"Baby"
Standard artwork for worldwide release (US commercial CD maxi-single pictured)
Single by Brandy
from the album Brandy
ReleasedDecember 24, 1994 (1994-12-24)
Recorded1993[1]
Genre
Length
  • 5:13 (album version)
  • 4:19 (radio edit)
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Keith Crouch
Brandy singles chronology
"I Wanna Be Down"
(1994)		 "Baby"
(1994)		 "Best Friend"
(1995)

"Baby" is a song by American R&B recording artist Brandy, taken from her debut studio album, Brandy (1994). It was penned by Keith Crouch, Kipper Jones, and Rahsaan Patterson and produced by the former. Released as the album's second single on December 24, 1994, in the United States, it reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent four weeks atop the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart. It also reached number four in New Zealand, number 16 in Australia, and number 68 in Canada. The single sold 1,000,000 copies in 1995 in the United States.[3]

A music video was accompanied and directed by Hype Williams.[4] It was photographed in the middle of Times Square in New York City in December 1994 and portrays Norwood and her company dancing in skiing outfits. Met with generally positive reviews from contemporary critics, "Baby" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 1996 ceremony.

Background

"Baby" was written by Keith Crouch, Kipper Jones and Rahsaan Patterson in 1993, while production was handled by the former.[5][1] Conceived within a few days only, the song was created during additional songwriting sessions with Patterson, with whom Crouch had worked on several songs for the Brandy album.[6] On the production process, Patterson commented in 2011: "I remember going over to his [Crouch's] house for two nights in a row and from the first night that he wanted to play the track for me, I heard what I heard, but I kept it to myself because I was pretty much intimidated thinking he would think it was horrible. Then by the third day, he was like “We’ve got to turn this song in by Friday, so whatever you think of, just sing it!” So I sang to him what I had heard instantly when he played it and he was like “Man you’ve been sitting there holding that!”.[6] Most of the background vocals and instruments were recorded in one of Crouch's bedrooms.[6] Upon hearing the demo track, Norwood applauded the song for its "flavor and soul".[7] During recording, she was reportedly inspired by idol Whitney Houston vocally, "I wanted to be exactly like her musically!".[7]

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard felt that "Baby" was continuing to position Brandy as a "pop/urban ingenue with charisma to spare".[2] Overall, he thought radio programmers would jump on this song "within seconds", as well as kids who will begin "endlessly chanting the chorus shortly after".[2] Steve Baltin from Cash Box commented, "Be careful not to slip on this one, as it is slick as a glacier. An extremely well-crafted slow-grinding groove lies behind the teen-age sensation’s throaty vocals. While the same level of success isn’t likely, there is still lots of airplay in the future of this tune."[8] Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report wrote, "At this rate, Brandy will have a Greatest Hits album out before she turns 18! Some songs demand to be played a lot, and here's a perfect example."[9] Pan-European magazine Music & Media deemed Brandy as America's youngest "new jil swinger". They added that "a higher "baby, babe" factor has not been heard since Amy Grant."[10] Ralph Tee from Music Week's RM Dance Update said, "At a virtually identical pace, the track perhaps lacks the production goose-bump factor that catapulted its predecessor up the charts, but its jazzy guitar lick and infectious chorus wrapped up with an impressive vocal and plenty of dancefloor appeal should see this go places."[11]

Music video

The video for "Baby" was partially filmed in Times Square.

An accompanying music video for "Baby" was directed by Hype Williams and filmed in the middle of Times Square in New York City in December 1994.[4][7] Choreography was handled by Fatima Robinson.[12] A performance video, it portrays Norwood and her company dancing at "The Great White Way" in Midtown Manhattan, wearing skiing outfits.[13] Norwood wears a big white jacket and thin, white leggings complete with a white hat and black shades. The back up dancers are dressed in white too. The next cuts show Norwood wearing pink in a pink room, while singing into a microphone in a dull coloured room. She is later seen dancing with people in the same room, with the rest of the video containing similar cuts.[4]

Norwood commented on filming, "all these people were passing by and were like ‘Who’s this girl on stage in the middle of Times Square?’ I had a great time shooting the video. I could just feel myself really starting to open up, really come out of my shell and find myself as a young artist."[14] At the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards, Fatima Robinson was nominated for Best Choreography but lost to LaVelle Smith Jnr, Tina Landon, Travis Payne and Sean Cheesman for their work on the video for the Michael and Janet Jackson duet "Scream" (1995).[12]

Track listings

CD single[5]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Baby" (radio edit)
Crouch4:19
2."Baby" (All Star Party mix)
  • Crouch
  • Jones
  • Jones
  • Patterson
  • Crouch
  • Allstar[a]
5:37
3."Baby" (LP version)
  • Crouch
  • Jones
  • Jones
  • Patterson
Crouch5:12
4."I Wanna Be Down" (The Human Rhythm Hip Hop remix featuring MC Lyte, Queen Latifah and Yo-Yo)
Crouch4:15

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Brandy.[5]

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[31] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Golden, Anna Louise (June 10, 2014). Brandy. St. Martin's Publishing. ISBN 9781466873629.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Flick, Larry (February 4, 1995). "Single Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 5. p. 95. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Best-Selling Records of 1995". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 3. BPI Communications. January 20, 1996. p. 56. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "The Best R&B Videos of the '90s". Complex. November 9, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 Brandy (Media notes). Brandy. Atlantic Records. 1994.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. 1 2 3 "Interview: Rahsaan Patterson on Extending the Life of "Bleuphoria"". YouKnowIGotSoul.com. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 Nathan, David; Rizik, Chris (May 8, 2007). "Brandy Biography". SoulTracks. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
  8. ↑ Baltin, Steve (February 4, 1995). "Pop Singles" (PDF). Cash Box. p. 7. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  9. ↑ Sholin, Dave (February 10, 1995). "Gavin Picks: Singles" (PDF). Gavin Report. p. 46. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  10. ↑ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. April 8, 1995. p. 13. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  11. ↑ Tee, Ralph (February 4, 1995). "Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 11. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  12. 1 2 "Baby: Awards". IMDb. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  13. ↑ Porter, Nina (January 25, 2000). The Brandy Star Profile. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  14. ↑ Josephs, Brian (August 21, 2012). "Brandy Tells All: The Stories Behind Her Classic Records". Complex. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Brandy – Baby". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  16. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9092." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 9236." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  18. 1 2 Lwin, Nanda (2000). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Music Data Canada. p. 50. ISBN 1-896594-13-1.
  19. ↑ "Brandy – Baby". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  20. ↑ "Chart Log UK - 1994–2010". zobbel.de. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Brandy Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  24. ↑ "Brandy Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Brandy Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  26. ↑ "Brandy Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  27. ↑ "Brandy Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  28. ↑ "RPM Top 50 Dance Tracks of 1995". RPM. Retrieved September 15, 2020 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  29. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 – 1995". Archived from the original on August 15, 2009. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
  30. ↑ "The Year in Music: Hot R&B Singles". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 51. December 23, 1995. p. YE-38.
  31. ↑ "American single certifications – Brandy – Baby". Recording Industry Association of America.
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