"Can We" is a song by American R&B trio

SWV SWV (Sisters with Voices) is an American R&B vocal trio from New York City whose members are Cheryl "Coko" Gamble, Tamara "Taj" George, and Leanne "Lelee" Lyons. Formed in 1988 as a gospel group, SWV became one of the most successful R&B ...

featuring guest vocals from

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group 4 All the Sistas Arou ...

and production by

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...

and Elliott. It heavily samples the intro of "

Do the Funky Chicken "Do the Funky Chicken" is a song written and recorded by American R&B singer and entertainer Rufus Thomas for Stax Records in 1969. The song was used as the title track of Thomas' 1970 LP, ''Do The Funky Chicken''. It became one of his bigges ...

" by

Rufus Thomas Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Re ...

. The song was eventually included on SWV's third album, ''

Release Some Tension ''Release Some Tension'' is the third studio album by American R&B vocal group SWV. It was released by RCA Records on July 29, 1997. The album guest appearances by E-40, Puff Daddy, Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Foxy Brown, Lil' Cease, Lil' Kim, ...

'' (1997), but was originally a hit earlier in the year when it was included on the soundtrack to the 1997 film, ''

Booty Call ''Booty Call'' is a 1997 American buddy comedy film directed by Jeff Pollack, and written by J. Stanford Parker (credited as Bootsie) and Takashi Bufford. The film stars Tommy Davidson, Jamie Foxx, Vivica A. Fox, and Tamala Jones. Plot Rusho ...

''. "Can We" received major airplay on

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

radio stations in the United States, but it was not released as a

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette (format) (or ''cassette tape''), a format that contains magnetic tape for audio, video, and data storage and playback * Compact Cassette, a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ...

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

in the US. However, because of a

12-inch vinyl single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12) is a type of vinyl (polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a "single" or a few related sound tracks on each surface, compar ...

release, "Can We" was able to chart on ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching number 75. Outside the US, the song topped the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official Aotearoa Music Charts, formerly the Official New Zealand Music Chart (), is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The M ...

and peaked at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart.

Music video

A music video for the single was directed by Jesse Vaughan and premiered on music video stations in February 1997. The synopsis of the video primarily focuses on SWV, dressed in cheetah-print attire, dancing in front of matching backgrounds with their love interests. Missy Elliott is also featured in the video, where she is seen dancing in a newspaper-covered background.

Track listings

US and UK 12-inch single :A1. "Can We" (LP version) – 4:51 :A2. "Can We" (instrumental) – 4:49 :A3. "Can We" (a cappella) – 4:49 :B1. "Can We" (radio edit No. 1) – 4:15 :B2. "Can We" (radio edit No. 2) – 4:15 :B3. "Can We" (no rap radio) – 3:56 UK and Australian CD single # "Can We" (radio edit No. 1) – 4:15 # "Can We" (radio edit No. 2) – 4:15 # "Can We" (no rap radio) – 3:56 # "Can We" (LP version) – 4:51 # "Can We" (instrumental) – 4:49 # "Can We" (a cappella) – 4:49 UK cassette single # "Can We" (LP version) – 4:51 # "Can We" (radio edit No. 1) – 4:15

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1997 singles 1997 songs Missy Elliott songs Number-one singles in New Zealand Song recordings produced by Timbaland Songs written by Missy Elliott Songs written by Timbaland SWV songs