"B Boy Baby" is a song written by British recording artist

Mutya Buena Rosa Isabel Mutya Buena (; born 21 May 1985) is an English singer and songwriter who rose to fame as a member of girl group Sugababes. With the Sugababes, Buena had four UK number-one singles, an additional six top-ten hits and three multi-plati ...

with prominent background vocals by singer

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix ...

. The song samples "

Be My Baby "Be My Baby" is a song by the American girl group the Ronettes that was released as a single on Philles Records in August 1963. Written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector, the song was the Ronettes' biggest hit, reaching number ...

" by

the Ronettes The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. The group consisted of the lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector), her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Ta ...

, written by

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

Ellie Greenwich Eleanor Louise Greenwich (October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009) was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", " Be My Baby", " Maybe I Know", " Then He Kissed Me", " Do Wah Diddy Did ...

and

Jeff Barry Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg; April 3, 1938) is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are " Tell Laura I Love Her" (written with Ben Raleigh and a ...

, with new lyrics by Angela Hunte. It was produced by

Salaam Remi Salaam Remi Gibbs (born May 14, 1972) is an American record producer. He is most known for producing material for close associates Nas, Amy Winehouse, and Jazmine Sullivan, but has also produced for other mainstream acts including Alicia Key ...

for Buena's first solo album, '' Real Girl'' (2007) and released as the fourth and final single from the album on December 3, 2007.

Background

Buena left the girl group

Sugababes The Sugababes are an English girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by Ron Tom, the manager of All Saints, ...

in December 2005, shortly after the birth of her daughter. She began working on her debut solo album after signing with

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

. "B Boy Baby" resulted from sessions with British producer Salaam Remi, famous for his work with Amy Winehouse,

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

, and

Fugees The Fugees () are an American hip hop group formed in South Orange, New Jersey, in 1990. The trio of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill was known for their fusion of hip hop, reggae, R&B, and funk; their socially conscious lyrics; and ...

. It borrows lyrical and melodic passages from "Be My Baby" by the Ronettes, with the sampled chorus sung by Winehouse.

Reception

Sharon Mawer of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote, "Buena raps the verses on "B Boy Baby" before launching into a chorus consisting of a slowed down version of the Ronettes/Phil Spector '60s masterpiece which even Amy Winehouse couldn't save from dreary boredom."

Popjustice Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 by UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for ''NME'', ''The Guardian'', ''Attitude'' and many others. It is composed of the work of editor Robinson, features editor Michael C ...

's Peter Robinson hoped that Winehouse's appearance on the "almost universally disapproved-of" song could help Buena's fledgling solo career "turn around." The single was ultimately a commercial failure, charting at number 73 on the UK Singles Chart. However, promotion for the single did see ''Real Girl'' return to the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

, re-entering the lower end of the charts at number 88 and rising to number 83. "B Boy Baby" has since been used in various adverts on UK television.

Music video

The video premiered on 4Music on 4 December 2007.

Track listing

* CD single # "B Boy Baby" (Radio Edit) – 3:02 # "Fast Car" (

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

Live Lounge The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo, and later by Jo Whiley on her weekday mid-morning, and later weekend lunchtime radio shows, then by Fearne Cott ...

Session) – 3:12 # "B Boy Baby" (Video) – 3:05 * Digital download EP # "B Boy Baby" (Radio Edit) – 3:02 # "B Boy Baby" (Soul Seekerz Remix) – 5:36 # "B Boy Baby" (Music Kidz Remix) – 6:37

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 2007 singles Songs written by Ellie Greenwich Songs written by Jeff Barry Songs written by Phil Spector Amy Winehouse songs Mutya Buena songs 4th & B'way Records singles Songs written by Angela Hunte