HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"Whatever You Like" is a song by American rapper
T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...
, released by
Grand Hustle Grand Hustle Records (formerly Grand Hustle Entertainment), also known as Hustle Gang Music, is an American hip hop record label, founded in 2003, by American rapper and record executive T.I. and his manager Jason Geter. The label was distribut ...
and
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
on July 29, 2008 as the
lead single A lead single (or first 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. A similar term, "debut ...
(second overall) from his sixth studio album, ''
Paper Trail ''Paper Trail'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper T.I., released September 30, 2008, on Grand Hustle Records and Atlantic Records. He began to write songs for the album as he awaited trial for federal weapons and possession charges ...
'' (2008). It was written by T.I. and David Siegel, alongside the song's producer
Jim Jonsin James Gregory Scheffer (born June 8, 1970), known professionally as Jim Jonsin, is an American record producer and songwriter from South Florida. He has produced for numerous musical artists, including Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Usher, Lil Wayn ...
. In the United Kingdom, it was released on June 1, 2009 and served as the third single from the album. The song peaked atop the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming T.I.'s first to do so as a lead artist, and his second to do so overall after his guest appearance on
Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...
's 2006 single " My Love". It topped the chart for seven non-consecutive weeks, and remained in the top 3 of the charts for over 12 non-consecutive weeks. It also peaked atop the
Recorded Music NZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...
chart in
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, and has since received octuple platinum certification by the
Recording Industry Association of America 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 ...
(RIAA). It was named the 16th most successful song from 2000 to 2009, on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Songs of the Decade.


Composition

"Whatever You Like" was written by T.I., James Scheffer and David Siegel. The song was produced by
Jim Jonsin James Gregory Scheffer (born June 8, 1970), known professionally as Jim Jonsin, is an American record producer and songwriter from South Florida. He has produced for numerous musical artists, including Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Usher, Lil Wayn ...
, who produced
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 ...
's single "
Lollipop A lollipop is a type of sugar candy usually consisting of hard candy mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. Different informal terms are used in different places, including lolly, sucker and sticky-pop. Lollipops are avail ...
". The production team worked on the track when T.I. was in the studio recording his album. The instrumentals for "Whatever You Like" are based on a beat of lead synthesizers and drum pattern. The song runs for 4:09 and speaks about a man who can buy a woman whatever she asks for, as well encouraging the woman to ask for anything she wants. A
pop-rap Pop rap (also known as pop hip-hop, pop hop, hip pop, melodic hip-hop or melodic rap) is a genre of music fusing the rhythm-based lyricism of hip hop with pop's preference for melodic vocals, catchy hooks, and positive lyrics on pop-like p ...
song, it contains a sample from "Redemption", the opening and closing theme song from the film ''
Rocky II ''Rocky II'' is a 1979 American sports drama film written, directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the direct sequel to ''Rocky'' (1976) and the second installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. It also stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, ...
''. "Whatever You Like" is set in common time with a moderately slow tempo of 80 beats per minute, and is written in the key of
D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed ...
with a chord progression sequence of Dm-Bb-F-C. A second version of "Whatever You Like" was released in order to be suitable for radio stations. The original version of the track features
T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...
saying "Late night sex so wet, it's so tight", while the radio version replaces these lyrics with the line "Baby I can treat you so special, so nice" in the hook and replacing the line "Thing gets so wet/it hits so right" with "Girl, you smell so fresh, and look so nice" in the breakdown. The line "Tell 'em other broke niggas be quiet" with "Tell 'em other broke jokers be quiet" in the pre-hook, and the second verse also censors the word "brain" in the line "Brain so good/could've sworn you went to college" due to being a slang term for oral sex. The music video uses the edited lyrics.


Critical reception

"Whatever You Like" received generally favorable reviews. Jared W. Dillon of Sputnikmusic called the song a "more sophisticated take" on
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 ...
's "
Lollipop A lollipop is a type of sugar candy usually consisting of hard candy mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. Different informal terms are used in different places, including lolly, sucker and sticky-pop. Lollipops are avail ...
". Ian Cohen of
Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...
noted that the song contained virtually no
rapping Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...
while praising the
synth A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
-driven
beat Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...
. ''
Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...
'' magazine ranked the song number 14 their Top 144 Songs of 2008 and number 18 on
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
's Commercially Released Hip-Hop Singles.


Chart performance

"Whatever You Like" debuted at number 99 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100."T.I. - Whatever You Like global chart positions and trajectories"
aCharts.us. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
In its third week, it achieved the biggest leap to number one in ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart history when it jumped 70 positions, from number 71 to the top of the chart, breaking the record previously held by
Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, d ...
's "
Makes Me Wonder "Makes Me Wonder" is a song by American pop rock band Maroon 5. It was released on March 27, 2007, as the first single from their second studio album, ''It Won't Be Soon Before Long'' (2007). Upon its release, the song set a record for the bigg ...
", which jumped 64 to number one. It became T.I.'s first solo Hot 100 number one of his career and his second overall following the
Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...
song " My Love" where T.I. was a featured artist. The song's jump can be largely attributed to huge first week digital sales of 205,000, debuting at number one on ''Billboards
Hot Digital Songs The Digital Song Sales (previously named Digital Songs and Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Luminate and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally started tracking so ...
chart. The song held the number one position on the Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks, before being replaced by
Pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...
's "
So What So What may refer to: Law *Demurrer, colloquially called a "So what?" pleading Music Albums * So What (Anti-Nowhere League album), ''So What'' (Anti-Nowhere League album) or the 1981 title song (see below), 2000 * ''So What?: Early Demos and L ...
." The following week the song knocked off "So What" to return to number one on the Hot 100, marking its fourth week overall at the top of the chart. It remained there for another week, marking its fifth week overall. The next week T.I. replaced himself at number one with the follow-up single " Live Your Life" which hadn't been done since Usher in 2004 with the first and second singles off his album (" Yeah!" and "
Burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ionizing radiation (such as sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation). Most burns are due to heat from hot fluids (called scalding), soli ...
"). After spending two weeks at number two on the Hot 100, "Whatever You Like" again topped the chart by knocking off "
Womanizer Womanizer may refer to: * "Womanizer" (term), a promiscuous heterosexual man * "Womanizer" (song), a 2008 song by Britney Spears * "Womanizer", a 1977 song by Blood, Sweat & Tears from '' Brand New Day'' * ''Womanizer'', a 2004 album by Absolut ...
" by
Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...
, marking its sixth non-consecutive week at number one on the Hot 100. This was the first time a song returned to number one on the chart after the artist's follow up single had already spent time at number one ("Live Your Life" having already spent a week at number one). It is also only the third song to ever have three separate runs at number one on the Hot 100, following
Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictionaries classified ...
's "
Le Freak "Le Freak" is a funk-disco song by American disco band Chic, released in September 1978 by Atlantic Records as the first single from their second album, '' C'est Chic'' (1978). It was written and produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, a ...
" in 1979 and
Leona Lewis Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model, and activist. Born and raised in Islington, Inner London, she later attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieve ...
' "
Bleeding Love "Bleeding Love" is a song recorded by British singer Leona Lewis for her debut studio album, '' Spirit'' (2007). It was originally written and recorded by American singer Jesse McCartney, and was co-written and produced by American singer R ...
" earlier in 2008. The song retained the number one position the following week, bringing its total to seven non-consecutive weeks at number one. As of August 2013 it had sold 4,347,000 digital copies in the United States. 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 ...
chart, "Whatever You Like" peaked at number one, giving T.I. his thirteenth top ten on the chart, and second number one song. It also reached number three on the
Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009. It ranked songs based on airplay on Mainstream Top 40 radio stations, singles ...
, giving T.I. his biggest solo pop hit. The song became T.I.'s biggest radio hit to date as well, reaching number one on the
Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until July 1993) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States ...
chart, and number four so far on
Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...
. Overall it has topped over nine different ''Billboard'' charts. Internationally, "Whatever You Like" debuted at number twenty-two on the
Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...
and has thus far risen to number twelve. It made a strong debut on the
Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...
at number nineteen. In Australia, on the
ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
, it has so far peaked at number 15 and on the digital track chart at number 15. In New Zealand, the song made a massive jump from number 32 to number eight on the official
RIANZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...
Chart. The following week it became his first number one in New Zealand and are certified by Platinum in that country. It also debuted at number sixty on the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number forty-seven due to strong download sales. It will be re-released as a full CD single release on 1 June 2009 and has been added to the B-list at
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
.


Music video

The
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 ...
was filmed in Malibu,
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, and was directed by
Dave Meyers David Meyers may refer to: *Dave Meyers (director) (born 1972), American music video director *Dave Meyers (basketball) David William Meyers (April 21, 1953 – October 9, 2015) was an American basketball player who played for the Milwaukee Buck ...
.
Reagan Gomez-Preston Reagan Gomez-Preston is an American television, film and voice actress. She is known for her roles as Zaria Peterson on The WB sitcom ''The Parent 'Hood'' (1995–1999) and Roberta Tubbs on the FOX animated comedy ''The Cleveland Show'' (2009 ...
plays T.I.'s love interest. Cameos include Jackie Long,
Lil Duval Roland Powell (born June 12, 1977), better known by his stage name Lil Duval, is an American stand-up comedian, musician, and actor. In 2005, he was a finalist on BET's comedy competition series ''Coming to the Stage''. Powell is a series regul ...
, Jim Jonsin, DJ Toomp and T.I.'s wife
Tameka Cottle Tameka Dianne Cottle-Harris ( Cottle; born July 14, 1975), known professionally by her nickname Tiny, is an American singer. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the multi-platinum Contemporary R&B, R&B vocal group Xscape (group), Xscape ...
. The video starts with a girl working at a fast food restaurant. When T.I. comes into the restaurant, after ordering hot wings, he hands the girl a folded up paper with his number on it. She then calls him and T.I. invites her to his house. The video then shows her living the high life, with T.I. treating her to private jet rides, fancy dinners, and buying her many expensive gifts, such as a new car. The video also show clips of her living her normal life with her boyfriend. Right before the end of the video, it shows the release date of T.I.'s new album ''Paper Trail'' while T.I. is on the red carpet with his girl. At the end it is revealed it is all merely a fantasy sequence the girl was having, and T.I. had only handed the girl a hundred dollar bill, not his number. The concept of the video is similar to the one for Jay-Z's single "
Excuse Me Miss "Excuse Me Miss" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z. It released through his Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings on January 27, 2003, as a single for his seventh studio album '' The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse'' (2002). It was also ...
".


Other versions

*A parody, also called "
Whatever You Like "Whatever You Like" is a song by American rapper T.I., released by Grand Hustle and Atlantic Records on July 29, 2008 as the lead single (second overall) from his sixth studio album, ''Paper Trail'' (2008). It was written by T.I. and David Sie ...
", was recorded by
"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...
and released on October 8, 2008. *Students from Ron Clark Academy performed a remake of the song about the
2008 U.S. presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from Delaware, defeated the Republican ticket of John Mc ...
called "Vote However You Like". Their performance on
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
was posted on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
, drawing national attention with over 2 million views. After learning of the students' remake of his song, T.I. paid a surprise visit to the Academy to watch their performance in person. * In 2020, US president
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
repurposed the song in a campaign against
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
, altering the lyrics on his Snapchat from "I want yo' body, need yo' body/Long as you got me you won't need nobody," to "I don't want Joe Biden, need Joe Biden/As long as you got me you won't need Joe Biden." A representative for T.I. responded by criticizing Trump for "unauthorized use" of the song and stated that it falsely suggested endorsement of the president or an attack towards Biden from T.I.


Track listing

;Digital single


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


All-time charts


Certifications


See also

*
List of number-one singles from the 2000s (New Zealand) In New Zealand, the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) compiles the top forty singles chart each week. Sales of songs determined 75% of the sorting information, and radio airplay figures were responsible for 25%. From 18 April ...
* List of ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number-one singles of 2008 * List of R&B number-one singles of 2008 (U.S.)


References


External links

* {{Authority control 2008 singles 2008 songs T.I. songs Grand Hustle Records singles Music videos directed by Dave Meyers (director) Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Song recordings produced by Jim Jonsin Songs written by Jim Jonsin Songs written by T.I. Pop-rap songs