21 Questions

"21 Questions" is a song recorded by American rapper 50 Cent featuring R&B singer/rapper Nate Dogg. The song was written by 50 Cent and mixed by Dr. Dre for his commercial debut studio album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003). It peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 2003.[1]

For the guessing game, see Twenty Questions.

"21 Questions"
Single by 50 Cent featuring Nate Dogg
from the album Get Rich or Die Tryin'
ReleasedMarch 4, 2003 (2003-03-04)
Recorded2002
Genre
Length3:44
Label
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 spent four weeks atop the Hot 100 and twenty-three weeks in total on the chart, giving 50 Cent his second number one and featured artist Nate Dogg his first. It was also successful internationally, reaching the top ten in Holland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and the top five in Canada and Australia.

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."[2]

Music video

The music video for "21 Questions" was directed by Damon Johnson, Dr. Dre and Phillip Atwell in March 2003.[3] 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 harassed by a 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 Nate Dogg and G-Unit members Lloyd Banks and Young Buck as other inmates. Nate Dogg also provides the chorus and the outro.[3] 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.[3][4] It also reached number two on the MuchMusic video charts.[5]

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"
Promotional single by Lil' Mo featuring Free
from the album Meet the Girl Next Door
Released2003 (2003)
Recorded2003
Genre
Length4:02
LabelElektra
Songwriter(s)Kevin Risto
Producer(s)Dirty Swift of Midi Mafia

"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.[6] 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.[7] Although the song went on to spend eleven weeks on the chart based solely on airplay,[8] it failed to see a release on Lil' Mo's second album Meet the Girl Next Door (2003), due to the song not being finalized in time to meet the album's deadline.[7][9] However, because of Elektra Records' 2004 merging with Atlantic, the song appeared on the 2011 re-release of Meet the Girl Next Door.[10]

Charts
Charts (2003) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay[11] 51
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[8] 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
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[44] Platinum 70,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[45] Gold 400,000
United States (RIAA)[46] Gold 500,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone
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. 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. 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
  7. Jessen, Wade. "Singles Minded > Back and Forth." Billboard. May 10, 2003: 67. Print.
  8. "Lil' Mo - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  9. Brown, Jamie Foster. "Lil' Mo has '21 Answers' for 50 Cent." Sister 2 Sister. September 2003: 27. Print.
  10. "Meet The Girl Next Door: Lil' Mo". Amazon.com. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  11. "Lil' Mo - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  12. "21 Questions – 50 Cent". AllMusic. April 13, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
  13. "21 Questions". Amazon.com. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  14. "Australian-charts.com – 50 Cent – 21 Questions". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  15. "Austriancharts.at – 50 Cent – 21 Questions" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  16. "Ultratop.be – 50 Cent – 21 Questions" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  17. "Ultratop.be – 50 Cent – 21 Questions" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  18. "50 Cent > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  19. "Danishcharts.com – 50 Cent – 21 Questions". Tracklisten. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  20. "50 Cent: 21 Questions" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  21. "Lescharts.com – 50 Cent – 21 Questions" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  22. "Offiziellecharts.de – 50 Cent – 21 Questions". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  23. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Dance Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  24. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – 21 Questions". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  25. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 31, 2003" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  26. "Dutchcharts.nl – 50 Cent – 21 Questions" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  27. "Charts.nz – 50 Cent – 21 Questions". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  28. "Norwegiancharts.com – 50 Cent – 21 Questions". VG-lista. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  29. "Swedishcharts.com – 50 Cent – 21 Questions". Singles Top 100. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  30. "Swisscharts.com – 50 Cent – 21 Questions". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  31. "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  32. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  33. "50 Cent Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  34. "50 Cent Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  35. "50 Cent Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  36. "50 Cent Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  37. "ARIA End of Year Singles 2003". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  38. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 2003". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  39. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2003" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  40. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2003". hitparade.ch. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  41. "ChartsPlusYE2003.pdf" (PDF). UKChartsPlus.co.uk. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  42. "2003 - Billboard Top 100". Billboard. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  43. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2003". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  44. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2003 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  45. "British single certifications – 50 Cent – 21 Questions". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type 21 Questions in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  46. "American single certifications – 50 Cent – 21 Questions". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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