Released 1995 Genre Reggae
Hip-hop | Recorded 1995 Length 4:21 | |
Format CD single, CD maxi, 7" single
12" maxi, Cassette Label EastWest Records America, Atlantic | ||
Anything For You is a 1995 single from Canadian reggae recording artist Snow’s second album, Murder Love. While becoming a club favorite and a grassroots hit on The Box in the United States and Canada, the single only peaked at number 74 on the Canadian Singles Chart. The All-Star Remix, however, reached number one in Jamaica and became the country's top-selling single of 1995.
Contents
Production
Sampling Everybody Plays the Fool, Anything for You featured a young Nadine Sutherland, who previously won Jamaica’s “Tastee Talent Contest.”
The All-Star remix, recorded at Penthouse records in Jamaica, also featured Beenie Man, Buju Banton, Kulture Knox, Louie Culture and Terror Fabulous. In an interview with Jamaican Gleaner News, Sutherland remembered, “the energy was off the hook. Remember, everyone was creating on the spot. It’s a true indication of the talents of these young men at the time. Everyone was busy writing; I don’t remember any competition.” Despite debates over “whose part was the best,” Sutherland claimed Buju Banton’s was her favorite and noted “that’s the part I deejay when I perform it on stage. All the parts are special though. I love them all.”
Music videos
Directed by Hype Williams, the original video featured Snow and Nadine Sutherland performing in Jamaica. The All-star remix featured Snow performing with the other members of the cast at Penthouse Studios. Although not promoted by MTV and Muchmusic, the video regularly topped The Box's most requested videos.
Legacy
Jamaica Gleaner News described “Anything For You” as the most important dancehall song of the 1990s, which created “a generation that overlapped with, and then replaced, the stars of the late 1980s, among those relative 'oldsters' Shabba Ranks, Supercat, Cutty Ranks and Admiral Bailey.” Furthermore, journalist Mel Cooke asserted,“There is only one recording on which a large proportion of the dancehall generation which not only changed the beat but was also at the forefront of the visual era of Jamaican music. Performers were not only being heard on radio and sound systems but also seen in formal music videoson television (CVM by then joining the free-to-air fray) and the numerous recordings of dances and live recordings that were increasingly popular. That song is 'Anything For You,' with Canadian deejay Snow, Nadine Sutherland (the two having a version by themselves), Beenie Man, Buju Banton, Terror Fabulous, Louie Culture and Kulcha Knox performing on the remix. And while the audio recording was, and still is, very popular, it was the video which put 'Anything For You' over the top.”
Trivia
Despite being one of the most important dancehall tracks of the 1990s, the “All-Star cast” has never performed “Anything For You” live.
While released as a single in Jamaica in 1995, the "Anything For You" All-Star Remix appears as a track on Snow's 1997 album, Justuss.