"I Don't Play That" is a song by American singer

La Toya Jackson La Toya Yvonne Jackson (born May 29, 1956) is an American singer and television personality. The fifth child and middle daughter of the Jackson family, Jackson first gained recognition on the family's variety television series, ''The Jacksons (TV ...

. The single was announced in January 2007 and released to radio on January 29, 2007.

Song information

The song was originally titled " Armed and Famous", after the

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

series that Jackson starred in at the time of the single's release. The single was retitled after the unexpected canceling of the show, due to its inability to compete with "

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

". The cover of the promotional single was revealed on February 18, 2007. In "Armed and Famous," Jackson was documented undergoing

basic training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique dema ...

and serving as a

reserve officer A military reserve force is a military organization whose members (reservists) have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional m ...

for

Muncie, Indiana Muncie ( ) is a city in Delaware County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It is located in East Central Indiana about northeast of Indianapolis. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 65,195, down from 70,085 in the 2010 c ...

's police department. The gritty track describes Jackson encountering a scene of

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

, reflecting Jackson's interest in victim's rights. Police Chief Joe Winkle opined that if "the song brought awareness to that issue, it would be positive." The graphic lyrics describe a wife suffering from black eyes and a cracked skull caused by her husband. The track was co-written and produced by Jeffré Phillips, Jackson's manager and owner of the Ja-Tail record label, and features background vocals by Genevieve Jackson, daughter of La Toya's brother

Randy Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolph, and Miranda, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of them. '' Randi'' is approximat ...

Unreleased remixes

Before the single's abrupt cancellation it was

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

ed for a club release by Matt Moss and Jared Jones of Vibelicious. *"I Don't Play That" (Jared Jones & Matt Moss Radio Mix) (3:38) *"I Don't Play That" (Jared Jones & Matt Moss Club Mix) (7:27) *"I Don't Play That" (Jared Jones & Matt Moss Dub) (7:56) *"I Don't Play That" (Vibelicious Mix 1) (3:40) *"I Don't Play That" (Vibelicious Mix 2) (6:04) *"I Don't Play That" (Vibelicious Euro Mix) (5:56)

References

{{authority control 2007 singles La Toya Jackson songs Songs with feminist themes 2006 songs Songs written by La Toya Jackson