21 Questions

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the guessing game, see
Twenty Questions
.

"21 Questions"
Single by 50 Cent featuring Nate Dogg
from the album Get Rich or Die Tryin'
B-side
ReleasedMarch 4, 2003 (2003-03-04)
Interscope
  • Shady
  • Aftermath
    • Songwriter(s)
    Producer(s)Dirty Swift
    50 Cent singles chronology
    "Magic Stick"
    (2003)     		"21 Questions"
    (2003)     		"P.I.M.P."
    (2003)
    Nate Dogg singles chronology
    "Get Up"
    (2003)     		"21 Questions"
    (2003)     		"Gangsta Nation"
    (2003)
    Music video
    "21 Questions" on
    YouTube

    "21 Questions" is a song by American rapper

    R&B-influenced love song, largely themed around a series of questions pertaining to a relationship between 50 Cent and an unnamed girlfriend, and contains elements of Barry White's 1978 song "It's Only Love Doing Its Thing
    ".

    "21 Questions" peaked at #1 on the US

    United Kingdom, and the top five in Canada and Australia
    .

    Background

    When producer Dr. Dre worked with 50 Cent on his debut album, he objected to the song being included on the tracklist. 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."[2]

    Music video

    Directed by Damon Johnson, Dr. Dre and

    cameo appearances by Nate Dogg (who provides vocals on the chorus and the outro)[3] and fellow G-Unit members Lloyd Banks and Young Buck
    as other inmates.

    On April 15, 2003, the video debuted on MTV's

    MuchMusic video charts.[5]

    The music video on YouTube has received over 590 million views as of April 2024.[6]

    Remixes

    Official remixes of the single includes featured artists among the likes of

    Free and Lil' Mo
    , all of whom have either rapped or sung their own verses over the song's instrumentals.

    "21 Answers"

    "21 Answers"
    Free
    from the album Meet the Girl Next Door
    Released2003 (2003)
    Recorded2003
    Genre
    Length4:02
    LabelElektra
    Songwriter(s)
    Producer(s)Dirty Swift of Midi Mafia

    "21 Answers" is remix recorded by American singer and rapper

    Free, as an answer song to "21 Questions." Kevin "Dirty Swift" Risto, one-half of Midi Mafia, originally conceived the idea of creating a female response record; he immediately got in touch with Lil' Mo and added Free as a collaborator.[7] The song subsequently premiered on New York's Hot 97 radio station—resulting in numerous rotations on various radio stations across the United States—and later debuted on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at number 77.[8] Although the song went on to spend 11 weeks on the chart based solely on airplay,[9] it failed to be included on Lil' Mo's second studio album Meet the Girl Next Door (2003), due to the song not being finalized in time to meet the album's deadline.[8][10] However, because of Elektra Records' 2004 merging with Atlantic, the song appeared on the 2011 re-release of Meet the Girl Next Door.[11]

    Charts

    Weekly chart performance for "21 Answers"
    Chart (2003) Peak
    position
    US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[9] 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
    • French CD single[13]
    1. "21 Questions" - 3:44
    2. "21 Answers" (featuring Monica) - 4:03

    Credits and personnel

    • Producer: Dirty Swift of Midi Mafia
    • Mixed by: Dr. Dre
    • Recorded by: Sha Money XL and Maurico "Veto" Iragorri
    • Protool edits by: Carlise Young
    • Assisted by: Ruben Rivera

    Charts

    Certifications

    Certifications and sales for "21 Questions"
    Region Certification Certified units/sales
    Australia (ARIA)[48] Platinum 70,000^
    Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[49] Gold 30,000‡
    Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[50] Gold 45,000‡
    Germany (BVMI)[51] Gold 150,000‡
    United Kingdom (BPI)[52] Platinum 600,000‡
    United States (RIAA)[53] 4× Platinum 4,000,000‡
    United States (RIAA)[54]
    Mastertone     		Gold 500,000*

    * Sales figures based on certification alone.
    ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
    ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

    Release history

    Release dates and formats for "21 Questions"
    Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
    United States March 4, 2003 (2003-03-04) Digital download
    [53]
    April 8, 2003 (2003-04-08)
    • urban contemporary radio
    [55]
    May 13, 2003 (2003-05-13) 12-inch vinyl
    [56]
    Germany June 23, 2003 (2003-06-23) Maxi CD Universal Music
    [23]
    Australia June 30, 2003 (2003-06-30)
    [57]
    United Kingdom
    		Polydor
    [58]
    France August 19, 2003 (2003-08-19) CD
    [59]

    Myke Towers version

    "Girl"
    Single by Myke Towers
    from the album Easy Money Baby
    Released23 January 2020 (2020-01-23)
    Recorded2020
    GenreReggaeton
    Length3:10
    LabelSony Latin
    Songwriter(s)
    Myke Towers singles chronology
    "Piensan"
    (2019)     		"Girl"
    (2020)     		"Diosa"
    (2020)
    Music video
    "Girl" on
    YouTube

    In 2020, Puerto Rican rapper/singer Myke Towers released a Spanish version of the song titled Girl for his album Easy Money Baby.[60] His version is all in the same rhythm as the original but the message of the lyrics is different.[61] His version entered the charts in the Hispanic market and was certified quintuple platinum in the United States.

    Charts

    Chart (2020) Peak
    position
    Spain (PROMUSICAE)[62] 28
    US Hot Latin Songs (Billboard)[63] 23

    Certifications

    Region Certification Certified units/sales
    United States (RIAA)[64] 5× Platinum (Latin) 300,000‡

    ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

    References

    1. ^ "50 Cent Chart History: Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
    2. ^ Allison Samuels, February 21, 2007. The Flip Side of 50 Cent Archived August 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. MSNBC. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
    3. ^ a b c Reid, Shaheem (May 2, 2003). 50 Cent: Still Hungry After 4 Million Records. MTV. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
    4. ^ TRL Archive Debuts Archived January 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Popfusion. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
    5. ^ Universal Urban (April 24, 2007). 50 Cent's new album, Curtis, takes Hip-Hop to the bank Archived July 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
    6. ^ 50 Cent - 21 Questions (Official Music Video) ft. Nate Dogg.YouTube
    7. ISBN 0-8230-7677-6
    8. ^ a b Jessen, Wade. "Singles Minded > Back and Forth." Billboard. May 10, 2003: 67. Print.
    9. ^ a b "Lil' Mo - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
    10. ^ Brown, Jamie Foster. "Lil' Mo has '21 Answers' for 50 Cent." Sister 2 Sister. September 2003: 27. Print.
    11. ^ "Meet The Girl Next Door: Lil' Mo". Amazon. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
    12. ^ "21 Questions – 50 Cent". AllMusic. April 13, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
    13. ^ "21 Questions". Amazon UK. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
    14. ^ "50 Cent – 21 Questions". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
    15. ^ "Issue 705" ARIA Top 40 Urban Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
    16. ^ "50 Cent – 21 Questions" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
    17. ^ "50 Cent – 21 Questions" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
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    19. ^ "50 Cent". Billboard. Retrieved August 31, 2023. Select 'Canadian Digital Song Sales' from the drop-down menu.
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    22. Les classement single
      . Retrieved January 3, 2012.
    23. ^ a b "50 Cent – 21 Questions" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
    24. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Dance Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
    25. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – 21 Questions". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
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    30. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
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    40. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 2003. Archived from the original
      on June 2, 2004. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
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    49. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – 50 Cent – 21 Questions" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
    50. ^ "Danish single certifications". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
    51. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (50 Cent; '21 Questions')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
    52. ^ "British single certifications – 50 Cent – 21 Questions". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
    53. ^ a b "American single certifications – 50 Cent – 21 Questions". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
    54. ^ "American single certifications – 50 Cent – 21 Questions". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
    55. ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. April 4, 2003. p. 28. Retrieved August 31, 2023 – via World Radio History.
    56. ^ "21 Questions – 50 Cent". Interscope Records. May 13, 2003. Retrieved August 31, 2023 – via AllMusic.
    57. ^ "New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 30th June 2003" (PDF). The ARIA Report (697). Australian Recording Industry Association: 26. June 30, 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 7, 2003. Retrieved August 31, 2023 – via Pandora archive.
    58. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting 30 June 2003" (PDF). Music Week. June 28, 2003. p. 31. Retrieved August 31, 2023 – via World Radio History.
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    60. ^ MYKE TOWERS LANZA SU TAN ESPERADO ÁLBUM INÉDITO «EASY MONEY BABY»
    61. ^ MYKE TOWERS SAMPLEA A 50 CENT EN “GIRL”
    62. Canciones Top 50
      . Retrieved 17 May 2020.
    63. ^ "Myke Towers Chart History (Hot Latin Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
    64. ^ "American single certifications – Myke Towers – Girl". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 15, 2021.

    External links

    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=21_Questions&oldid=1219842267"