| "Hot Like Fire" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single byAaliyah featuringTimbaland | ||||
| from the albumOne in a Million | ||||
| A-side | "The One I Gave My Heart To" | |||
| B-side | "Death of a Playa" | |||
| Released | September 16, 1997 | |||
| Recorded |
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| Studio | Pyramid (Ithaca) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Timbaland | |||
| Aaliyah singles chronology | ||||
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| Timbaland singles chronology | ||||
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"Hot Like Fire" is a song recorded by American singer Aaliyah for her second studio albumOne in a Million (1996). The song was written by both Missy Elliot and Timbaland, with the latter producing the song. In 1997 it was re-recorded and released as the fifth and final single fromOne in a Million with "The One I Gave My Heart To" on September 16, 1997 byBlackground Records andAtlantic Records.
Musically, the album version is aTrip hop song, while the single remix version is a "jeep-friendly"funk song with a bouncing beat and features ad-libs from Timbaland. Lyrically, the song is sexually suggestive, with the narrator (Aaliyah) promising a potential lover that she is worth the wait.
Upon its release, the song was met with generally positive reviews from critics, with many praising both Aaliyah's vocal delivery and the song's production. In the United States, "Hot Like Fire" barely charted on any of the majorBillboard charts, being largely overshadowed by its A-side "The One I Gave My Heart To"; it peaked at number 31 on the USR&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. Internationally, the song peaked at number 30 on theUK Singles Chart.
An accompanying video for "Hot Like Fire" was directed by Lance "Un" Rivera. The video depicts Aaliyah in a red themed party setting. It features cameo appearances from Timbaland, Missy Elliot, Lil' Kim, and other celebrities. It received critical acclaim, with many critics noting that the video helped bring the song to life.
"Hot like Fire" was described as "sleek" "fineTrip hop"[1][2] and it is a "panting minimalist controlled-blaze baby-maker" with suggestive lyrics.[3][4] The production on the song's 1997 single release differs from the album version and it has a "more jeep-friendly beat".[1] According to Emily Manning fromi-D, the songs remix "features a sizzling, soulful, and bouncing beat (plus an ad-lib Tim ripped fromSuzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner")".[5]Billboard further discussed the remix saying, "Timb’s club-ready remix, which jacks up the bounce of the original track, layers on a dose offunk and essentially sets the whole thing ablaze".[6] The songs remix also incorporates UK electronic genres such asjungle anddowntempo.[7]
On "Hot Like Fire", Aaliyah "hums and moans promises to her new bae that his patience will be rewarded".[8] Delivering the lines "I know you've been wait, you've been waitin a long time for me/But if you wait a little while longer, this is how it'll be", Aaliyah promises to be "hot and ready for her patient lover on this enticing opening offering".[9]According to Bob Waliszewski's review on the websiteFocus on the Family, the song "celebrates passionate sex-without suggesting a marital context".[10]
In his biographyAaliyah (2021) author Tim Footman, compared the songs lyrics to the content from her debut albumAge Ain't Nothing but a Number (1994).[11] According to footman, "With the more sexually explicit tracks on the debut album, the listener was painfully aware of a young girl mouthing grown-up sentiments. But here, lyrics like 'Ya got me meltin' like a sundae' sound sexy rather than sordid."[11] He concluded his assessment saying, "this is a young woman in love with life, feeling the first flushes of passion at its most intense."[11]
Shannon Marcec fromComplex felt that the re-recorded remix version of "Hot Like Fire" was better than the original version, stating: "No shade to the original version of "Hot Like Fire," but the "Timbaland's Groove Mix" was 10 times better". Marcec also praised both the song's production and Aaliyah's vocals, saying: "Timbaland presents another entrancing track, beatboxingSusanne Vega's "Tom's Diner," while Aaliyah brings her melodic voice and habitually sexy style".[8] Bianca Gracie fromFuse also felt the remix was better than the original version, also saying that Timbaland "added his magic hip-hop-infused touch to the steamy track, which was anchored by Aaliyah's laidback vocals".[12] Dean Van Nguyen fromThe Independent said, on "Hot Life Fire, Aaliyah fully emerges on the horizon, her voice cutting through the atmospherics and seeping into your ears."[13] Bob Waliszewski of Plugged In, a publication of theChristian conservative organizationFocus on the Family, was less enthusiastic in his review ofOne in a Million, writing that the sexually suggestive lyrics of "Hot Like Fire" "spoil whatever good this disc has going for it".[10] In his "Talking Music" column,Music Week's Alan Jones described the song as "Elliott's urban groove" and that along with "The One I Gave My Heart To" both were "fabulous showcases for her".[14]
Released simultaneously with "The One I Gave My Heart To", "Hot Like Fire" didn't chart on any of the majorBillboard charts–with the exception of the USR&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, where it peaked at number 31 on August 16, 1997.[15] After the 2021 rerelease ofOne In a Million, the Timbaland's Groove Mix remix of "Hot Like Fire" charted at number 9 on the US R&B Digital Songs Sales chart.[16]
Internationally, the song performed moderately, peaking at number 30 on theUK Singles Chart on November 22, 1997.[17] The song also peaked at number 25 on theUK Dance Chart on November 16, 1997,[18] and at number three on theUK R&B Chart on November 23, 1997.[19]
The accompanyingmusic video for "Hot Like Fire" was directed by Lance "Un" Rivera;Fatima Robinson orchestrated the choreography.[20][21]Missy Elliott,Timbaland,Magoo,Changing Faces,Lil' Kim, andJunior M.A.F.I.A. all make cameos in the video.[22] The video begins with a large group of people in an urban neighborhood setting, sitting outside on a hot day. Also, in the scene, Aaliyah is shown driving a red car while fire trucks are soaring down the street trailing behind her.[22] The setting quickly changes to nighttime, with Aaliyah performing the chorus on a steamy stage filled with red lights andpyrotechnics in the background.[22] During the second verse, Aaliyah is dancing in the crowd. In the remaining scenes of the video, Aaliyah is on stage with her dancers, performing the song's chorus. Timbaland and Elliott are also on stage performing their ad-lib-filled verses.[23]
For the video, Aaliyah wore red camo cargo pants that were custom-made by 5001 Flavors.[24] According to her former stylist Derek Lee "Her look was really supposed to be about the pants and her swag, so the top needed to be very, very simple".[24] He continued saying, "She has Jamaican blood and I've always been a fan of dancehall music, so you see her rocking two different colored Clark Wallabees, because Wallabees were huge in dancehall. I always wanted to pull that into it."[24]
The music video for "Hot Like Fire" made its television debut onBET during the week ending August 17, 1997.[25] On August 24, 1997, the video debuted onMTV and September 6 onThe Box.[26] The video became the eighth most-played video on BET during the week of September 21, 1997.[27] Emily Manning fromi-D felt that the music video was "underappreciated" considering the video's star-studded cameos; she also mentioned that the video "features peak Aaliyah street style: rose-tinted shades and baggy camo cargos".[5] Tatiana Cirisano fromBillboard, felt the music video pulled the song together and that"the whole crew — Missy, Aaliyah and Timb — pull up in a firetruck, inciting a bumping block party full of both literal and metaphorical flames".[6]Nylon writer Steffanee Wang thought that after getting "freed" from R. Kelly and joining forces with Timbaland Aaliyah's "sound and visuals got a boost of energy, which you can visually see in this choreography-heavy video.[28]
In August 1997, Aaliyah made a televised appearance on the short-lived talk showVibe, where she performed "Hot Like Fire" and gave the show's host a gift basket full of promotional items.[29][30] Also in 1997 she performed the song atHot 97FM's annualSummer Jam concert festival.[23] In her biographyAaliyah: A Biography (2014), author Jennifer Warner says of the performance, "At Summer Jam, Aaliyah gave notice that she was not looking to be a singer but was a performer".[23] Warner further explained, "she took the stage in the midst of explosions and confetti showers and confidently held the stage with more than a dozen dancers".[23]
In 2013, AmericanR&B singerSolange and Britishindie pop groupThe xx covered "Hot Like Fire" at theCoachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.[31] BassistOliver Sim sang the first verse of the song while his fellow group memberRomy Madley Croft backed him in the performance.[31] Solange came out during the performance in a "bright white tank top and fluorescent pink skirt" to join The xx.[31] Jeff Benjamin fromFuse praised the performance, saying: "Solange's sweet vocals sounded right at home on The xx-ified version of Aaliyah's track. And it was so clear Solange was having fun as she danced around on stage, giggling into the mic and flailed her arms about".[31] Their cover of the song was a nod to the group's modern R&B roots that are infused in their "stripped down sound".[32] In 2016, rapperNicki Minaj interpolated "Hot Like Fire" in her song "Black Barbies" with the "oh no, no, no, no" line.[33]
US cassette and CD singles[34][35]
US 12-inch vinyl and maxi CD single[36][37]
| European maxi CD single[38]
European cassette single[39]
UK 12-inch vinyl[40]
|
| Chart (1997–1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Scotland (OCC)[41] with "The One I Gave My Heart To" | 88 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[42] with "The One I Gave My Heart To" | 30 |
| UK Dance (OCC)[43] with "The One I Gave My Heart To" | 25 |
| UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[44] with "The One I Gave My Heart To" | 3 |
| USR&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (Billboard)[45] | 31 |
| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USR&B Digital Song Sales[46] | 9 |
| Region | Date | Format(s)[b] | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | September 16, 1997 | |||
| United Kingdom | October 27, 1997 |
| Atlantic |
Beginning with her 1996 album, "One In a Million," she was working with Elliott on fine trip-hop such as Hot Like Fire.
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