"Are You That Somebody?" is a song by American singer Aaliyah from the Dr. Dolittle soundtrack (1998). It was written by Static Major and Timbaland, with the latter producing it, in addition to performing a guest rap. It was sent to urban contemporary radio stations in the United States on May 26, 1998, by Blackground Records and Atlantic Records. Musically, it is an R&B, pop, and avant-funk song with hip-hop influences. Its production also incorporates other instrumentals such as staccato guitars, beatboxing, and drum and bass. Lyrically, it is about the narrator (Aaliyah) keeping an intimate relationship a secret due to her celebrity status.
Upon its release, the song received critical acclaim from music critics, with them praising its off-beat innovative production. In 1999, Aaliyah earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for the song. Initially, it was ineligible to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, mainly because it was an airplay single not commercially released to retail stores. In December 1998, Billboard changed its policy to allow airplay-only songs to chart on the Hot 100, and the song eventually peaked at number 21. Internationally, the song achieved even greater commercial success, peaking at number one in New Zealand and number three in the Netherlands. It also peaked at number 11 in Canada and the United Kingdom.
An accompanying music video for "Are You That Somebody?" was directed by Mark Gerard. It is a dance-heavy video that depicts Aaliyah and other dancers all dancing in a cave before a backdrop that features clips of the Dr. Dolittle motion picture. The video received acclaim from the music industry, receiving Best R&B Video and Best Video from a Film nominations at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards. The video also earned a nomination for Outstanding Music Video at the NAACP Image Awards. Throughout the years, critics have praised the video for its choreography, with many highlighting the flamenco routine depicted in the final scene.
Recording and production "Are You That Somebody?" was recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles. Engineer Jimmy Douglass, explained that the recording session for the song was "a soup-to-nuts session", meaning that the entire song was recorded and mixed in one session. The group worked on the song from 11:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. with last additions of the song being the baby noises and Timbaland's ad-libs. While creating the beat for "Are You That Somebody?", Timbaland was inspired by the 'Oompa Loompa' song from the Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory film (1971). According to him, "I took that rhythm and I listened back to it and I was like, 'Man. that's a dope addition.' That's what I was trying to attempt but in a hip-hop way. … I gotta thank Willy Wonka for that".
Timbaland got the idea to include realistic noises in the songs production due to his beliefs that "life is full of music". "As soon as you wake up, hearing the trees, that's music. Hearing the crickets, that's music. I feel like everything that we do is music. When you come outside, listen to the trees, the birds, the crickets, the animals, they all make music", says Timabaland. The baby sample used in the song came from him listening to a '60s compilation featuring various sound effects. He stated: "So I was going through my effects sounds, and I heard this baby. Was it a baby, was it a chicken, there was a cow, there was Godzilla, this whole row. And this baby came across, and it was laughing, and that [one sound] wasn't the whole thing. It was like [imitates four consecutive baby giggles]. I got to that one part, and as soon as the beat came on, I just hit the button". Initially, he didn't think that the baby sound effect would fit into the production. After having a conversation with Aaliyah, he decided to include it. She herself commented on the addition of the baby sound bite saying, "Oh that's so cute!".
Music and lyrics Musically, "Are You That Somebody?" is an R&B, pop, avant-funk, and soul song. BET labeled the record as R&B/pop and said its production was trip hop inspired. Journalist Larry Flick from Billboard, felt that Aaliyah had returned to her funk/hip-hop roots on the record. Shaheem Reid from MTV News described the song as "funked-out" and "bounce-infused". Its production features a variety of sounds, such as frenetic staccato guitars, beatboxing, and drum and bass courtesy of drum programming. Flick described the guitar riff as, "jiggly", and thought that it gives "the track the feel good vibe of a '70s-era throw down". Other sounds that are utilized within the instrumental is a sample of a baby crying and laughing, taken from producer Jac Holzman's 1964 track "Happy Baby" from Authentic Sound Effects Volume 8. In addition, the song has a neotango rhythm with Aaliyah displaying "coy vocals". She also has a "no-nonsense delivery" and sings the opening line 'boy', "like she's creating a perfectly round bubble of sound, drawing out the vowel and vibrating it.
Lyrically, "Are You That Somebody?" is about a "late-night rendezvous with a special someone that needed to be kept on the hush". According to Billboard, the lyrics "describe love like a secret, and if this boy is let in on it, he can't tell nobody". On the song, Aaliyah issues a "will you still love me tomorrow sentiment". Quentin B. Huff from PopMatters, said her "sweet but street" persona is in full effect, as she declares: "Sometimes I'm goody-goody / Right now I'm naughty naughty." Huff also noted, there's also a sense of longing in the appearance of the song's title ("'Cause I really need somebody / Tell me are you that somebody") and in the way Aaliyah performed it, stretching out the syllables to the point of desperation and then keeping up with the beat with "hurried, jumbled phrasings".
Critical reception Oliver VanDervoort from AXS said it was the "absolute catchiest of all of her songs", and that the "lyrics are simple enough, as it's a girl looking for the right love but the song is done in a way that makes you want to get up and dance." Larry Flick from Billboard felt that Aaliyah was on her way towards becoming "the New Queen of soundtrack hits" because of "Are You That Somebody?". Flick also praised the song for its smooth melody and clever lyrics, saying: "At the same time it has a smooth melody and clever lyrics that will connect with folks who require traditional structure in their pop music." Damien Scott from Complex felt that "Are You That Somebody?" perfectly captured multiple traits found on Aaliyah's first two albums, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number (1994) and One in a Million (1996). According to Scott, "Aaliyah's oeuvre was an exercise in self-awareness. Her first two albums carefully toed the line between adolescence and adulthood, displaying a woman exploring the terrain of love, trust, and lust; one who exuded a playful innocence while hinting at a more sultry side. Her crowning achievement, a collaboration between her, Timbaland, and Static Major, 'Are You That Somebody,' would capture all of that perfectly". The Gavin Report labeled the song as a "booty-movin' jam" and wrote that,"the angel-voiced Aaliyah lays down the law to a potential lover". Ultimately, the publication predicted the song would "hit big".
Music Week described the songs production as "syncopated" and "jerky", ultimately they felt that it "showcases Aaliyah's deceptively simple R&B vocal." Quentin B. Huff from PopMatters feels that the song "is just too good to be relegated to soundtrack status". He continued praising the song by saying: "It's a fantastic track, with a stomping rhythm alternatingly accented by the strangest bundle of noise. It sounds like someone shaking dice or cracking their knuckles or twisting a Rubik's Cube really fast -- I can never decide which". In its Album Guide, Rolling Stone commented that the song "remains one of '90s R&B's most astounding moments." In 1999, Spin included the song on their top 20 singles list and they felt that Aaliyah's vocals and Timbaland's production on the song was like "an R&B singin in the rain".
In 2021, Billboard and Complex ranked the song at number two and number one, respectively, on their lists of the greatest Aaliyah songs. In a retrospective review, Billboard felt that "The goofy AF 1998 Eddie Murphy remake of the 1967 box office bomb Dr. Dolittle did not deserve one of the absolute greatest R&B jams of the '90s". Overall, they declared the song as defining the late '90s, and continuing "to chart a course for the future". Variety writers declared that "Are You That Somebody?" was an "ultimate Aaliyah song" and that it's a 1998 "classic". They also highlighted how, "Aaliyah brings this record to life with her soft-song chorus as she lays down the laws for a secret rendezvous; it's also one of the more sexually forthright tracks from Aaliyah's catalog, and lyrics like "sometimes I'm goody-goody, right now I'm naughty-naughty".
Accolades
+ Awards and nominations for "Are You That Somebody?" Year Award Category Result 1999 NAACP Image Award Outstanding Music Video 1999 Grammy Award Best Female R&B Vocal Performance 1999 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award Favorite Song 1999 MTV Movie Award Best Song from a Movie 1999 Soul Train Lady of Soul Award Best R&B/Soul Song Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video 1999 MTV Video Music Award Best R&B Video Best Video from a Film
+ Rankings for "Are You That Somebody?" Year Publication Accolade Rank 1999 Spin Top 20 Singles of the 1990s 2005 Blender The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born 2010 Pitchfork The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s 2011 Slant Magazine The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s 2017 Spin The 30 Best '90s R&B Songs 2018 Billboard The 98 Greatest Songs of 1998: Critics' Picks Rolling Stone The 98 Best Songs of 1998: Pop's Weirdest Year 2019 50 Best Songs of the Nineties 2021 The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time 2022 Elle The 65 Best '90s Pop Songs Pitchfork The 250 Best Songs of the 1990's
Commercial performance "Are You That Somebody?" wasn't released commercially to retail stores in the United States, therefore the song's chart success depended solely on radio airplay. During its chart run, Billboard changed its policy to allow airplay-only singles to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, starting with the chart issued December 5, 1998. Prior to this, "Are You That Somebody?" was eligible to enter only airplay charts in the US, peaking at number four on the Radio Songs chart on October 10. In August, the song peaked atop both the Hot R&B Airplay and Rhythmic Top 40 charts, while in November, it peaked at number six on the Mainstream Top 40 chart. On December 5, the song debuted and peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. In Canada, the song peaked at number 11, as well as reaching number two on the urban chart on August 31, 1998. Following its 2021 digital release, "Are You That Somebody?" debuted and peaked at number 50 on the US Digital Song Sales chart for the week of September 25, 2021.
Internationally, "Are You That Somebody?" peaked at number 40 on the Ultratop 50 Wallonia chart in Belgium. In Germany, the song entered the singles chart at number 91 on November 9, 1998 and peaked at number 31 on January 25, 1999. In the Netherlands, the song entered the Single Top 100 chart at number 65 on October 17 and peaked at number three on November 14, 1998, the position in which it remained at for a total of three weeks; it also peaked at number three on the Dutch Top 40 for a total of three weeks. In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart on September 12, 1998. The song also peaked within the top five on the UK R&B and dance charts at numbers two and four, respectively. According to the Official Charts Company (OCC), "Are You That Somebody?" is Aaliyah's third best-selling single in the country. In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 43 on October 4, 1998 and peaked atop the singles chart the following week.