| "I Got That" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single byAmil featuringBeyoncé | ||||
| from the albumAll Money Is Legal | ||||
| A-side | "4 da Fam" | |||
| Released | July 5, 2000 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Hip-hop | |||
| Length | 3:17 | |||
| Label | Sony | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) | ||||
| Amil singles chronology | ||||
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| Beyoncé singles chronology | ||||
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"I Got That" is ahip-hop song by American rapperAmil from her albumAll Money Is Legal (2000). She wrote the track with its producers,L.E.S. andPoke & Tone, along withJay-Z,Makeda Davis, and Tamy Lestor Smith. In the lyrics, Amil encourages women to seek out emotional, financial, and romantic independence. "I Got That" uses asample from the 1985Gwen Guthrie song "Seventh Heaven".Beyoncé performs the song'schorus and backing vocals, as her label was trying to assess her viability as a solo artist outside of her girl groupDestiny's Child.
Roc-A-Fella andColumbia Records released "I Got That" on July 5, 2000, as thelead single fromAll Money Is Legal. It was Amil's debut solo single after featuring on songs by Jay-Z and other Roc-A-Fella artists. Jay-Z andDarren Grant directed the music video, which shows Amil and Beyoncé shopping. In the United States, "I Got That" topped theBillboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart in September 2000. Contemporary critics negatively compared the single to the more personal tracks on the album; later coverage focused on Beyoncé, who was praised for her vocals. According to retrospective articles, the song has largely been forgotten or overlooked since its release.
Jay-Z signedAmil to his record labelRoc-A-Fella after she was featured on his 1998 single "Can I Get A...".[1][2] She was the first female rapper on Roc-A-Fella,[3] working as what music journalistClover Hope described as "the crew's go-to female voice".[2] A high-profile member in the label, being promoted as itsFirst Lady,[4] Amil continued to collaborate with Jay-Z for "Nigga What, Nigga Who (Originator 99)" and "Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up)" (both in 1999) and "Hey Papi" (2000),[1][4] and she appeared on several songs by other Roc-A-Fella artists.[2][5] Her features received a significant amount ofradio airplay;[5]VH1's Renaud Jean-Baptiste Jr. singled out the success of her songs with Jay-Z as leading to the creation of her 2000 albumAll Money Is Legal.[4]
Amil wrote "I Got That" with its producers—L.E.S. andPoke & Tone members Jean-Claude Olivier and Samuel J. Barnes—along with Jay-Z, Makeda Davis, and Tamy Lestor Smith.[6] InThe Source magazine, Aliya S. King contrasted Poke & Tone's work on the song with the rest of the album, which she said was handled by "a slew of up-and-comer producers".[7] "I Got That" was recorded by Steve Sauder atthe Hit Factory in New York City, where it wasmixed by Rich Travali, and by Mark Mason at Platinum Post Studios inWinter Park, Florida. All of the tracks forAll Money Is Legal, including "I Got That", weremastered byChris Gehringer atSterling Sound Studios in New York City.[6]
"I Got That" featuresBeyoncé,[6] who performs thechorus and provides backing vocals.[8][9] It was her first collaboration with her future husband Jay-Z.[10][11] Beyoncé recorded her parts in early 2000 during a separate recording session. Her then-managerMathew Knowles paid Roc-A-Fella for the feature as a way to assess her viability as a solo artist, since she was still a part of girl groupDestiny's Child at the time.[12] Beyoncé pursued a solo career three years after "I Got That", releasing her debut albumDangerously in Love in 2003.[13][14]
"I Got That" is ahip-hop song that lasts for three minutes and seventeen seconds.[6][15] It contains asample from the 1985Gwen Guthrie single "Seventh Heaven".[6]Spin writer Andrew Unterberger felt that the composition had a "squelching, slithering" production,[8] whileDavid Browne likened it to music by a girl group inEntertainment Weekly.[15] Browne said that Amil has "sultry, sing songy rapping" style throughoutAll Money Is Legal, most notably on "I Got That".[15]The Philadelphia Inquirer's Dan DeLuca thought that Amil performs with a "girlish, take-no-guff voice", specifically on "I Got That".[16] Beyoncé's vocals were described asbreathy by Unterberger,[8] and as "buttery" by Camille Augustin inVibe magazine.[17]
The lyrics are about encouraging women to pursue emotional, financial, and romantic independence.[18] Amil conveys this by rapping about how she can support herself without needing anything from men:[13][19] "I don't need a man to / Do for Amil what Amil can do."[13] She further expresses this by bragging about buying her own clothing, jewelry, and aMercedes-Benz.[20]Vibe's Desire Thompson highlighted theverse, "What chick you know cockGlocks back?", while summarizing the song as about a "woman having her own with snarky bars to match".[10]
Critics discussed the lyrics in relation to the rest ofAll Money Is Legal and with Amil's past songs.[21] Clover Hope thought that while Amil's previous songs focus on scamming men to survive, "I Got That" expands her style to include boasting that she is "earning her own money, too".[13] In theSan Antonio Express-News, Anthony M. Thompson believed that this focus on female independence represents how Amil was able to give a "distinct, woman's touch" to her album.[22] DeLuca said that Amil carries over a similar message into the album tracks "All Money Is Legal" and "Girlfriend", in which she "surveys a world where everything is for sale and a girl had best look out for herself".[16]
Roc-A-Fella andColumbia Records released "I Got That" asAll Money Is Legal'slead single on July 5, 2000.[23] It was made available on the12-inch andCD formats,[24][25] including as adouble A-side with the album's second single "4 da Fam" (2000).[25] The song appeared on thecompilation albumsR&B Masters in 2001 andUrban Sounds: Hip-Hop & Reggae 1996-2000 in 2003.[26][27]
Jay-Z andDarren Grant directed the single's music video,[28][29] which features Amil and Beyoncé shopping at stores.[13] American rapperEve makes a cameo appearance,[13] and Beyoncé wears an outfit thatBillboard described as resembling a "fiery cowgirl".[30] It was Beyoncé's first music video as a solo artist.[30] The video was on the list ofBET's most-played clips for the weeks of August 1 and 8, 2000, and it also played onThe Box—a now-defunct music video network—during the same two weeks.[31][32]
"I Got That" reached number one on the USBillboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart for the week of September 16, 2000; it was on the chart for twelve weeks.[33] On theurban contemporary radio chart published byRadio & Records, the song peaked at number forty-six.[34] According to retrospective articles, the single was not well-remembered, either being forgotten or overlooked.[35] In 2018, Desire Thompson wrote that the single had "slipped between the cracks" because of the abundance of female rappers in the early 2000s, such asDa Brat, Eve,Lil' Kim,Missy Elliott, andTrina.[10]
Most of the critical commentary focused on Beyoncé's feature,[36] which Camille Augustin felt complimented Amil's rapping style.[17] Andrew Unterberger believed that the single deserved more commercial success, largely in part to Beyoncé's performance of the chorus.[8]Kathy Iandoli, writing forDazed, said that Beyoncé turned "I Got That" more into a Destiny's Child song, considering this proof that she was the lead of the group.[37] Amil's rapping was also praised by critics,[17][37] who said that the song showed that she had a "one-of-a-kind sound"[17] and the potential for a longer music career as "the female rap guest feature".[37] In a more negative review, a writer forVibe magazine cited "I Got That" as one of the worst hip-hop collaborations in 2000.[38]
Critics compared "I Got That" to otherAll Money Is Legal tracks.[39][40] ABillboard reviewer regarded the song ascatchy and fit for radio airplay, but preferred Amil rapping about personal issues on "Smile 4 Me" and "Quarrels".[40] TheMichigan Chronicle journalist Says Who enjoyed the album and encouraged listeners to explore beyond "I Got That", which was noted as an "easy first single".[39]
Credits adapted from the liner notes ofAll Money Is Legal:[6]
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