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Production In 1993, American
hip hop trio
Salt-N-Pepa recorded the song retitled "
Whatta Man" for
Runaway Love, an EP by
En Vogue, who is credited as the featured group. Freddy Foxx wrote the rap lyrics and produced the version, with Cheryl James (Salt) also credited as one of the songwriters. Salt-N-Pepa sampled Lyndell's original recording and remade the song as a rap song.
En Vogue sings the refrain of the song; "Whatta man, whatta man, whatta mighty good man", while a pregnant
Cindy Herron is featured only on background vocals. Lead vocals are performed by
Dawn Robinson, and
Maxine Jones on ad-libs during the later part of the song. "Whatta Man" was later featured on Salt-n-Pepa's 1993 album,
Very Necessary. The male vocals at the beginning of the song were performed by brothers Troy and John Mitchell of the rap group 3 Feet. The music video for the song was directed by
Matthew Rolston.
Critical reception AllMusic editor
Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the song "such a wonderful duet", noting that they deliver a song "so sexy it hurts".
Larry Flick from
Billboard magazine wrote that the "fierce, ruling rap divas dip into their fine
Very Necessary album and pull out this wickedly funky
hip hop jam." He added further, "Loose and oh-so-appealing harmonies by
En Vogue provide a kickin' framework for clever, lip-lickin' rhymes that melt into the track's butt-shaggin' beats. Destined to be an out-of-the-box smasheroo, single further benefits from
Danny D's well-conceived remixes." Dave Sholin from the
Gavin Report commented, "Whatta concept, pairing these goddesses of hip-hop with a killer track and some of the best lines heard in a long time. Though it was getting a healthy number of spins in several markets late last year, it's now starting to bust big."
James Hamilton from
Music Week's
RM Dance Update deemed it a "cooing gritty slow rap" in his weekly dance column. Ted Kessler from
NME named it Unstoppable Hit Single of the Week, writing, "This takes En Vogue's "
My Lovin", puts it in a car, drives it off somewhere hot, sunny and sexy, slows it down, feeds it loads of funky guitar and sewns in some sassy rapping about how the ideal man treats Salt, Pepa and Spinderella." Gerald Martinez from
New Sunday Times felt the song showed that En Vogue "can rap with the best of them."
People Magazine described it as "
R&B-stoked". James Hunter from
Vibe noted that En Vogue are "sounding proud as punch to play second fiddle, furnish Salt-N-Pepa with harmonic backdrops. It's a logical collaboration: En Vogue provide the sound of true romance that the rappers can better state than demonstrate."
Commercial performance "Whatta Man" was a major hit for Salt-N-Pepa and
En Vogue, peaking at number three on the US
Billboard Hot 100, number seven on the
UK Singles Chart and number six on the
UK Dance Singles Chart. In the US, this version was
certified platinum. The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for
Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and the
American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Single. "Whatta Man" was ranked number 23 on
VH1's countdown of the 100 Greatest Songs of the 1990s.
Lyrics analyses Richard Harrington of
The Washington Post interprets the song as "a celebration of strong men who stay home and care for kids." Garth Baker-Fletcher, an Associate Professor of Religion from
Texas College, interpreted the version's refrain as "praising a steady-thinking, family-values-yet-sexy man."
Music videos A music video was released on the week ending January 2, 1994 to promote the single.
Tupac Shakur and
Treach from
Naughty by Nature make cameo appearances. The video was directed by
Matthew Rolston and filmed by cinematographer Derek M. Allen.
New York magazine journalist
Dinitia Smith wrote about the video: "Salt-N-Pepa a warmth and sexual heat that make
Madonna seem contrived and mechanical." Salt-n-Pepa later recorded a variation on their own, with slightly rewritten lyrics, for another music video as the one-time segment of
Monday Night Football. In the
Monday music video, the two women wearing tight short-sleeved clothes, including T-shirts containing their respective logos of two opposing teams, are seen in a gym complimenting two football players of their respective teams, one white and one black, for the men's bodies and
weight training efforts. The music video won an award in the category for Urban/R&B at the 1994 Music Video Production Awards in Los Angeles.
The Village Voice ranked it number 99 in their list of "Top Singles of the 90's" in 1999.
Q magazine featured the song in their list of "The 1010 Songs You Must Own" in 2004.
Awards and nominations Track listing •
US maxi-CD single • "Whatta Man" (video remix) • "Whatta Man" (Luvbug remix) • "Whatta Man" (12-inch Danny D remix) • "
Push It" (remix) • "
Let's Talk About AIDS"
Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Certifications Release history ==Other cover versions and uses==