| "What a Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 2002 UK vinyl re-release | ||||
| Single byLinda Lyndell | ||||
| B-side | "I Don't Know" | |||
| Released | July 1968 (US) | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Label | Volt (VOA-4001) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Dave Crawford | |||
| Producer(s) | Dave Crawford | |||
| Linda Lyndell singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"What a Man" is a song written byDave Crawford, and originally recorded forStax Records' Volt imprint byLinda Lyndell, whose recording reached number 50 on theBillboardR&B chart in 1968. The song was sampled and reinterpreted as "Whatta Man" in 1993 by the trioSalt-N-Pepa withEn Vogue, which became a commercial success; reaching the top ten in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 2011, German singerLena Meyer-Landrut (credited as Lena) covered the song while retaining the original title and lyrics.
Linda Lyndell, a white singer who had been a supporting act withJames Brown andIke & Tina Turner and then recommended toStax Records byOtis Redding, recorded "What a Man".[1] The song was essentially improvised by Lyndell, record producerDave Crawford, and the Stax studio musicians inMemphis, Tennessee. It was released as a single in 1968 with theB-side track "I Don't Know"; both songs were credited to and produced by Dave Crawford.[2] The single entered theBillboardHot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart on August 24, 1968, and then peaked at number 50.[3] The record came to the attention of white supremacists in theKu Klux Klan, who threatened Lyndell for associating with black musicians; as a result, she largely withdrew from the music business for the next 25 years.[1]
Laura Lee covered the song, released in 1970 as a single by theCotillion Records with "Separation Line" as the B-side track.[4] Lee's version earned poor sales.[5]
| "Whatta Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single bySalt-N-Pepa withEn Vogue | ||||
| from the albumVery NecessaryandRunaway Love | ||||
| A-side | "Shoop" (US) | |||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | December 2, 1993 (1993-12-2) | |||
| Recorded | August 1993[6] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:42 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Hurby Azor | |||
| Salt-N-Pepa singles chronology | ||||
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| En Vogue singles chronology | ||||
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In 1993, Americanhip hop trioSalt-N-Pepa recorded the song retitled "Whatta Man" forRunaway Love, an EP byEn Vogue, who is credited as the featured group.Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor wrote the rap lyrics and produced the version, with Cheryl James (Salt) also credited as one of the songwriters. Salt-N-Pepa sampled Lyndell's original recording and remade the song as a rap song.[7][8]
En Vogue sings the refrain of the song; "Whatta man, whatta man, whatta mighty good man",[9] while a pregnantCindy Herron is featured only on background vocals. "Whatta Man" was later featured on Salt-n-Pepa's 1993 album,Very Necessary. The male vocals at the beginning of the song were performed by brothers Troy and John Mitchell of the rap group 3 Feet.[citation needed] The music video for the song was directed byMatthew Rolston.
AllMusic editorStephen Thomas Erlewine called the song "such a wonderful duet", noting that they deliver a song "so sexy it hurts".[10]Larry Flick fromBillboard wrote that the "fierce, ruling rap divas dip into their fineVery Necessary album and pull out this wickedly funkyhip hop jam." He added further, "Loose and oh-so-appealing harmonies byEn Vogue provide a kickin' framework for clever, lip-lickin' rhymes that melt into the track's butt-shaggin' beats. Destined to be an out-of-the-box smasheroo, single further benefits fromDanny D's well-conceived remixes."[11]
James Earl Hardy fromEntertainment Weekly felt in his review of En Vogue's EP,Runaway Love, that the song "prove [that] these divas have more in common with theEmotions and theSweet Inspirations than with theSupremes."[12] Dave Sholin from theGavin Report commented, "Whatta concept, pairing these goddesses of hip-hop with a killer track and some of the best lines heard in a long time. Though it was getting a healthy number of spins in several markets late last year, it's now starting to bust big."[13]
James Hamilton fromMusic Week'sRM Dance Update deemed it a "cooing gritty slow rap".[14] Ted Kessler fromNME named it Unstoppable Hit Single of the Week, writing, "This takes En Vogue's "My Lovin'", puts it in a car, drives it off somewhere hot, sunny and sexy, slows it down, feeds it loads of funky guitar and sewns in some sassy rapping about how the ideal man treats Salt, Pepa and Spinderella."[15] Gerald Martinez fromNew Sunday Times felt the song showed that En Vogue "can rap with the best of them."[16] A reviewer fromPeople Magazine described it as "R&B-stoked".[17] In a retrospective review, Pop Rescue declared it as a "fantastic collaboration" with En Vogue and a "masterpiece".[18]Sylvia Patterson fromSmash Hits gave it two out of five.[19] James Hunter fromVibe noted that En Vogue are "sounding proud as punch to play second fiddle, furnish Salt-N-Pepa with harmonic backdrops. It's a logical collaboration: En Vogue provide the sound of true romance that the rappers can better state than demonstrate."[20]
"Whatta Man" was a major hit for Salt-N-Pepa andEn Vogue, peaking at number three on theBillboard Hot 100, number seven on theUK Singles Chart and number six on theUK Dance Singles Chart. In the US, this version wascertified platinum.[21] The song was nominated for the Grammy Award forBest R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and theAmerican Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Single. "Whatta Man" was ranked number 23 onVH1's countdown of the 100 Greatest Songs of the 1990s.
Richard Harrington ofThe Washington Post interprets the song as "a celebration of strong men who stay home and care for kids."[22] Garth Baker-Fletcher, an Associate Professor of Religion fromTexas College, interpreted the version's refrain as "praising a steady-thinking, family-values-yet-sexy man."[9] WriterKeith Boykin described the song portion, "Although most men are hos / He flows on the down low / Cuz I never heard about him with another girl," as if "rather than praise his faithfulness, the artists appreciate his discretion, while tacitly acknowledging his cheating." Moreover, Boykin said that "another girl" refers to Salt-N-Pepa's considerations of "heterosexual infidelity" and as if "some women [...] were publicly excusing their men for theirdown low behavior."[23]
A music video was released on the week ending January 2, 1994[24] to promote the single.Tupac Shakur andTreach fromNaughty by Nature make cameo appearances. The video was directed byMatthew Rolston and filmed by cinematographer Derek M. Allen.[citation needed]New York magazine journalistDinitia Smith wrote about the video: "Salt-N-Pepa have [sic] a warmth and sexual heat that makeMadonna seem contrived and mechanical."[25]
Salt-n-Pepa later recorded a variation on their own, with slightly rewritten lyrics, for another music video as the one-time segment ofMonday Night Football. In theMonday music video, the two women wearing tight short-sleeved clothes, including T-shirts containing their respective logos of two opposing teams, are seen in a gym complimenting two football players of their respective teams,[26][27] one white and one black, for the men's bodies andweight training efforts.[27] In contrast, the lyrics of theMonday Night Football music video say that "their man 'likes pushin'[,] spends quality ball with the fellas,' and 'takes a big hit, 'cause he's a real man.'" According to academic Nick Trujillo ofCalifornia State University, Sacramento, the rap song may associatehypermasculinity "with combat sports such as[American] football." He further said that the standard version has the women rather choose men who do not play football but are good parental candidates and are comfortable with their masculinities, while theMonday music video "not only objectifie[s] football players as sex objects but also reinforce[s] stereotypes of black men as sexual performers and white men as loving fathers."[27]
NME magazine ranked "Whatta Man" number 34 in their list of the "50 best songs of 1994".[28]The Village Voice ranked it number 99 in their list of "Top Singles of the 90's" in 1999.[29]Q magazine featured the song in their list of "The 1010 Songs You Must Own" in 2004.[1]
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Won MTV Video Music Awards for Best Dance Video, Best R&B Video, and Best Choreography for "Whatta Man". |
| 1995 | Nominated for an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Single ("Whatta Man"). |
| 1995 | Nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group ("Whatta Man"). |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[64] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[65] | Gold | 5,000* |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[66] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[67] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | December 2, 1993 |
| [67] | |
| United Kingdom | March 7, 1994 |
|
| [68] |
| Japan | March 25, 1994 | Mini-CD |
| [69] |
The television showBill Nye the Science Guy features "Whatta Brain", a parody of this song by En Vogue parody band En Lobe, in the episode "Brain". Australian rock bandNew Waver covered the song in 1994 and released their cover as acassingle.Funny or Die released a version of this song withBruno Mars singing and acting out various scenes.[citation needed]
TheDisney rap album "Mickey Unrapped" features "Whatta Mouse",[70] a parody of the song aboutMickey Mouse. The song was also distributed atMcDonald's locations in theUK in 1999 as part of anenhanced CDEP.[71]
The original Linda Lyndell version of the song was also covered by German singerLena Meyer-Landrut as the theme song to the 2011 German filmWhat a Man. It is featured on the Platinum edition her second studio albumGood News and on the film soundtrack album. It was released on 2 September 2011 asCD single andDigital download in Germany, reaching number 21 on theGerman Singles Chart.[72] A music video for the Lena version was released.
A sub-unit of South Korean girl groupI.O.I fromProduce 101 sampled the hook of the Salt-N-Pepa version for their song "Whatta Man" which was released on August 9, 2016.[citation needed]
