Somethin' 4 Da Honeyz

Album: This Is How We Do It (1995)
Charted: 15 21
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Somethin' 4 Da Honeyz" is the follow-up to Montell Jordan's first single, "This Is How We Do It," one of the biggest songs of the '90s. "Honeyz" was considered for his first single but cooler heads prevailed. The song was a modest hit, reaching #21 in the US in August 1995, two months after "This Is How We Do It" ended a seven-week run at the top. Jordan had a handful of other hits in the '90s as well, including "Let's Ride" (#2, 1998) and "Get It On Tonite" (#4, 1999).
  • Jordan doesn't care what the guys think of this song because it's for the ladies. He spends a lot of the song explaining his seduction technique: He plays the piano, waits for some honeys to arrive, then brings them to a party where they all kick it. The girls are expected to bring their friends - even the ugly ones are allowed.

    Unlike the club jam "This Is How We Do It," "Somethin' 4 Da Honeyz" is more smooth R&B. Jordan, who was signed to Def Jam records, had a unique way of intertwining his singing style with hip-hop elements, and he often put rap interludes in his songs, as he did here.
  • The groove is sampled from "Summer Madness," a 1974 track by Kool & the Gang. It's the same sample used in "Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince.
  • Jordan wrote this song with the track's producer, Doug Rasheed, and with his longtime collaborator, Oji Pearce. The writers of "Summer Madness" are also credited because of the sample.

    Jordan mentions Pearce in the "This Is How We Do It" bridge: "You and Oji are gonna make some cash." Pearce, who also worked with Coolio, died in 2006 at 46 from a lung disease.
  • Thanks to Salt-N-Pepa, the word shoop had entered the lexicon by this point, and Jordan used in in this song:

    Fat or skinny she likes to shoop
    With Montell and the SL Coup

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New Words

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New WordsSong Writing

Where words like "email," "thirsty," "Twitter" and "gangsta" first showed up in songs, and which songs popularized them.

Incongruent Opening Acts

Incongruent Opening ActsSong Writing

Here's what happens when an opening act is really out of place with the headliner, like when Beastie Boys opened for Madonna.

Who Did It First?

Who Did It First?Music Quiz

Do you know who recorded the original versions of these ten hit songs?

Tony Joe White

Tony Joe WhiteSongwriter Interviews

The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.

David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat & Tears

David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat & TearsSongwriter Interviews

The longtime BS&T frontman tells the "Spinning Wheel" story, including the line he got from Joni Mitchell.

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"They're Playing My Song

The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."