21 Questions

For the guessing game, see Twenty Questions.
"21 Questions"
Single by 50 Cent featuring Nate Dogg
from the album Get Rich or Die Tryin'
Released April 29, 2003
Format 12" single
Recorded 2002
Genre Hip hop, R&B
Length 3:44
Label Shady/Aftermath/Interscope
Writer(s) Curtis Jackson, Kevin Risto, Jimmy Cameron & Vela M. Cameron
Producer(s) Dirty Swift of Midi Mafia
Certification Gold (ARIA)
50 Cent singles chronology
"Magic Stick"
(2003)		 "21 Questions"
(2003)		 "P.I.M.P."
(2003)
Nate Dogg singles chronology
"Gangsta Nation"
(2003)		 "21 Questions"
(2003)		 "The Set Up"
(2004)
Get Rich or Die Tryin' track listing
"Poor Little Rich"
(13)		 "21 Questions"
(14)		 "Don't Push Me"
(15)

"21 Questions" is a song performed by American rapper 50 Cent and Nate Dogg. The song was written by 50 Cent, K. Risto, J. Cameron, and V. Cameron for 50 Cent's commercial debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003). Released in 2003 as the album's second single, it became his second number one song in the United States, after "In Da Club". It reached #6 on the UK Singles Chart while "In Da Club" was at No. 23, giving him the rare feat of having two singles in the Top 30 at the same time. The track was produced by Chris styles and samples elements from Barry White's "It's Only Love Doing Its Thing". This was the only single from the album to not have the Parental Advisory sticker on its cover since the only profanity was the word "nigga" in the first verse.

Background

When producer Dr. Dre worked with 50 Cent on his debut album, he did not want the song on the album. According to 50 Cent, "Dre was, like, 'How you goin' to be gangsta this and that and then put this sappy love song on?'" 50 Cent responded saying, "I'm two people. I've always had to be two people since I was a kid, to get by. To me that's not diversity, it's necessity."[1]

Music video

The music video for "21 Questions" was directed by Damon Johnson, Dr. Dre and Phillip Atwell in March 2003.[2] It depicts 50 Cent arrested and confined to prison, where he tries to keep in touch with his girlfriend, played by Meagan Good. In prison, he is constantly harangued by rival inmate (Tyson Beckford). The video ends with a continuation of the beginning, showing 50 Cent and his girlfriend watching from their home as the police arrest Beckford instead; the prison scenes are revealed to be a hypothetical scenario imagined by a worried 50 Cent. The video has cameo appearances by G-Unit and Nate Dogg, who sings the chorus and the outro.[2] The video concept can also be originated from Nate Dogg's "Never Leave Me Alone".

On April 15, 2003, the video debuted on MTV's Total Request Live at number six, reached number one two days later, and stayed on the chart for 50 days.[2][3] It also reached number two on the MuchMusic video charts.[4]

Remixes

Official remixes of the single includes featured artists among the likes of Nate Dogg, Monica, Free and Lil' Mo, all of whom have either rapped or sung their own verses over the song's instrumentals.

21 Answers

"21 Answers"
Song by Lil' Mo featuring Free from the album Meet the Girl Next Door
Recorded 2003
Genre R&B, Hip hop
Length 4:02
Label Elektra
Producer Dirty Swift of Midi Mafia
Meet the Girl Next Door track listing

"Letter to My #1 Fan"
(16)		 "21 Answers"
(17)		 "4Ever (Midi Mafia Reggae Remix)"
(18)

"21 Answers" is a remix by Lil' Mo and former 106 & Park co-host Free, which was released as an 'answer track' to "21 Questions." Kevin "Dirty Swift" Risto, one-half of Midi Mafia, originally penned the idea of creating a female response record; he immediately got in touch with R&B singer Lil' Mo and added former 106 & Park personality Free to the mix.[5] The song then premiered on New York's Hot 97 radio station—resulting in numerous rotations on various radio stations around the country—and later debuted on Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at number 77.[6] Although the song went on to spend eleven weeks on the chart based solely on airplay,[7] it failed to see a release on Lil' Mo's sophomore album Meet the Girl Next Door (2003), due to the song not being finalized in time to meet the album's deadline.[6][8] However, because of Elektra Records' 2004 merging with Atlantic, the song appeared on the 2011 re-release of Meet the Girl Next Door.[9]

Charts

Charts (2003) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay[10] 51
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[7] 50

Track listings

  1. "21 Questions" - 3:44
  2. "Soldier (Freestyle with G-Unit) - 3:18
  3. "21 Questions" (Live from New York) - 4:54
  4. "21 Questions" (Music Video) - 3:49
  1. "21 Questions" - 3:44
  2. "21 Answers" (featuring Monica) - 4:03

Credits and personnel

Charts

Chart (2003) Peak
position
scope="row"Australia (ARIA)[13] 4
scope="row"Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[14] 39
scope="row"Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[15] 37
scope="row"Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[16] 36
Canada (Canadian Singles Chart)[17] 5
scope="row"Denmark (Tracklisten)[18] 18
scope="row"Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[19] 20
scope="row"France (SNEP)[20] 58
scope="row"Germany (Official German Charts)[21] 35
scope="row"Hungary (Dance Top 40)[22] 15
scope="row"Ireland (IRMA)[23] 11
scope="row"Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[24] 8
scope="row"New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[25] 8
scope="row"Norway (VG-lista)[26] 15
scope="row"Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[27] 34
scope="row"Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 14
scope="row"UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[29] 6
scope="row"US Billboard Hot 100[30] 1
scope="row"US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[31] 1
scope="row"US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[32] 6
scope="row"US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[33] 1
Preceded by
"Get Busy" by Sean Paul		 Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks number-one single
May 3, 2003 – June 14, 2003 		Succeeded by
"So Gone" by Monica
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
May 31, 2003 – June 21, 2003 		Succeeded by
"This Is the Night" by Clay Aiken

References

  1. ↑ Allison Samuels, February 21, 2007. The Flip Side of 50 Cent. MSNBC. Accessed July 7, 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 Reid, Shaheem (May 2, 2003). 50 Cent: Still Hungry After 4 Million Records. MTV. Accessed July 7, 2007.
  3. ↑ TRL Archive Debuts. Popfusion. Accessed July 7, 2007.
  4. ↑ Universal Urban (April 24, 2007). 50 Cent's new album, Curtis, takes Hip-Hop to the bank. Accessed July 7, 2007.
  5. ↑ Bronson, Fred (2003), The Billboard Book of Number One Hits: Updated and Expanded 5th Edition, Watson-Guptill Publications, p. 932, ISBN 0-8230-7677-6
  6. 1 2 Jessen, Wade. "Singles Minded > Back and Forth." Billboard. May 10, 2003: 67. Print.
  7. 1 2 "Lil' Mo - Chart history". Billboard. Billboard.biz. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  8. ↑ Brown, Jamie Foster. "Lil' Mo has '21 Answers' for 50 Cent." Sister 2 Sister. September 2003: 27. Print.
  9. ↑ "Meet The Girl Next Door: Lil' Mo". Amazon. Amazon.com. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Lil' Mo - Chart history". Billboard. Billboard.biz. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  11. ↑ "21 Questions – 50 Cent". allmusic. April 13, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
  12. ↑ http://www.amazon.co.uk/21-Questions-Cent-Feat-Nate-Dogg/dp/B00009VGRS/ref=sr_1_4?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1359108459&sr=1-4
  13. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – 50 Cent – 21 Questions". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – 50 Cent – 21 Questions" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Ultratop.be – 50 Cent – 21 Questions" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Ultratop.be – 50 Cent – 21 Questions" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  17. ↑ "50 Cent > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – 50 Cent – 21 Questions". Tracklisten. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  19. ↑ "50 Cent: 21 Questions" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  20. ↑ "Lescharts.com – 50 Cent – 21 Questions" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  21. ↑ "Musicline.de – 50 Cent Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  22. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Dance Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  23. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 27, 2003". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  24. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 31, 2003" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  25. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – 50 Cent – 21 Questions". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  26. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – 50 Cent – 21 Questions". VG-lista. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  27. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – 50 Cent – 21 Questions". Singles Top 100. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  28. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – 50 Cent – 21 Questions". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  29. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2003-07-12" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  30. ↑ "50 Cent – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for 50 Cent. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  31. ↑ "50 Cent – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for 50 Cent. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  32. ↑ "50 Cent – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for 50 Cent. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  33. ↑ "50 Cent – Chart history" Billboard Hot Rap Songs for 50 Cent. Retrieved January 3, 2012.

External links

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