I Wanna Sex You Up
1991 single by Color Me Badd
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"I Wanna Sex You Up" is a song by American R&B group Color Me Badd, released in March 1991 as the lead single from their debut album, C.M.B. (1991). The song was produced by Dr. Freeze and was also featured on the soundtrack to the 1991 film New Jack City, starring Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Chris Rock and Judd Nelson. The song heavily samples "Tonight Is the Night" by Betty Wright.[citation needed]
| "I Wanna Sex You Up" | ||||
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| Single by Color Me Badd | ||||
| from the album C.M.B. and New Jack City (soundtrack) | ||||
| Released | March 7, 1991 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:06 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters |
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| Producer | Dr. Freeze[5] | |||
| Color Me Badd singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "I Wanna Sex You Up" on YouTube | ||||
The single, released by Giant and Reprise Records, achieved commercial success in the United States, spending four weeks at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping both the Billboard Hot R&B Singles and 12-inch Singles Sales charts. "I Wanna Sex You Up" also experienced international success, peaking atop the charts of New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The accompanying music video was directed by American director Lionel C. Martin.[6]
Critical reception
A reviewer from Cashbox described the song as "naughty and suggestive yet not particularly explicit R&B/pop".[7] Arion Berger from Entertainment Weekly complimented it as "irresistible".[8] Dennis Hunt from Los Angeles Times found that all it "has going for it is sexy lyrics."[9] James Hamilton from Music Week's RM Dance Update called it a "sweetly cooing young guys crooned gorgeous sineous sexy swayer" in his weekly dance column.[10] Stephen Holden from New York Times wrote, "'I Wanna Sex You Up' has a loping pop Latin beat that is similar to the Young Rascals' 'Groovin'' and Laura Nyro's 'Stoned Soul Picnic', and a piercing lead vocal by Bryan Abrams, whose voice resembles that of the late-1960's Stevie Wonder."[11] David Fricke from Rolling Stone declared it as "a crafty blend of doo-wop doo-wah and hip-hop clatter so irresistible it makes you willing to forgive the utter banality of the lyrics."[4] Mark Frith from Smash Hits felt that Color Me Badd "sound excellent" when "they do manage to break into a sweat", like on "I Wanna Sex You Up".[12]
Retrospective response
Alex Henderson from AllMusic named the song as one of the "moments" on the C.M.B. album, describing it as a slow jam which samples rapper Slick Rick "in a rather clever fashion".[13] "I Wanna Sex You Up" was ranked number 40 on Blender's list of the "50 Worst Songs Ever"[14] and VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the '90s".[citation needed] In a 2017 retrospective review, Pop Rescue commented, "This song stood out from the rest of the charts when it was released in the UK, and that along with the boys’ breathy sexy promises and the inclusion of ‘sex’ in the song title made this track a sure-fire hit. Musically it's quite a simple song, allowing the vocals to really shine here – and to their credit, their vocals worth together really well."[15]
Chart performance
The song spent three weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart and reached number two for four consecutive weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was the 10th-best-selling single of 1991 in the UK and the second-best-selling single of the year in the US. In 1992 the song won the group a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single, Group, Band or Duo and Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Song of the Year.
Track listings
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Personnel
- Co-production : Howie Tee, Spyderman
- Engineering : Angela Piva, Warren Woods
- Mastering: Eddy Schreyer
- Mixing: Dr. Freeze, Howie Tee
- Production : Dr. Freeze
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[47] | Gold | 35,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[65] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[66] | Silver | 200,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[67] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
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^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
Covers, remixes and samples
A sample of "I Wanna Sex You Up" was used in the Kardinal Beats remix of "Tick Tock" by Lemar.[70]