"Got 'til It's Gone" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson

Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...

, featuring American rapper Q-Tip

Q-Tip (rapper)

Kamaal Ibn John Fareed , better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American hip hop artist, producer, singer, and actor from St. Albans, Queens, New York, part of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest...

 and Canadian singer Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...

. It was released as the lead single

Lead single

A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...

 from Jackson's sixth studio album, The Velvet Rope

The Velvet Rope

The Velvet Rope is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Janet Jackson, released October 7, 1997 by Virgin Records. Prior to its debut, Jackson had been at the center of a second high-profile bidding war over her recording contract...

(1997).

Song information

The song is notable for its use of a sample

Sampling (music)

In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...

 from Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...

's song "Big Yellow Taxi

Big Yellow Taxi

"Big Yellow Taxi" is a song written and originally performed by Joni Mitchell in 1970. It was a big hit in her native Canada as well as Australia and the UK...

", which originally appeared on her 1970 album Ladies of the Canyon

Ladies of the Canyon

Ladies of the Canyon is Joni Mitchell's third album, released in 1970. Its title refers to Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, a center of popular music culture in Los Angeles during the sixties...

. Jackson contacted Mitchell personally to ask for permission to sample her work; she stated that "[e]veryone said it couldn't be done, but if [Mitchell] was going to say no to me, I had to hear it from her myself... I called her and told her I wanted her to hear it before she made a decision. Everybody was surprised when a couple of days later, she said yes." During performances on her 1998 tour, Mitchell would add elements of Q-Tip's rap into her own performances of "Big Yellow Taxi".

British singer Des'ree

Des'ree

Des'ree is an English pop/soul singer who was popular during the 1990s. She is well known for her hits: "Feel So High", "You Gotta Be", "Life", and "Kissing You"...

 would later sue Jackson, stating that her 1991 single "Feel So High" was also sampled on "Got 'til It's Gone". Subsequent releases containing the track would credit Des'ree as a co-writer.

Production of "Got 'til It's Gone" was officially credited to Janet Jackson, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis

James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American R&B and pop-music songwriting and record production team...

. However, the hip hop

Hip hop music

Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 collective The Ummah

The Ummah

The Ummah was a music production collective, composed of members Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest, and the late Jay Dee of the Detroit-based group Slum Village. Occasional members included Raphael Saadiq, and D'Angelo...

 (composed of Q-Tip

Q-Tip (rapper)

Kamaal Ibn John Fareed , better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American hip hop artist, producer, singer, and actor from St. Albans, Queens, New York, part of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest...

, J Dilla

J Dilla

James Dewitt Yancey , better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer who emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michigan...

, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad

Ali Shaheed Muhammad

Ali Shaheed Muhammad is an American hip hop DJ, rapper, producer who enjoyed a great deal of fame as a member of A Tribe Called Quest. With Q-Tip and Phife Dawg, the group released five studio albums from 1990 to 1998....

) contest that they are the actual producers of the track. In an interview, J Dilla himself stated that he, Q-Tip, and Muhammad produced the original after Jackson met Q-Tip on the set of the 1993 film Poetic Justice. In a story published with Pitchfork

Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...

, writer Nate Patrin commented on the production of the song, saying the song "bears all the hallmarks of The Ummah style: neo-soul electric pianos, subdued kicks paired with prominent snares, and bass that burbles so thickly that it flows instead of pops". J Dilla made a remix of the song titled "Got Til' Its Gone (Jay Dee's Revenge Remix)" where Patrin claims J Dilla was the actual producer saying "The revenge in question, then, is simply a matter of cranking up those aforementioned trademarks until the source is unmistakable. The bassline congeals, the keyboards are run through a rippling wah-wah, the titular Joni Mitchell loop fades in and out of focus-- it's the difference between a neon sign and a lava lamp".

Jackson has performed the song on many of her tours, including The Velvet Rope Tour

The Velvet Rope Tour

The Velvet Rope World Tour is the third concert tour by American recording artist Janet Jackson. Launched in support of her sixth studio album The Velvet Rope , the tour embarked on an international trek that included Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, New Zealand and Australia.Due to the fact...

, All for You Tour

All for You Tour

The All for You Tour was a worldwide concert tour in 2001 by American pop/R&B singer Janet Jackson in support of her multi-platinum album All for You...

, and Rock Witchu Tour

Rock Witchu Tour

The Rock Witchu Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer-songwriter, Janet Jackson, in support of her tenth studio album Discipline. This was Jackson's first tour in nearly seven years. The tour visited North America...

. The song was also used as interlude on her Number Ones: Up Close and Personal

Number Ones: Up Close and Personal

Number Ones: Up Close and Personal is the sixth concert tour by American recording artist Janet Jackson. Described as her "largest world tour", the show is in support of her second compilation album, Number Ones...

 tour.

Rapper T.I.

T.I.

Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. , better known by his stage name T.I., is an American rap artist, film and music producer, actor and author. He is also the founder and co-chief executive officer of Grand Hustle Records....

's 2006 song "Why You Wanna

Why You Wanna

"Why You Wanna" is the second official single from American rapper T.I. from his fourth album King. It was released in 2006. It samples a slowed down keyboard chord from Crystal Waters' "Gypsy Woman ". The chorus also interpolates Q-Tip's vocals from Got 'Til It's Gone with Janet Jackson and Find a...

" interpolates

Interpolation (music)

Interpolation in music refers to an abrupt change in musical elements from the main theme.-In classical music:In music and musical composition, especially 20th century and later, interpolation is an abrupt change of elements, with continuation of the first idea...

 Q-Tip's vocals on "Got 'til It's Gone", using the refrain, "Now why you wanna go and do that?". Q-Tip featured on the remix to that song and the sentence is also similarly used in Q-Tip's verse in A Tribe Called Quest

A Tribe Called Quest

A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...

's 1998 song "Find a Way". Other notable songs where the same verse is used include rapper Common's song "The Questions"http://www.mp3lyrics.org/c/common/the-questions/.

Chart performance

The song received airplay

Airplay

* Airplay is the amount of time a song is played on the radio.It may also refer to:* AirPlay, an audio & video streaming technology from Apple Inc.* Airplay , Foster & Graydon music project from 1980* Citroën C1, Citroën C1 Airplay...

 in the U.S., where it did not see a commercial release, and peaked at number thirty-six on the Hot 100 Airplay and number three on the 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...

, being ineligible to chart on their respective main charts. Internationally, "Got 'til It's Gone" reached the top twenty in most of European markets—including, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland—, as well as the top ten in Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Music video

The video was shot by Mark Romanek

Mark Romanek

Mark Romanek is an American filmmaker, whose directing work includes feature films, music videos and commercials.He wrote and directed the critically acclaimed 2002 film One Hour Photo starring Robin Williams...

 in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. It takes place during the time of apartheid in South Africa and Jackson portrays a lounge

Lounge music

Lounge music is a retrospective description of music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a type of mood music meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place — a jungle, an island paradise, outer space, et cetera — other than where they are listening to it...

 singer. Inspired by a blend of '60s and '70s African

Culture of Africa

The culture of Africa encompasses and includes all cultures within the continent of Africa. There is a political or racial split between North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa, which is in turn divided into a great number of ethnic cultures...

 and African American culture

African American culture

African-American culture, also known as black culture, in the United States refers to the cultural contributions of Americans of African descent to the culture of the United States, either as part of or distinct from American culture. The distinct identity of African-American culture is rooted in...

s, the video depicts people free and having a good time living life. Joni Mitchell, the featured artist of the song, only appeared on the TV at the starting of the video. Supermodel Alek Wek

Alek Wek

Alek Wek is a Sudanese British model who first appeared on the catwalks at the age of 18 in 1995, sparking a career lasting to date. She is from the Dinka ethnic group in South Sudan, but in 1991 she and some family members fled to Britain to escape the civil war in Sudan...

 appeared in the video. It won the 1998 Grammy Award

Grammy Awards of 1998

The 40th Grammy Awards were held on February 25, 1998. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Rock icon Bob Dylan, Alison Krauss, and R...

 for Best Short Form Music Video

Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video

The Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos...

. The video is featured on the limited bonus-DVD edition of 2001's All for You as well as the 2004 video compilation From janet. to Damita Jo: The Videos.

Track listings

European CD single (VSCDE 1666)

1. Radio Edit – 3:39
2. Mellow Mix – 5:11

European CD maxi single (7243 8 94600 2 5)
UK CD single (VSCDG 1666)
Japanese promo CD single (VJCP-12070)

1. Radio Edit – 3:39
2. Mellow Mix – 5:11
3. Nellee Hooper
   Nellee Hooper
   Nellee Hooper is a British producer/remixer/composer best known for his work with Björk, No Doubt/Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Sinéad O'Connor, Garbage, Andrea Corr, U2, Sneaker Pimps, Soul II Soul and Massive Attack...
   
    Master Mix – 4:18
4. Mellow Mix Edit – 3:51
5. Album Version – 4:00

European cassette single (VSC 1666)

1. Morales My Club Mix – 7:48
2. Morales Extended Classic Club Mix – 10:11
3. Morales Def Club Mix – 10:54

UK 12" promo single (VSTDJ 1666)

1. Mellow Mix – 5:11
2. Mellow Mix Edit – 3:51
3. Album Version – 4:00
4. Instrumental – 4:49

UK double 12" single (VSTX 1666)
UK double 12" promo single (VSTXDJ 1666)

1. Def Club Mix – 10:53
2. Armand Van Helden
   Armand Van Helden
   Armand Van Helden is a record producer, DJ and remixer whose biggest commercial successes came from his remixes of the 1996 Tori Amos song "Professional Widow" , which reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1997, and his own track "U Don't Know Me ", which went to number 1...
   
    Speedy Garage Mix – 9:11
3. Def The Bass Mix – 9:12
4. Def Instrumental – 8:44
5. Armand Van Helden Bonus Beats – 5:05

UK 12" single (VST 1666)

1. Album Version – 4:00
2. Instrumental – 4:49
3. Mellow Mix – 5:11
4. Nellee Hooper Master Mix – 4:18

U.S. 12" promo single (SPRO-12732)

1. Radio Edit – 3:39
2. No Q-Tip – 3:51
3. No Rap – 3:38
4. Instrumental – 4:49
5. Album Version – 4:00

U.S. double 12" promo single (SPRO-12768)

1. Def Club Mix – 10:53
2. Def Radio Mix – 3:18
3. Armand Van Helden Speedy Garage Mix – 9:11
4. Nellee Hooper Master Mix – 4:19
5. Mellow Mix – 5:10
6. Ummah's Uptown Saturday Night Mix – 4:23
7. Original Extended Version – 5:31
8. Ummah Jay Dee's Revenge Mix – 3:45
9. Instrumental – 4:49

Canadian promo CD single (CDPROJANCAAV)

1. Mellow Mix – 5:11
2. Nellee Hooper Master Mix – 4:18

Official remixes

• Album Version Edit – 4:01
• Radio Edit – 3:39
• No Q-Tip – 3:56
• No Rap – 3:43
• Instrumental – 4:54
• Album Version – 5:31
• Mellow Mix – 5:11/Jimmy Jam Mellow Mix – 5:10
• Mellow Mix Edit – 3:52
• Nellee Hooper Master Mix – 4:19
• Nellee Hooper Remix (Edited Master) – 4.04
• Ummah Jay Dee's Revenge Mix – 3:45
• Ummah's Uptown Saturday Night Mix – 4:23
• Armand Van Helden Bonus Beats – 5:05

• Armand Van Helden Speed Garage Mix – 9:08
• Armand Van Helden Extended Mix - 10:14
• Armand Van Helden 12" Mix - 12:50
• Morales Def Club Mix – 10:54
• Morales Def Extended Radio Mix – 5:12
• Morales Def Instrumental Dub – 8:44
• Morales Def Radio Mix – 3:18
• Morales Def The Bass Mix – 9:12
• Morales My Club Mix – 7:48
• Morales Drum & Beats Remix – 3:52
• Morales Drum, Bass & Beats Remix – 11:43
• Morales Classic Club Mix Edit – 8:48
• Morales Classic Club Mix – 10:11
• Morales Classic Radio Mix – 3:54

Chart positions

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	10
Austrian Singles Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann...	21
Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995...  (Flanders)	23
Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop 40 Ultratop 40 singles, often just Ultratop 40, is the weekly chart of best-selling singles in Wallonia and Brussels Capital Region, the french-speaking parts of Belgium. Its equivalent covering the Flanders region is Ultratop 50. Both charts are produced and published by the Ultratop organization...  (Wallonia)	29
Danish Singles Chart Tracklisten Tracklisten is a Danish top 40 record chart that is presented every Thursday midnight at .The weekly Danish Singles Chart also known as Track Top-40 combines the 40 best selling tracks from legal music downloads and the sales of music singles on either CD or vinyl...	5
Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...	6
European Hot 100 Singles	6
Finnish Singles Chart	17
French Singles Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry...	11
German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...	17
Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...	16
Italian Singles Chart Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy....	16
New Zealand Singles Chart 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...	4
Norwegian Singles Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by...	13
Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association ....	6
Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...	11
UK Singles Chart 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 ...	6
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay	36
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...	3
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	6

Certifications

Country	Certification Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds)
Australia Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...	Gold
France Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry...	Silver
United Kingdom British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...	Silver