I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)

Not to be confused with Give It 2 Me.

"I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z, released as the first single from his 2000 album The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. It was produced by the Neptunes and features a chorus performed by Neptunes member Pharrell and Pennsylvania rapper Omillio Sparks, both of whom remain uncredited. The video for the song, directed by David Meyers, features cameos from rappers Lil' Kim, Lil' Cease, Damon Dash, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Jermaine Dupri and actor John Witherspoon.

"I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)"
Single by Jay-Z featuring Pharrell Williams
from the album The Dynasty: Roc La Familia
Released	October 17, 2000
Recorded	2000
Studio	Baseline Studios (New York City, New York)
Genre	East Coast hip hop R&B
Length	3:47
Label	Roc-A-Fella Def Jam
Songwriter(s)	Shawn Carter Pharrell Williams Chad Hugo Rick James
Producer(s)	The Neptunes
Jay-Z singles chronology
"Is That Your Chick (The Lost Verses)" (2000) "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" (2000) "Change the Game" (2001)
Music video
"I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" on YouTube

Janet Jackson included the song in a dance breakdown during "Nasty" on her All for You Tour. The song was also featured during Coldplay's Viva tour as pre-show music, a reference due to Jay-Z's feature on the track "Lost!". Beyoncé also included the song in the "Crazy in Love" breakdown on her I Am World Tour.

Jay-Z's first verse interpolates The Notorious B.I.G.'s song "The World Is Filled..." from the album Life After Death, as well as an interpolation from "I Wish" by Carl Thomas (the line "and I wish I never met her at all".) The chorus of the song is interpolated from "Give It to Me Baby" by Rick James.

In 2024, the song appeared on Pharrell's soundtrack album Piece by Piece (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack).

Reception

During a spot on Bill Maher's talk show, Jay-Z revealed the song was based on a true story, about real life events that occurred during a Mary J. Blige afterparty. AllMusic's Steve Birchmeier considers "I Just Wanna Love U" to be "a fun, playful song miles away from the rugged Ruff Ryder beats Swizz Beatz had been offering Jay-Z a year earlier."^[1] In addition, Rob Marriott of Rolling Stone and Steve Juon of RapReviews.com describe it as a club-ready^[2] track that will get "whips hopping from coast to coast.".^[3] The single eventually became the first Jay-Z single to reach number one on the Hip-Hop/R&B chart. The song was voted number one by Complex for their Best Songs of the Decade list.^[4] The song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, number one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, number 3 on Billboard's Hot Rap Songs chart, and number 17 on the UK Singles Chart.

Britney Spears said she was inspired by Jay-Z and "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" to work with the song's producers the Neptunes for her Britney album, saying "for this album I was really inspired by Jay-Z and the Neptunes, those were the two people I really listened to." Spears' single "I'm a Slave 4 U", released the following year, was produced by the Neptunes and became a defining hit in her career.

The music video on YouTube has received over 35 million views as of May 2024.^[5]

Formats and track listings

CD

1. "I Just Wanna Love U (Radio Edit)" (3:50)
2. "Parking Lot Pimpin" (4:15)
3. "Hey Papi (Clean)" (4:27)
4. "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It to Me) (Video)"

Vinyl

A-Side

1. "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me) (Radio Edit)"
2. "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me) (LP Version)"
3. "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me) (Instrumental)"

B-Side

1. "Parking Lot Pimpin' (Radio Edit)"
2. "Parking Lot Pimpin' (LP Version)"
3. "Parking Lot Pimpin' (Instrumental)"

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2000–2001) Peak position France (SNEP)[6] 76 Germany (GfK)[7] 75 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[8] 5 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[9] 61 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[10] 31 Norway (VG-lista)[11] 15 Scotland (OCC)[12] 40 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] 86 UK Singles (OCC)[14] 17 UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[15] 6 US Billboard Hot 100[16] 11 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[17] 1 US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[18] 4 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[19] 5

Year-end charts Chart (2001) Position US Billboard Hot 100[20] 56 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[21] 23

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[22]	Platinum	1,000,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of songs recorded by Jay-Z

References

1. Birchmeier, Steve. "The Dynasty: Roc La Familia Review at AllMusic". Retrieved July 18, 2007.
2. Marriott, Rob. "The Dynasty: Roc La Familia Review at Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved July 18, 2007.
3. Juon, Steve. "The Dynasty: Roc La Familia Review at RapReviews.com". Retrieved July 18, 2007.
4. ""I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" | Top 100 Songs | Best of the 2000s". Archived from the original on December 19, 2009. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
5. JAY-Z - I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me).YouTube
6. "Jay-Z – I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
7. "Jay-Z – I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
8. "Tipparade-lijst van week 7, 2001" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
9. "Jay-Z – I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
10. "Jay-Z – I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
11. "Jay-Z – I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)". VG-lista. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
12. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
13. "Jay-Z – I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
14. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
15. "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
16. "Jay-Z Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
17. "Jay-Z Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
18. "Jay-Z Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
19. "Jay-Z Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
20. "Billboard Top 100 – 2001". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
21. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2001". Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
22. "American single certifications – Jay Z – I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 23, 2024.