"Flava in Ya Ear" is the debut 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.
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"Flava in Ya Ear" | ||||
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Single by Craig Mack | ||||
from the album Project Funk da World | ||||
B-side | "Flava in Ya Ear (Remix)" | |||
Released | July 26, 1994 | |||
Recorded | 1994 | |||
Studio | The Hit Factory (New York City, New York) | |||
Genre |
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Length | 3:38 | |||
Label |
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Songwriter(s) | Craig Mack | |||
Producer(s) | Easy Mo Bee | |||
Craig Mack singles chronology | ||||
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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. It was ranked as the 422nd greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine in 2021.[4]
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.[5]
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, in addition to a rap battle between Looney Tunes character Porky Pig and antagonist Al. G Rhythm in the 2021 film Space Jam: A New Legacy.
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.
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 by Isidro Urquia. 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.
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA)[1] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Authority control ![]() |
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