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Ms. Jackson

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Wikipedia article




{{Infobox song

| name = Ms. Jackson

| cover = Ms._Jackson.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = OutKast

| album = Stankonia

| B-side =

| released =

| recorded =

| studio = Stankonia Recording (Atlanta, Georgia)

| genre =

| length =

| label =

| writer =

| producer = Earthtone III

| prev_title = B.O.B

| prev_year = 2000

| next_title = So Fresh, So Clean

| next_year = 2001

| misc =

}}

"'Ms. Jackson'" is a song by American alternative hip hop duo OutKast, consisting of Andr 3000 and Big Boi. It was released on October 24, 2000, as the second single from OutKast's fourth album, 'Stankonia'. It topped the US 'Billboard' Hot 100 chart for one week on February 17, 2001, and also reached number one in Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. 'Rolling Stone' ranked it at number 55 on their "100 Best Songs of the 2000s" list in June 2011 and at number 145 on their "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list in 2021. In October 2011, 'NME' placed it at number 81 on its list of the "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".

"Ms. Jackson" won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. The music video, directed by F. Gary Gray, features animals nodding along to the song, won the BET Award for Video of the Year and MTV Video Music Award for Best Hip-Hop Video. The single helped sell the album following the commercial underperformance of the lead single, "B.O.B", which, despite near universal acclaim from critics, failed to chart on the Hot 100 and only reached number 69 on the 'Billboard' Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Background and writing



In 'Vibe' magazine, a few years after the song was released, Andr Benjamin (Andr 3000) recalled creating the song, "'Ms. Jackson' was an acoustic guitar song that I was doing at home. Then I just converted it over into something people could understand a little bit more."Vibe Magazine, October 2006, p. 128 The song was inspired, in part, by Benjamin's relationship with Erykah Badu and her mother.

In November 2016, Badu described her initial reaction to the song, stating that, "It hit kind of a sore spot. I didn't wanna hear that, especially when I heard Big Boi's verse. When I heard Andr's verse, I felt very good because his verse was really, really inspiring. He just said how he felt and it was his honest feelings and I always respected that and listened to what he felt and appreciated it." Badu also noted that her mother loved the song, saying, "Baby, she bought herself a 'Ms. Jackson' license plate. She had the mug, she had the ink pen, she had the headband, everything."

Content



Lyrically, the song is a love profession to the mother of the narrator's romantic partner that examines the issues that arise from having a child out of wedlock. In the song, the narrator promises to support his child regardless of what happens. The instrumentation samples the Brothers Johnson's version (with various audio effects, prominently reversing) of "Strawberry Letter 23", by Shuggie Otis.

Critical reception



'Billboard' magazine wrote that song's message is genuine, noting its 1980s hip-hop sound and Outkast's "frantic" lyrics that emphasize the track's storyline. Reviewing the parent album, the same publication compared the track to an "old-school hip-hop love song" and called it "oh-so-radio-ready". Marci Kenon of 'Billboard' called the "babies' mommas' mommas" hook memorable and later referred to the track as "infectious".

"Ms. Jackson" is widely considered one of Outkast's best songs. In 2020, 'The Ringer' ranked the song number five on their list of the 50 greatest Outkast songs, and in 2021, 'The Guardian' ranked the song number six on their list of the 20 greatest Outkast songs.

Music video



The song's music video, directed by F. Gary Gray and produced by Earthtone III, works as a possible metaphor for the duo's "stormy" relationships with the mothers of their children and their families. In the United States, a DVD single featuring the videos for "B.O.B" and "Ms. Jackson" was released in 2000, before the other physical formats. Along with Toni Braxton's "Just Be a Man About It", this single was the first to bear only a DVD credit on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 until the other formats were issued. Because "Ms. Jackson" was the only OutKast song that was present on the Hot 100 at the time, sales points were added to this song instead of "B.O.B".

Track listings



'US maxi-CD and 12-inch single, Australian CD single'

# "Ms. Jackson" (radio mix) 4:03

# "Ms. Jackson" (instrumental) 4:34

# "Sole Sunday" feat. Goodie Mob (radio mix) 4:41

# "Sole Sunday" feat. Goodie Mob (instrumental) 4:41

'US DVD single'

# "B.O.B" (video)

# "Ms. Jackson" (video)

# "What Is Stankonia? An Exclusive Interview with Big Boi & Dre"

'European CD single'

# "Ms. Jackson" (radio mix) 4:03

# "Ms. Jackson" (instrumental) 4:34

'UK CD single'

# "Ms. Jackson" (radio edit) 3:36

# "Elevators (Me & You)" 4:56

# "Ms. Jackson" (video) 4:58

'UK 12-inch and cassette single'

# "Ms. Jackson" (album version) 4:30

# "Elevators (Me & You)" 4:56

Credits and personnel



Credits are lifted from the UK CD single liner notes.

'Studio'

* Recorded and mixed at Stankonia Recording (Atlanta, Georgia)

'Personnel'

* Andr 3000 writing (as Andr Benjamin), vocals, background vocals, guitar

* Big Boi writing (as Antwan Patton), vocals

* David Sheats writing

* Earthtone III keyboards, programming, production, arrangement

* Rajinder Kala backwards congas

* Marvin "Chanz" Parkman piano

* Aaron Mills of Cameo bass

* John Frye recording

* Malik Albert recording assistant

* Vincent Alexander recording assistant

* Warren Bletcher recording assistant, mixing assistant

* Neal H. Pogue mixing

Charts



Weekly charts



Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

!scope="col"|Chart (2001)

!scope="col"|Position

|-

!scope="row"|Australia (ARIA)

|17

|-

!scope="row"|Australian Urban (ARIA)

|7

|-

!scope="row"|Austria (3 Austria Top 40)

|21

|-

!scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)

|21

|-

!scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)

|28

|-

!scope="row"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)

|11

|-

!scope="row"|France (SNEP)

|45

|-

!scope="row"|Germany (Official German Charts)

|12

|-

!scope="row"|Ireland (IRMA)

|52

|-

!scope="row"|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)

|34

|-

!scope="row"|Netherlands (Single Top 100)

|50

|-

!scope="row"|Romania (Romanian Top 100)

|79

|-

!scope="row"|Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)

|15

|-

!scope="row"|Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)

|24

|-

!scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC)

|43

|-

!scope="row"|US 'Billboard' Hot 100

|25

|-

!scope="row"|US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ('Billboard')

|18

|}

Certifications



Release history



References



Category:2000 singles

Category:2000 songs

Category:2001 singles

Category:Arista Records singles

Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles

Category:Dutch Top 40 number-one singles

Category:European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles

Category:Music videos directed by F. Gary Gray

Category:Number-one singles in Germany

Category:Number-one singles in Norway

Category:Number-one singles in Sweden

Category:Outkast songs

Category:Songs about mothers

Category:Songs written by Andr 3000

Category:Songs written by Big Boi

Category:Songs written by Mr. DJ

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