"Move Ya Body" is a song by Puerto Rican musical duo

Nina Sky Nina Sky is a Puerto Rican-born musical duo based in the United States, consisting of identical twins Nicole and Natalie Albino. Their debut single "Move Ya Body", released from their Nina Sky (album), self-titled debut album in 2004, was a succ ...

. It was released on April 12, 2004, as the lead single from its self-titled debut album (2004). The song features guest vocals by American-Jamaican DJ Jabba. The song became the duo's only solo single to reach the top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song was ranked at number 250 on ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...

''s "500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born" and is well known for the use of the recurring

ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from the Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces inc ...

on the

bongos Bongos (Spanish language, Spanish: ''bongó'') are an Afro-Cubans, Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. The pair consists of the larger ''hembra'' () and the smaller ''macho'' ...

known as the "Coolie Dance"

riddim In Jamaican dancehall music, a riddim is the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the term consist of the ''riddim'' plus the ''voicing'' (vocal part) sung by the deeja ...

. This has been the subject and musical motif of many musical samples.

Background

Record producer the Jettsonz introduced Nina Sky to

Cipha Sounds Cipha Sounds (born Luis Diaz; on April 19, 1976) is an American DJ, comedian, and radio and television personality of Puerto Rican descent. He is mostly known for his work as a DJ, a VJ for MTV, and as a comedian. Biography Radio career In 1 ...

, a

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

DJ. Cipha Sounds was impressed when he heard the girls sing and suggested that they compose a song using the "Coolie Dance"

. The twins wrote "Move Ya Body" in response, and recorded a demo. The demo got them signed as Nina Sky to Next Plateau Entertainment and

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

. After writing "Move Ya Body", Nina Sky quickly wrote more songs to form their debut album ''Nina Sky'', released in June 2004.

Composition

"Move Ya Body" has a length of three minutes and fifty-four seconds and was written by Nicole Albino, Natalie Albino, Cordel Burrell, Luis Diaz, Paul George, Curtis Bedeau, Gerald Charles, Brian George, Elijah Wells and Lionel Bermingham while it was produced by Wells and Bermingham. It was recorded in 2003 in The Hit Factory studios, located in New York City. The song contains lyrics from

Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam were a United States urban contemporary band and one of the first freestyle music groups to emerge from New York City in the 1980s. Cult Jam consisted of vocalist Lisa Lisa, born Lisa Velez, guitarist/ bassist Alex "Sp ...

's song, " Can You Feel the Beat". The title of Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam's song was repeated many times during the song.

Critical reception

The song was ranked the 29th best song of 2004 by ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

''.

Commercial performance

The song was a huge hit and is one of only a few singles by the duo to chart (the others include " Turnin' Me On" and "

Curtain Call A curtain call (often known as a walkdown or a final Bowing, bow) occurs at the end of a performance when one or more performers return to the stage to be recognized by the audience for the performance. In musical theatre, the performers typi ...

"). "Move Ya Body" is their biggest hit, as it charted at number four on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 22 on the 2004 ''Billboard'' Year-End Chart. It also reached number six on the UK Singles Chart. It was

certified gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by both the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

and the BPI, and platinum by RMNZ. It also reached the top ten in Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand and the US ''

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 ...

Mainstream Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso * ...

and

Rhythmic Top 40 The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

charts. The song earned the duo two nominations for

International Dance Music Awards The International Dance Music Awards or IDMAs was an annual awards ceremony held in Miami Beach, Florida, United States as a major part of the Winter Music Conference. The awards were held every year from 1985 to 2020, except for 2017, when the ...

(Best Pop Dance Track and Best New Dance Artist (Group)) and one nomination for

Soul Train Lady of Soul Award The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards ceremony which honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the production company of ''Soul Train'', the program from which it takes its name, and ...

(Best R&B/

Soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

Single, Group, Band or Duo), all in 2005. They won one award for the song, Rapgra Award (Utwor R'n'B) in 2004.

Music video

An accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the song was released in 2004. Posted in 2012, it was viewed over two million times on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. However it was never posted on Nina Sky's official channel and it became unavailable few years later. The video was 34 seconds shorter than the song. It features guest appearances from Jabba,

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of Hip-hop, hip hop group D.I.T.C., Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a sol ...

and

Angie Martinez Angela "Angie" Martinez (born January 9, 1971) is an American radio personality, podcaster, singer, former rapper and actress. Dubbed "The Voice of New York", Martinez is widely known for her 28-year run at New York City station WQHT, Hot 97 ( ...

. The whole video takes place in a

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

and features the twins, mostly singing and dancing to the song.

Awards and nominations

Track listings

* US maxi-CD single # "Move Ya Body" (radio edit) – 3:30 # "Move Ya Body" (instrumental) – 3:30 # "Move Ya Body" (call out hook) – 0:19 # "In a Dream" (radio edit) – 3:25 # "In a Dream" (a cappella) – 3:25 * US 12-inch single :A1. "Move Ya Body" (radio edit) – 3:30 :A2. "Move Ya Body" (instrumental) – 3:30 :B1. "In a Dream" (radio edit) – 3:25 :B2. "In a Dream" (a capella) – 3:25 * UK and Australian CD single # "Move Ya Body" – 3:30 # "Move Ya Body" (Hyperspace remix) – 4:28 # "In a Dream" – 3:25 # "Move Ya Body" (video) * UK 12-inch single :A1. "Move Ya Body" – 3:56 :A2. "Move Ya Body" (Hyperspace remix) – 4:28 :B1. "Move Ya Body" (instrumental) – 3:30 :B2. "Move Ya Body" (a capella) – 3:37 * European CD single # "Move Ya Body" – 3:30 # "In a Dream" – 3:25 * European maxi-CD single # "Move Ya Body" (radio edit) – 3:30 # "Move Ya Body" (Jiggy Joint radio mix) – 3:30 # "In a Dream" (radio edit) – 3:25 # "Move Ya Body (album version video) – 4:30

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2004 songs 2004 debut singles Next Plateau Entertainment singles Nina Sky songs Reggae fusion songs Songs about dancing Songs about nightclubs Songs about parties Universal Records singles