Recorded June 2000 Label Sire
London | Length 4:25 | |
Released December 12, 2000 (2000-12-12) Format CD single
12" vinyl
cassette Genre West Coast hip hop
g-funk | ||
"Where I Wanna Be" is the debut single by American songwriter and recording artist Shade Sheist. The song features Nate Dogg and Kurupt on additional vocals. "Where I Wanna Be" found chart success domestically and internationally, peaking at #1 on Billboard's Hot Rap Singles chart and #14 on the UK Singles chart.
Contents
Conception and release
"Where I Wanna Be" was first featured on the Where I Wanna Be compilation that Shade Sheist and local producer Damizza executive produced. After writing and recording tracks for other artists, television, film and video game soundtracks, Shade Sheist released his debut studio album Informal Introduction in 2002 under MCA Records. "Where I Wanna Be" was the first single from the album.
"Where I Wanna Be" was written by Tramayne Thompson (Shade Sheist), Edward Berkeley, Ricardo Brown (Kurupt), Derek Bush, Keir Lamont Gist (Kay Gee), Nathaniel Hale (Nate Dogg) and Robert L. Huggar, with production by Berkeley and Kay Gee. The song contains a sample of Toto's "Waiting for Your Love". It was released in the U.S. in December 2000, with a summer release in the UK in 2001.
Critical reception
Dean Carlson of Allmusic gave "Where I Wanna Be" a mixed review stating "Shade Sheist's Where I Wanna Be hoped to resurrect the forgotten art of summer hip-hop. It failed, of course, but in a gallant sort of way... It was from there, with Nate Dogg and Kurupt chasing each other's slow rhymes at the wayside, that "Where I Wanna Be" eventually became a sort of heat-induced muscle relaxant this side of De La Soul's "A Roller Skating Jam Named 'Saturdays'" or Black Eyed Peas' "Magic," if only substituting their pleasantries for suspiciously placed arrogance. It was an unworkable contradiction when it came down to it, but Where I Wanna Be became the number one rap single for four months in America and went on to crack the British Top 20 the following summer."
Chart performance
The single peaked at #1 on the U.S. Billboard's Hot Rap Singles chart and was a success in the UK, where it peaked inside of the UK Top 75 at number 14. It remains Shade Sheist's most commercially successful hit to date.
Formats and track listings
- "Where I Wanna Be" (Clean Radio Version) - 3:47
- "Where I Wanna Be" (Original LP Version) - 4:25
- "Where I Wanna Be" (Dub-a-holics R&B Switch Mix - Clean) - 5:01
- "Where I Wanna Be" (Video - UK Edit) - 3:47
Side A
- "Where I Wanna Be" (Extended Original Version) - 4:51
- "Where I Wanna Be" (Clean Radio Version) - 3:47
Side B
- "Where I Wanna Be" (Dub-a-holics R&B Switch Mix - Explicit Version) - 5:01