"It's a Party" is a song by American rapper

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

featuring American R&B duo Zhané. It was released as the second single from Rhymes' debut studio album '' The Coming'' on June 4, 1996, by Flipmode Entertainment and

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

. The song was written by Rhymes and Zhané member Rene Neufville, and produced by

Easy Mo Bee Osten S. Harvey Jr. (born December 8, 1965), better known by his stage name Easy Mo Bee, is an American hip hop and R&B record producer and DJ, known for his production work for artists such as Big Daddy Kane and Miles Davis, as well as his a ...

. Peaking at number 52 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, it was a moderate success. The song was released as a double

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

single with several remixes and the album cut " Ill Vibe" featuring fellow rapper Q-Tip, which also appears on ''The Coming'', as its B-side.

Background

After former group Leaders of the New School broke up,

Rhymes A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of rhyming (''perfect rhyming'') is consciously used for a musica ...

had problems with recording a full album on his own. Rhymes called up

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip< ...

-member and mentor Q-Tip asking for help. After seven months of frustration, he finally came up with the idea that would become the skit after "It's a Party". "It's a Party" marks the second collaboration between

and producer

after he previously produced the

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 ...

Craig Mack Craig Jamieson Mack (May 10, 1970 – March 12, 2018) was an American rapper and record producer. He is best known for his tenure with Bad Boy Records, during which he released his 1994 single " Flava in Ya Ear" (1994), which peaked within the ' ...

's "

Flava in Ya Ear "Flava in Ya Ear" is a song by American rapper Craig Mack. It was released on July 2, 1994, by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records as the lead single from his debut studio album, '' Project: Funk da World'' (1994). The song was remixed with the ad ...

" and 1995 single " The Points". The song precessed Rhymes' collaborations with

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

on "

What's It Gonna Be?! "What's It Gonna Be?!" is a song by American rapper Busta Rhymes featuring American singer Janet Jackson. It was released as the fourth and last single from Rhymes' third studio album ''Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front'' on March 9 ...

" and

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

on "

I Know What You Want "I Know What You Want" is a song by American rapper Busta Rhymes and singer Mariah Carey, featuring verses from Rhymes' group Flipmode Squad: Spliff Star, Baby Sham, Rah Digga, and Rampage. Produced by Rick Rock, it was released on February 2 ...

Composition

"It's a Party" was composed in time and the key of

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp ...

, with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 178 beats per minute. It has a duration time of five minutes and fifty-three seconds.

Critical reception

Daryl McIntosh of ''Albumism'' noted that the song shows that

"could entertain more than just the 'hard-knocks' at the party ndnow captur sthe ladies' attention". He added that "the late-night gem added a new chapter to the growing legend of Busta Rhymes".

Music video

The official

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "It's a Party" was directed by

Marcus Raboy Marcus Raboy (born November 30, 1965) is an American film director, film and music video director. Since the early 1990s, Raboy has amassed a large number music video credits directing music videos for Mary J. Blige, Dixie Chicks, Rihanna, Lu ...

and depicts

and Zhané at a party. Flipmode-members

Spliff Star William A. Lewis (born April 18, 1971), professionally known as Spliff Star, is an American rapper and record producer from Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York. He's best known for his work with Busta Rhymes. Both ''Vibe'' and ''Complex'' listed Spliff ...

and Rampage make cameo appearances.

Track listing

United States 12" single

United Kingdom 12" single

United Kingdom CD single

Charts

References

{{Zhané 1996 songs 1996 singles Busta Rhymes songs Zhané songs American contemporary R&B songs Songs written by Busta Rhymes Music videos directed by Marcus Raboy Elektra Records singles