Flava in Ya Ear

"Flava in Ya Ear" is a 1994 single by American rapper Craig Mack, from his album Project Funk da World. The original club mix single was released on 12" vinyl in July 1994[1] on the Bad Boy Entertainment record label, packaged with a series of additional remixes. Most famously, there was a remix of the song that featured verses from The Notorious B.I.G., LL Cool J, Rampage and Busta Rhymes. Music videos were produced for both the original song and the remix.

"Flava in Ya Ear"
Single by Craig Mack
from the album Project Funk da World
Released	July 26, 1994
Recorded	1994
Studio	The Hit Factory (New York City, New York)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	3:38
Label	Bad Boy Arista
Songwriter(s)	Craig Mack Roger Nichols Paul Williams
Producer(s)	Easy Mo Bee
Craig Mack singles chronology
"You Don't Have to Worry" (1993) "Flava in Ya Ear" (1994) "Get Down" (1994)
Music video
"Flava in Ya Ear" on YouTube
"Flava in Ya Ear (Remix)" on YouTube

The single peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100.[2] It was certified Platinum by the RIAA and has sold over 1,000,000 copies in the United States.[1][3]

The song received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 37th Grammy Awards in 1995, losing to "U.N.I.T.Y." by Queen Latifah.

Production

According to the song's producer Easy Mo Bee, the track was originally intended for Apache, who was unable to record the song due to being on tour with the group Naughty by Nature at the time, and was not sure of future recordings at the time. As a result, Mo Bee gave the instrumental to Craig Mack after Bad Boy Records' founder Sean Combs gave him a substantial amount of money for the instrumental.[4]

The song's backing track was later sampled in the Jennifer Lopez and Ja Rule single, "Ain't It Funny (Murder Remix)," as well as the remix of "U Blow My Mind" by Blackstreet.

Music video

The music video for the song was directed by Craig Henry. It was filmed in and outside of the New York Hall of Science in Queens, New York City, as well as in front of the nearby Unisphere.

Remix

The remix of the song contains the same backing track, but with new verses by The Notorious B.I.G., LL Cool J, Rampage, Busta Rhymes and Craig Mack himself. It also contains ad libs by Puff Daddy, as well as brief singing by Keisha Spivey.

The remix was included in Bad Boy's 10th Anniversary... The Hits album.

The music video for the remix was directed by Hype Williams, and was filmed on a soundstage in black-and-white. It features all the artists from the song, as well as guest appearances by Das EFX, Mic Geronimo, Irv Gotti and Funkmaster Flex, although none perform on the song.

The remix version of the song appears in the video game Dance Central for the Xbox 360. In addition, it can be heard in films including Notorious (2009), Straight Outta Compton (2015), The Wackness (2008) and Morris from America (2016).

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1994)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	9
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	4
U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Tracks	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1994)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[5]	81

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[1]	Platinum	1,000,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. "American single certifications – Craig Mack – Flava in Ya Ear". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
2. "Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Craig Mack". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
3. "Best-Selling Records of 1994". Billboard. BPI Communications. 107 (3): 57. January 21, 1995. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
4. Scott, Dana. "Easy Mo Bee Traces Ice Cube & Big Daddy Kane's Influence On Biggie's "Ready To Die"". hiphopdx.com. Cheri Media. Retrieved 2015-02-10.
5. "Billboard Top 100 - 1994". Archived from the original on March 1, 2009. Retrieved 2010-08-27.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics