"Why R U" is a song performed by American

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 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...

 singer Amerie. The song was recorded for her fourth studio album, In Love & War

In Love & War

In Love & War is the fourth studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Amerie, released November 3, 2009 on Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2008 to 2009 at Record Plant Studios in Hollywood, California and at other recording studios in Miami, Florida and...

, and serves as the lead single from the album. It was Amerie's first single under the Island Def Jam Music Group.

Background

The song samples Ultramagnetic MCs

Ultramagnetic MCs

The Ultramagnetic MC's is an American hip hop group based in Bronx, New York. Originally founded by Kool Keith, the group is composed of Ced Gee, TR Love, and Moe Love. Tim Dog became an unofficial member in 1989. In 1990, DJ Jaycee was added as Roadmanager and backup DJ. A former member, Rooney...

' "Ego Trippin" from their 1988 release Critical Beatdown

Critical Beatdown

Critical Beatdown is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Ultramagnetic MCs, released October 4, 1988, on Next Plateau Records. Production for the album was handled primarily by the group's rapper and producer Ced-Gee, who employed a E-mu SP-1200 sampler as the album's main instrument...

(which also samples Melvin Bliss' "Synthetic Substitution"). An official remix premiered on Hot 97 on July 21, it features Nas

Nas

Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...

, Jadakiss

Jadakiss

Jason Phillips , better known as Jadakiss, is an American rapper. He is a member of the group The LOX. Jadakiss is one of the three owners of the imprint known as D-Block. In early 2007, Jadakiss signed to Roc-a-Fella Records / Def Jam Records.-Early life:By the age of 16, Jadakiss was a freestyle...

, Rick Ross

Rick Ross (rapper)

William Leonard Roberts II , better known by his stage name Rick Ross, is an American rapper. He derived his stage name from the drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross, to whom he has no connection...

 and Kain. The remix samples Whodini

Whodini

Whodini is a hip hop group that was formed in 1981. The Brooklyn, New York-based trio consisted of vocalist and main lyricist Jalil Hutchins; co-vocalist John Fletcher, aka Ecstasy ; and turntable artist DJ Drew Carter, aka Grandmaster Dee.-Early years:Whodini was among the first hip-hop groups to...

's "One Love."

Amerie spoke about "Why R U" in an interview with The Green Magazine : "I wrote the song when I was riding in a car. It was a really rainy day in New York. I always love to start out, if I can, recording in New York. Sometimes I’ll record the entire time there. This is the first time I didn’t record the majority of the album in New York, so I was kind of curious as to how things would come out. The song to me felt like a greater representation of who I am as an artist. Even when I was writing it I just felt like it was a special record. I wasn’t really thinking in terms of singles or not. I just knew that ideally if people could hear anything from me first since it’s been a few years, this was the record to me that would best show who I am right now."

Music video

The video for "Why R U" was shot during the second week of May 2009 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...

 with director Ray Kay

Ray Kay

Ray Kay is a Norwegian director and photographer, based in Los Angeles.He is one of the most sought-after music video & commercial directors in the world now, and has directed the most watched video on YouTube, Justin Bieber's "Baby" . All in all, his videos have been viewed more than 1 billion...

. Amerie's idea behind the video, "I wanted to go with something really abstract but not too far out there, something that would look graphic." The video premiered on 106 & Park

106 & Park

106 & Park is a Top Ten Hip-Hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that airs weekdays at 6:00 PM on BET . Since its inception, it was the network's #1 rated show...

 on BET

Black Entertainment Television

Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...

 on June 8. The video ranked at #90 on BET

Black Entertainment Television

Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...

's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2009 countdown.

Charts

Chart (2009)	Peak position
German Black Chart	13
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...	55

Release history

Country	Release date	Format	Label
United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...	June 15, 2008	Radio airplay, digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...	Def Jam
United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...	September 21, 2009	CD single CD single A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...