B-side I Shot Ya Format CD single Length 4:46 | Released October 31, 1995 Recorded 1995 | |
Genre Hip hop
R&B
new jack swing | ||
"Hey Lover" is the Grammy Award winning first single released from LL Cool J's sixth album, Mr. Smith, featuring Boyz II Men. It was released on October 31, 1995 for Def Jam Recordings and was produced by The Trackmasters and LL Cool J. Johnny Kenaya was involved in the project. He had the title changed from Hey Brother to Hey Lover. Hey Lover would prove to be the most successful single from the album, making it to number three on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B Singles charts. It sold 900,000 copies domestically and was certified platinum by the RIAA. It also reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart. The song sampled Michael Jackson's "The Lady in My Life" from his 1982 hit album Thriller, thus Rod Temperton, the writer of that song, was given credit as a writer of this song. On the B-side was the "I Shot Ya" remix.
Contents
At the 1997 Grammy Awards, the song won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance, becoming his second Grammy in that category after 1992's "Mama Said Knock You Out".
The video starred television and film actress Gillian Iliana Waters as LL Cool J's love interest in the music video.
A-Side
- "Hey Lover" (Radio Edit)- 4:03 (Featuring Boyz II Men)
- "Hey Lover" (instrumental)- 4:03
yea
B-side
- "I Shot Ya" (Remix)- 5:06 (Featuring Prodigy, Keith Murray, Fat Joe, Foxy Brown)
- "Hey Lover" (LP Version)- 4:46