 advertis ...

'' magazine as one of the best selling singles of 1995, it was certified gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

for sales in excess of 500,000 units. The official remix, produced by Mr. Dalvin, features

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon ( ), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success following the release of the ...

and

Ghostface Killah Dennis David Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang ...

. They performed the remix version live with Jodeci (minus

) during the 200th episode of Showtime at the Apollo in February 1996. It features three models in the video: Veronica Webb, Beverly Peele, and Kara Young.

Critical reception

Steve Baltin from ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' wrote, "A slow and grinding tune, the first single from Jodeci's forthcoming ''The Show, the After-Party, the Hotel'' is a guaranteed hit, given the group's past success (lead singer K-Ci Hailey currently has a song on the charts) and the song's play it safe attitude." Mark Sutherland from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' gave it two out of five, viewing it as "smooth-but-tune-free slabs of R&B".

Track listing

* Vinyl, 12" #"Freek'n You" (Part 1) – 5:16 #"Freek'n You" (Funky Freeky Mix) – 4:19 #"Freek'n You" (Radio Edit) – 4:19 #"Freek'n You" (P.J.B. 4 Play) – 1:23 #"Freek'n You" (Freekstrumental Mix) – 4:01 #"Freek'n You" (Freek-A-Pella Mix) – 5:09 * CD, maxi-single #"Freek'n You" (Part 1) – 5:16 #"Freek'n You" (Funky Freeky Mix) – 4:19 #"Freek'n You" (Radio Edit) – 4:19 #"Freek'n You" (P.J.B. 4 Play) – 1:23 #"Freek'n You" (Freekoustical Mix) – 5:17 #"Freek'n You" (Freekstrumental Mix) – 4:01 #"Freek'n You" (Freek-A-Pella Mix) – 5:09

Personnel

Information taken from the album's liner notes. * Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey – lead and background vocals * Joel "JoJo" Hailey – lead and background vocals * Mr. Dalvin – background vocals *

– lead vocals, background vocals, guitar, other instruments *

Darryl Pearson Darryl "Day" Pearson is an American record producer, songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist, best known for writing and producing "It's All About Me", a Mya/Sisqó single that peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, "Part Time Love ...

– additional guitar *DeVante Swing (a.k.a. DeVanté 4HISDAMNSELF ENT.) – production & all vocal arrangements * Andre Harrell – executive producer

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Covers and sampling

*The song was remixed by

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house and jungle production methods, but also incorporates elements from ...

act Club Asylum in 1998, titled "Freek Me Up". It reached No. 92 on the UK Singles Chart. * DJ Funk remixed the song in the ghetto house style as "Every Freakin Day" on the 1999 mixtape "Booty House Anthems." *The song was sampled in 2015 by British duo Tough Love on their debut single " So Freakin' Tight" as well as

Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ex ...

and Mila J's song "FreakNic". *In 2017,

PartyNextDoor Jahron Anthony Brathwaite (born July 3, 1993), known professionally as PartyNextDoor (often stylized in all caps), is a Canadian singer, songwriter, rapper and record producer. He was the first artist to sign with Drake's record label OVO Sound ...

released his EP ''Colours 2'', featuring "Freak in You" which interpolates the song, as well as " Come and Talk to Me" from Jodeci.

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

would go on to remix PartyNextDoor's "Freak in You" as well. *In 2019, the song was sampled by

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (; born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry ar ...

in "Freak N You" featuring

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

and Gunna. *Covers of the song have been performed live by R&B singers including

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer and songwriter. After being discovered by record producer Troy Taylor (record producer), Troy Taylor in 2003, Songz ...

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Regarded as a leading figure of Contemporary R&B#2000s, 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, includi ...

and Anthony Hamilton.

Media appearances

* The Notorious B.I.G. can be seen singing the beginning of the first verse in a video clip from 1996. The clip is shown in the beginning of the video for " Nasty Girl", a

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

single released in 2005 from the album '' Duets: The Final Chapter''. * The song was featured in the 2008 video game ''

Grand Theft Auto IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's ''Grand Theft Auto: San And ...

'', appearing on the R&B radio station The Vibe 98.8. * The song is also featured on the official soundtrack for the 2015 film '' Magic Mike XXL''. * In a 2015 episode of '' Black-ish'', the song was played. * In 2018, the song was used as the first ending theme song for the '' Golden Wind'' arc of the '' JoJo's Bizarre Adventure''

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

series.

References

{{authority control 1995 singles Jodeci songs Music videos directed by Brett Ratner Song recordings produced by DeVante Swing Songs written by DeVante Swing 1994 songs JoJo's Bizarre Adventure songs