"Vivrant Thing" is the first single released by

Q-Tip Cotton swabs (American English) or cotton buds (British English), also Q-tips ( proprietary eponym), are wads of cotton wrapped around a short rod made of wood, rolled paper, or plastic. They are most commonly used for ear cleaning, although th ...

on his debut solo album '' Amplified''. It was produced by Q-Tip himself, and is credited as such in the liner notes of '' Violator: The Album'',

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip< ...

's compilation '' The Anthology'', and the

12-inch vinyl 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 ...

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 ...

.Exclusive: Q-Tip Interview
''moovmnt.com'' Retrieved on May 26, 2010.

Jay Dee James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006), better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer, composer and rapper. He emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michiga ...

is only credited in the liner notes of ''Amplified'', as they were considered a production duo solely for that album. "Vivrant Thing" became the fourth rap song to reach number one on the ''Billboard''

Hot R&B Airplay R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (previously known as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay) is a chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the top R&B and hip hop songs in the United States, based on audience impressions from a panel of radio stations monitored ...

chart since its 1992 inception. The single also reached number seven on the main

Hot R&B Singles & Tracks 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 po ...

chart, with its performance being driven overwhelmingly by airplay due to its lack of domestic availability in any configuration besides 12-inch vinyl. The single was a success, charting the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 26, making it Q-Tip's highest charting solo single to date, as well as his only Top 40 solo single to date. The beat contains a sample of "I Wanna Stay" by the

Love Unlimited Orchestra The Love Unlimited Orchestra was a 40-piece string-laden orchestra formed by American singer Barry White, and serving as a backing unit for White and for female vocal trio Love Unlimited. From the early 1970s on, they also recorded several sin ...

. The remix features stanzas by rappers

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

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

. The song was used as the opening scene on the television series, '' The Game'', in the episode, "The List Episode", on March 30, 2008. The beat was frequently used in the animated series '' MTV Downtown''. It was heard in the ''

PEN15 ''Pen15'' is an American comedy television series, created by Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, and Sam Zvibleman, that premiered on February 8, 2019, on Hulu. The series stars Erskine and Konkle, who also serve as executive producers alongside Zvibl ...

'' episode, "Miranda".

Critical reception

Kris Ex of

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

called the song an "undeniable groove vehicle". Steve Jones of

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

also described the tune as "bouncy and insistent".

Music video

The music video was directed by

Hype Williams Harold "Hype" Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video and film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Early life Williams was born in Queens. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Adelphi Univ ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

1999 debut singles Q-Tip (musician) songs Song recordings produced by Q-Tip (musician) Music videos directed by Hype Williams 1999 songs Arista Records singles Songs written by Q-Tip (musician) Songs written by Barry White {{1990s-hiphop-song-stub