Released March 17, 2003 Recorded 2002 Length 5:24
4:12 (edit) | Format CD single
12" single Genre R&B
hip hop Label J
Flipmode | |
"I Know What You Want" is a song written by rapper Busta Rhymes, and produced by Rick Rock for Rhymes' eighth album It Ain't Safe No More... (2002). The song is a duet with American singer Mariah Carey, and was co-written by Rah Digga, Rampage, Rick Rock and Spliff Star. It also includes a rap from Rhymes' group, the Flipmode Squad: Spliff Star, Baby Cham, Rah Digga, and Rampage.
Contents
It was released as the second single from It Ain't Safe No More in 2003 and was a hit across the world, peaking at number 3 in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Rhymes' previous single, "Make It Clap," had failed to reach the top forty on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. "I Know What You Want" stayed in the top forty for twenty-one weeks, and was ranked 17 on the Hot 100 2003 year-end chart. For Carey, it was a return to form after a string of unsuccessful singles, and it became one of her biggest hits in years. Columbia Records later included it on her thirteenth album The Remixes (2003) and the British and Japanese reissues of Charmbracelet (2002).
The song has sold 175,000 copies in the UK.
Critical reception
In Billboard, Brian Garrity wrote that on "I Know What You Want," Busta Rhymes "takes an R&B turn." Amazon.com editor Dalton Higgins wrote that in this duet Busta "croons."
Music video
The single's music video, directed by Chris Robinson, features Busta Rhymes, the Flipmode Squad, and Carey lounging around an expensive mansion as they debate whether they "know what they want". The footage advertises Carey's jewelry brand - "Automatic Princess", during her sequences. Meanwhile, Busta watches over the female interest of the video played by video vixen La'Shontae "Tae" Heckerd, as she reads a Frank Miller-stylized graphic novel. A brief animated sequence drawn from the graphic novel is featured.
Formats and track listings
Canadian CD single
- "I Know What You Want" (Radio Edit)
- "I Know What You Want" (Instrumental Radio Edit)
European CD single
- "I Know What You Want" (Album Version)
- "Break Ya Neck"
Australian/European CD maxi-single
- "I Know What You Want" (Album Version)
- "Break Ya Neck"
- "I Know What You Want" (Instrumental)
- "I Know What You Want" (Video)
UK CD maxi-single
- "I Know What You Want"
- "Call the Ambulance" (Remix featuring M.O.P.)
- "Call the Ambulance" (featuring M.O.P.)
- "I Know What You Want" (Video)