"Ayo!" is a song by American singer

Mýa Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), (stylized as Mýa), is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Born into a musical family, she studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Initially, Mýa began her career as a VJ ...

. It was written and composed by Mýa,

DJ Kool John W. Bowman Jr. (born March 20, 1958), better known by his stage name DJ Kool, is an American DJ and rapper who produced several popular rap singles in the late 1980s. Career Raised in Washington, D.C., his influence from years of working t ...

and Christopher “Deep” Henderson and initially recorded for her fourth studio album '' Liberation'' (2007). Production on the track was helmed by Henderson, while Kool is having featured vocals. The song is built upon on an of

interpolation In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has ...

from the composition "He's the Wizard" by American jazz singer

Thelma Carpenter Thelma Carpenter (January 15, 1922 – May 14, 1997) was an American jazz singer and actress, best known as "Miss One", the Good Witch of the North in the movie ''The Wiz''. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, the only child of Fred and Mary C ...

. Due to the inclusion of the sample,

Charlie Smalls Charlie Smalls (October 25, 1943 – August 27, 1987) was an American composer and songwriter, best known for writing the music and lyrics for playwright William F. Brown's 1975 Broadway musical '' The Wiz'' and the 1978 film version of the sa ...

is also credited as a songwriter. The song was expected to be released as the first single from Mýa's fourth studio album '' Liberation'' (2007). With the singer was going through transitioning from former label

Interscope Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mu ...

to her

Universal Motown Records Universal Motown Records was an American record label that operated as a division of Universal Motown Republic Group. It was the contemporary incarnation of the legendary Motown Records label, and the " urban" half of UMG, although there were some ...

though, "Ayo!" was later demoted and replaced by

Scott Storch Scott Spencer Storch (born December 16, 1973) is an American record producer and songwriter. He started off as a keyboardist for the group the Roots. Early life Storch was born on Long Island, New York. He was raised in South Florida and Ph ...

-produced " Lock U Down," a collaboration with rapper

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

, as the album's leading single. Critics compared the song's production favorably to TLC’s 1990s album ''

CrazySexyCool ''CrazySexyCool'' is the second studio album by American girl group TLC, released on November 15, 1994, by LaFace and Arista Records. Following the group's record deal, they released their debut album '' Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip'' in 1992 ...

''. On the charts, it "Ayo!" became a minor hit on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart, peaking at number seventy.

Background

“Ayo!” was originally recorded by girl group

3LW 3LW (initialism of "3 Lil Women") was an American girl group formed in 1999 by Adrienne Bailon, Kiely Williams, and Naturi Naughton. Jessica Benson later replaced Naughton after she left the group in 2002. 3LW was signed to the label Epic Recor ...

, but was then passed to Mýa. The song was

leaked A leak is a way (usually an opening) for fluid to escape a container or fluid-containing system, such as a tank or a ship's hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can enter the container. Leaks are usuall ...

in July 2006, unbeknownst if Universal Motown had chosen the song as the first single taken from the singer's next studio album '' Liberation''. A few days later, online publication ''

Rap-Up ''Rap-Up'' is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on th ...

'' confirmed "Ayo!" as the first official single from the album'. Though the song was intended to be the first single from the project, Universal Motown eventually scrapped the single and delayed the album's release. Co-written by Mýa and produced by Chris "Deep" Henderson, the

Go-go Go-go is a subgenre of funk music with an emphasis on specific rhythmic patterns, and live audience call and response. Go-go was originated by African-American musicians in the Washington, D.C. area during the mid-60s to late-70s. Go-go has lim ...

inspired track samples an

from "He's the Wizard" by American singer

from the soundtrack to ''

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

'', an adaptation of

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not inclu ...

's ''

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz aft ...

'' which features an entire African American cast. "He's the Wizard" was originally written by

for the musical and film, so therefore he is credited for the sample recording.

Critical reception

'' magazine gave the song a positive review, writing, "Mýa has become the new captain of sexy, single ladies as she struts her way back into the spotlight. New single, "Ayo!" (pronounced "ee-yo"), featuring hip-hop veteran

, is a party anthem that finds the sultry singer just "tryin' to enjoy herself," while hating on the men who can't keep her interest, satisfy or keep it real day-to-da. From the start, the beat takes charge, complemented by loud brassy horns and tight percussion; the hook is fresh, catchy and simplistic. "Ayo!" brings back a bit of old school, reminiscent of TLC's classic 1990s "''

''," and leads independent women straight to the doors of the party. Look for her fourth full-length set, "'' Liberation''" Nov. 14."

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits lifted from the liner notes of "Ayo!." * John Bowman, Jr. – writer *Ralph Cacciurri – recording engineer *Rick DeVarona – recording assistance *Seth Foster – mastering engineer *Serban Ghenea – mixing engineer *Suha Gur – mastering engineer *John Hanes –

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture ( sound design, audio post-prod ...

Mýa Harrison Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), (stylized as Mýa), is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Born into a musical family, she studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Initially, Mýa began her career as a ...

– vocalist, writer *Christopger "Deep" Henderson – producer, writer *

– writer (sample) *Tim Roberts – mixing assistance

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayo! (Mya song) 2006 singles Mýa songs Go-go songs Songs written by Charlie Smalls Songs written by Mýa