Flava in Ya Ear
1994 single by Craig Mack
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"Flava in Ya Ear" is a song by American rapper Craig Mack. It was released on July 2, 1994, by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records as the lead single from his debut studio album, Project: Funk da World (1994). The song was remixed with the addition of rappers The Notorious B.I.G., Rampage, LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes.
| "Flava in Ya Ear" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Craig Mack | ||||
| from the album Project: Funk da World | ||||
| Released | July 2, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | 1994 | |||
| Studio | The Hit Factory, New York City | |||
| Genre | Hardcore hip hop | |||
| Length | 3:38 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter | ||||
| Producer | ||||
| Craig Mack singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Flava in Ya Ear" on YouTube | ||||
The single peaked at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100.[1] It was certified Platinum by the RIAA and has sold over 1,000,000 copies in the United States.[2][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] The beat of the song was also ranked as the fourth greatest hip-hop beat of all time by Rock the Bells in 2024.[5]
Background
Easy Mo Bee has stated that the instrumental 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.[6]
Music video
The accompanying 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 spinning globe. The video was nominated for New Artist Clip of the Year in the category for Rap at the 1994 Billboard Music Video Awards.[7]
Remix
| "Flava in Ya Ear (Remix)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Craig Mack featuring the Notorious B.I.G., Rampage, LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes | ||||
| from the album Bad Boy's 10th Anniversary... The Hits | ||||
| Released | October 1994 | |||
| Recorded | 1994 | |||
| Studio | The Hit Factory, New York City | |||
| Genre | Hardcore hip hop | |||
| Length | 5:02 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producers | ||||
| Craig Mack singles chronology | ||||
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| The Notorious B.I.G. singles chronology | ||||
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| Rampage singles chronology | ||||
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| LL Cool J singles chronology | ||||
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| Busta Rhymes singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Flava in Ya Ear (Remix)" on YouTube | ||||
The remix of "Flava in Ya Ear" features American rappers the Notorious B.I.G., Rampage, LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes. It also contains a new verse by Craig Mack himself as well as ad libs by Puff Daddy and 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.
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[2] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
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^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||