"4 Page Letter" is a contemporary R&B

Contemporary R&B

Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...

 song recorded by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 singer Aaliyah

Aaliyah

Aaliyah Dana Haughton , who performed under the mononym Aaliyah , was an American R&B recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 10, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside...

. The song was written by producer Tim "Timbaland" Mosley

Timbaland

Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....

 and Missy Elliott

Missy Elliott

Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott , is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actressA five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have five albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one...

. Mosley produced the song and Elliott provided background vocals. It is the fourth single (third in North America) released from Aaliyah's second studio album, One in a Million (see 1997 in music

1997 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1997.-January:*January 9 – David Bowie performs his 50th Birthday Bash concert at Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA with guests Frank Black, The Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith of The Cure, Lou Reed, and Billy...

).

Song information and promotion

"4 Page Letter" received little airplay on mainstream pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 radio, instead receiving more airplay on urban

Urban contemporary

Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...

 and rhythmic

Rhythmic Contemporary

Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may...

 radio stations. It peaked at number fifty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart and number twelve on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay

The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart is the airplay component chart of the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. It is not the R&B subset of The Hot 100 Airplay, but rather a separate panel of R&B stations in urban markets used for the R&B/Hip-Hop chart...

 chart. CD & 12-inch singles were issued in the UK one featured the radio edit and 2 Timbaland produced remixes of "4 Page Letter" and the b-side. The other contained the radio edit backed with remixes of her previous single "One In A Million".

Aaliyah performed "4 Page Letter", along with some other songs, at the 1997 Superfest concert on October 6, 1997 in San Diego, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. She also performed the song, along with others, at Summer Jam

Summer Jam

Summer Jam is the annual hip-hop fest held in East Rutherford, New Jersey and sponsored by New York based radio station Hot 97FM. Normally held in June, the concert features the most popular acts that hip-hop and R&B have to offer in a particular year....

 1997, sponsored by New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 radio station Hot 97, on August 10, 1997.

B-side

The B-side for the song was "Death of a Playa". The B-side features Aaliyah's brother, Rashad Haughton, and was produced by Timbaland. The song written by Aaliyah and Rashad. "Death of a Playa" would later be the B-side for the U.S. Double A-Side single release of "The One I Gave My Heart To

The One I Gave My Heart To

"The One I Gave My Heart To" is a R&B/pop song by American singer Aaliyah. The song is the sixth and final single from Aaliyah's second album One in a Million. The song was written by Diane Warren and the album version was produced by Daryl Simmons, while the single version was produced by Guy Roche...

" & "Hot Like Fire

Hot Like Fire

"Hot Like Fire" is a song written by Missy Elliott and Tim "Timbaland" Mosley for Aaliyah's second album, One in a Million . It is the fifth release overall and the official fourth single in North America . The single was released as a hip hop soul remix produced by Timbaland, titled as...

".

Music video

The music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 for "4 Page Letter" was directed by Daniel Pearl

Daniel Pearl (cinematographer)

Daniel Pearl A.S.C. is an American cinematographer who has worked on many feature films, over 400 music videos and more than 250 commercials. His best known work is probably The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and its 2003 remake....

. The concept for it was created by Rashad Haughton. The video takes place in a forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

 and shows Aaliyah secretly watching a man dance and then later perform in a Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

. The video moves to modern time where a group of people watch two men dance outside and then shifts back into the past where Aaliyah and the mysterious man dance in a large ring of fire

Fire

Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....

.

UK CD Single #1

1. "4 Page Letter" (Radio Edit) 3:34
2. "One In A Million" (Timbaland Remix Featuring Ginuwine) 5:06
3. "One In A Million" (Nitebreed Mongoloid Dub) 9:52
4. "One In A Million" (Nitebreed Bootleg Mix) 7:13

UK CD Single #2 / 12-inch Single

1. "4 Page Letter" (Radio Edit) 3:34
2. "4 Page Letter" (Timbaland's Main Mix) 4:37
3. "4 Page Letter" (Quiet Storm Mix) 4:33
4. "Death of a Playa" (featuring Rashad) 4:53

Release history

Country	Release Date	Format
United States		Radio airplay
United Kingdom		CD Single / 12-inch Single

Charts

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Europe Eurochart Hot 100 Eurochart Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles has been compiled by Billboard and Music & Media magazine since March, 1984. The chart is based on national singles sales charts in 15 European countries: Austria, Belgium , Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,...	28
New Zealand RIANZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... Top 50 Singles	49
UK Top 75 Singles UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	24
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay	59
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart is the airplay component chart of the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. It is not the R&B subset of The Hot 100 Airplay, but rather a separate panel of R&B stations in urban markets used for the R&B/Hip-Hop chart...	12
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 Rhythmic Airplay Chart The Rhythmic Airplay Chart is an airplay chart that is featured weekly in Billboard Magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on Rhythmic stations, whose playlist includes mostly hit-driven R&B/Hip-Hop, Rhythmic pop, and some Dance tracks...	26