"Summer Bunnies" is a song written, produced and performed by American R&B musician R. Kelly, released in July 1994 by

Jive Records Jive Records (later stylized as JIVE Records) was a British-American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary of the Zomba Group of Companies, Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chic ...

as the fourth single from his debut album, '' 12 Play'' (1993). The song reached number 55 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number 23 on the UK Singles Chart and number 20 on the US R&B chart. It heavily samples the 1982 Gap Band song "

Outstanding "Outstanding" is a song originally performed by the Gap Band and written by member Raymond Calhoun. The song originally appeared on the group's platinum-selling 1982 album ''Gap Band IV''. It is one of their signature songs and biggest hits, rea ...

". The

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

of the song which featured his

protégé Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

Aaliyah, sampled the 1970 The Spinners' hit " It's a Shame".

Critical reception

Andy Beevers from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave the song a full score of five out of five and named it Pick of the Week in the category of Dance, saying, "Having finally crossed over with ' Your Body's Callin'', R Kelly is now poised for even bigger things with this smooth summer swing tune plucked from '' 12 Play''. With a whole host of new mixes from the man himself plus

Teddy Riley Edward Theodore Riley (born October 8, 1967) is an American record producer, singer, and songwriter credited with the creation of the R&B and hip-hop fusion genre, new jack swing. Musical artists who utilized Riley's production and songwri ...

and Tosh, this single is going to fly." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' wrote, "Listen to the great macho lingo on the piano ballad 'Summer Bunnies', and you know what kind of "brotha" Kelly is."

James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...

from the ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' Dance Update declared it as a "typical nasally whined and muttered rolling slow jam" in his weekly dance column.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Summer Bunnies" was shot for the remix featuring

Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton ( ; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer, actress, dancer, and model. Known as the " Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop", she is credited with helping to redefine contemporary R&B, p ...

(Summer Bunnies Contest remix), as opposed to the album version.

Charts

References

{{Aaliyah 1994 singles R. Kelly songs Aaliyah songs 1993 songs Songs written by R. Kelly Song recordings produced by R. Kelly Jive Records singles