What a Man (song)

"What a Man" is a song written by Dave Crawford, and originally recorded for Stax Records by Linda Lyndell, whose recording reached No. 50 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1968. As "Whatta Man", a version was recorded in 1993, with greater commercial success, by Salt-n-Pepa with En Vogue.

Salt-n-Pepa and En Vogue version

In 1993, En Vogue covered the song and Salt-n-Pepa rapped over the track. "Whatta Man" is the second single released from Salt-n-Pepa's 1993 album Very Necessary; it was produced by Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor. The song also appeared on En Vogue's Runaway Love EP. "Whatta Man" was a major hit for both Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, and at number seven on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, it was certified platinum. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group and the American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Single. It was held from reaching #1 by Sheryl Crow's "All I Wanna Do" at 2 and Montell Jordan's "This is How We Do It" at 1.

IO

Io, IO, I/O, i/o, or i.o. may refer to:

Abbreviation

En Vogue

En Vogue is an American R&B girl group whose original line-up consisted of Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California in 1989, they reached number two on the US Hot 100 with the single "Hold On", which was taken from their 1990 debut album "Born to Sing". The group's 1992 follow-up album Funky Divas reached the top 10 in both the US and UK, and included their second US number two hit "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)", plus the US top 10 hits "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" and "Free Your Mind".

In 1996, "Don't Let Go (Love)" became the group's third single to reach number two in the US, and became their sixth number one on the US R&B chart. Robinson left the group in 1997 shortly before the release of their third album EV3, which also reached the US and UK top 10. Jones left the group in 2001 and was replaced by Amanda Cole; however, in 2003, Cole left and was replaced by Rhona Bennett during the recording of their album Soul Flower. In 2005, the original members briefly united before departing again. In 2009, the original members once again reunited for their "En Vogue: 20th Anniversary". Shortly after the tour, Robinson and Jones departed from En Vogue to pursue solo careers, with Bennett rejoining the group as a trio.

Salt-N-Pepa

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Salt-N-Pepa is an American hip hop trio from Queens, New York. The group, consisting of Cheryl James ("Salt"), Sandra Denton ("Pepa") and originally Latoya Hanson, who was replaced by Deidra Roper ("DJ Spinderella"), was formed in 1985 and was one of the first all-female rap groups. Through their career, Salt-N-Pepa have won five awards: Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group (1995), MTV Video Music Award for Best Electronic Dance Music Video (1994), MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography (1994), MTV Video Music Award for Best R&B Video (1994) and BET Hip Hop Awards I Am Hip-Hop Icon Award (2010).

History

Beginnings

The group entered the music industry at a time when hip hop music was believed to be a fad and major record companies were reluctant to sign hip hop artists. Many early hip hop artists recorded for independent labels. Originally calling themselves Super Nature (on their first single), James and Denton debuted in 1985 with the single "The Showstopper", an answer record to Doug E. Fresh's hit single "The Show". "The Showstopper" was produced by Hurby Azor. The song utilized a melody from the 1984 film Revenge of the Nerds. The finished recording garnered some airplay on a New York City rap radio program. The independent Pop Art Records gave it an official release, and "The Showstopper" became a modest R&B hit. Salt-N-Pepa made their impact on hip-hop by being the first all women rap group. With lots of concerns about sexist lyrics and video clips that objectified women's bodies in hip hop music, many feminists disliked rap and hip-hop music because of its bad portrayal of women. However, Salt-N-Pepa changed the look of hip hop. They wore scantily clad, sexy clothing and were not afraid to talk about sex and their thoughts about men. Their song "Let's Talk About Sex" was a huge hit.

Voyage to India

Voyage to India is the second studio album by American soul/R&B singer India.Arie, released in 2002 (see 2002 in music). The album's title comes from a track by Arie's idol Stevie Wonder from his 1979 album Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants.

It debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of 109,000 copies. And topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, going Platinum by the RIAA. At the 2003 Grammy Awards, it won "Best R&B Album", and the single "Little Things" won "Best Urban/Alternative Performance". The song "Get It Together" was featured on many film soundtracks including "Brown Sugar" (2002) and Shark Tale (2004).

Track listing

Source:

Critical reception

Prior to Voyage To India's release many were dubious the album as a sophomore effort would reach the critical success of Arie's previous release Acoustic Soul on account of a notable trend of this occurring amongst other neo soul artists such as D'Angelo, Erykah Badu and Macy Gray. Despite this uncertainty Voyage To India gained a score of 65 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews". John Bush of Allmusic wrote that this "is exactly what makes Voyage to India such a beautiful surprise; it's a record that easily equals her debut, boasting better vocal performances but also better songwriting and accompanying production." A favorable review from Bill Campbell of Ink 19 echoes John Bush's sentiment stating that "This disc is much more solid than Acoustic Soul."