Juicy Fruit (song)

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"Juicy Fruit" is a song written by James Mtume and released as the lead-off single from Mtume's third album, also titled Juicy Fruit. It features lead vocals by Tawatha Agee and a guest appearance by Bernie Worrell. The mid-tempo song is arguably Mtume's most well-known, proving enormously successful on R&B radio stations and (to a lesser extent) nightclubs when first released.

The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart on June 4, 1983 and remained there for eight weeks. Its success on the Billboard Pop Singles chart, however, was more modest, reaching number 45. It was ranked at number 15 among the "Tracks of the Year" for 1983 by NME. The single remarkably became a certified one million seller on July 25, 1983 without even becoming a Top 40 hit. The song's video had different lyrics, where they replaced "You can lick me everywhere" with "Candy kisses everywhere" so it wouldn't be censored or banned from being seen on TV.

"Juicy Fruit" has been prominently sampled by hip-hop and R&B artists throughout the years, most notably by The Notorious B.I.G. on his debut solo single "Juicy", Keyshia Cole on her single "Let It Go", and Tamar Braxton on her hit single "The One".

The single itself would become the inspiration for another act that would take the name from the song, Juicy, whose single "Sugar Free" was considered an answer to "Juicy Fruit" and itself the basis for being used as sampled backgrounds on numerous songs.

Video Juicy Fruit (song)

Background

According to group founder James Mtume, he worked on the song while lead singer Tawatha Agee was out on tour with English band Roxy Music. He had finished the Juicy Fruit album while the other band members went home. Mtume then used the Linn LM-1 and was pleased at what he heard. He then called the other band members back into the studio to complete the sessions. At 2 A.M. in the morning, they completed the track in under two hours. He then called Agee, who was in London in between breaks of the Roxy Music tour. Agee then flew back to the studio, although Mtume didn't have the lyrics written down until Agee started recording. As she was recording the first verse, he was busy composing the second verse. They completed the song in one night and Agee flew back to London after the sessions. Although Mtume loved the song, Agee wasn't happy with it, as she felt her vocals were "dry".

Maps Juicy Fruit (song)

Samples

The song "Juicy Fruit" is a staple hip hop sample. It is sampled in the following songs:

• "Juciest" by Alicia Keys
• "Lollipop" by U.T.F.O.
• "Juicy" by Wreckx-N-Effect
• "This DJ" by Warren G
• "Do You See" by Warren G
• "Loving You" by Jennifer Lopez
• "Faithfully" by Faith Evans
• "Juicy" by The Notorious B.I.G.
• "Let It Go" by Keyshia Cole
• "Sweet Funky Thing" by Eternal
• "I Really Like It" by Harlem World
• "The Ave." by Dre Dog
• "Sugar Free" by Pauline Henry
• "Dare to Dream" by Viola Willis
• "I Don't Care (Juiciest)"/"How Come You Don't Call Me Part 2" by Alicia Keys
• "Freak Tonight" by R. Kelly
• "Leather And Wood" by AMG
• "It's Going On" by Ant Banks
• "Supa Star" by Montell Jordan
• "Kimnotyze" by Lil' Kim
• "Flashbacks" by The Warlocks
• "No Soul" by Say Anything
• "Be Your Girl" remix by Teedra Moses
• "Game's Pain" Mega Remix by The Game featuring Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Keyshia Cole, Queen Latifah, Bun B, Pusha T, and Young Buck.
• "Dreaming Casually" by Rocky Padilla
• "East Side Love Story" by Johnny Boy
• "On The Blvd." by Lil Puppet
• "Charms Alarm" by Common
• "You Make It Easy" by Sharissa (Unreleased)
• "Burban & Impalas" by Big Mike
• "Joystick" by 213, and Snoop Dogg
• "Walk Like a Woman" by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim
• "No Question" by Allure
• "Juicy Fruit" by Mashonda
• "Your Love (Urban Noize Remix)" by Nicki Minaj
• "The One" by Tamar Braxton (also contains samples from Notorious BIG's "Juicy")
• "New Americana" by Halsey (though it interpolates more from Notorious BIG's "Juicy")
• "Donkey" by Sleaford Mods
• "#1 Candidate" by Ozrosaurus
• "Secret Time" by Spica (band)
• "Juicy Booty" by Chris Brown Featuring Jhené Aiko and R. Kelly

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Cover versions

The song was covered in 2011 by American R&B singer-songwriter and recording artist Mashonda which samples the instrumental beat of the original song with recreated background music.

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Charts

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Instrumental remixes

A remix of the song was made in 1983 titled the "Fruity Instrumental Mix". It was produced by Tony Humphries. This version of the song runs over seven minutes containing mostly instrumental beats featuring the singing vocals of "Juicy Fruit", minus its starting chorus. This is the version sampled for the Notorious B.I.G. song "Juicy", the remix of Montell Jordan's "Supa Star", and the Urban Noize remix of Nicki Minaj's song "Your Love".

The other instrumental remix titled "The After 6 Mix" runs about three and a half minutes featuring background effects and added instrument sounds. This remix also features vocals from the lead singers of "Juicy Fruit" but to a much lesser extent than in the Fruity Instrumental mix. This version is sampled in the Ant Banks song "It's Going On".

A heavily filtered disco-edit recut of "Juicy Fruit" by Adana Twins & Doctor Dru was included on Black Jukebox 01, released August 2011.

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References

Source of article : Wikipedia