"You Already Know" is a song recorded by American singer Fergie, featuring guest vocals from Trinidadian rapper

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

. It was released on August 25, 2017, alongside promotional single "

Hungry Hunger is a sensation that motivates the consumption of food. The sensation of hunger typically manifests after only a few hours without eating and is generally considered to be unpleasant. Satiety occurs between 5 and 20 minutes after eating. T ...

" as the third single from Fergie's second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''

Double Dutchess ''Double Dutchess'' is the second studio album by American singer and rapper Fergie. It was released on September 22, 2017. The album is the singer's first to be released under her own imprint, Dutchess Music, in a partnership with Retrofuture P ...

'' (2017), the same day the album was made available for pre-order. "You Already Know" impacted mainstream and rhythmic radio on September 12, 2017. As of September 2017, "You Already Know" moved almost 56,600 copies in the United States according to

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...

Background

"You Already Know" has been described as a song with

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house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

influences. It samples " It Takes Two" by

Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock were an American Hip hop music, hip hop duo from Harlem, New York City. Rob Base is the stage name of Robert Ginyard (b. May 18, 1967) and DJ E-Z Rock was the stage name of Rodney "Skip" Bryce (1967–2014). They are best ...

, which in turn samples the

Lyn Collins Gloria Lavern Collins (June 12, 1948 – March 13, 2005), better known as Lyn Collins, was an American soul singer best known for working with James Brown in the 1970s and for the influential 1972 funk single, "Think (About It)". A favorite ...

1972 song "

Think (About It) "Think (About It)" is a funk song recorded by Lyn Collins and released as a single on James Brown's People Records in 1972. The recording was produced by Brown (who also wrote the song) and features instrumental backing from his band The J.B.' ...

". Prior to the song's release, a lyric about Minaj's ex-boyfriend

Meek Mill Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his career as a battle rapper, and later formed a short-lived rap group the Blo ...

, was changed following their breakup in January 2017. The single was written by Fergie and Minaj, with

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...

handling the song's production. Fergie first teased the collaboration in a radio interview in late 2014 while promoting " L.A. Love (La La)". The song was performed live for the first time on

Rock in Rio Lisboa Rock in Rio is a biennial Brazilian multi-day music festival held at City of Rock in Rio de Janeiro. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas. Ten incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeir ...

on May 20, 2016. Fergie spoke about the song, saying:

Critical reception

Jordan Miller of ''Breathe Heavy'' reacted positively towards the song, calling it "fresh to death". In particular he praised Minaj's verse. ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'' placed the song as the third best track of the week, with the senior editor Tom Breihan calling it a monster: "It's a big, shameless

endorphin Endorphins (contracted from endogenous morphine) are peptides produced in the brain that block the perception of pain and increase feelings of wellbeing. They are produced and stored in the pituitary gland of the brain. Endorphins are endogeno ...

-rush

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

megablast, a riot of

synth A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

-bloop hooks and

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

drum-breaks and house

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s and ecstatic

diva Diva (, ) is the Latin word for a goddess. Diva is a name from Roman mythology, and is associated with the nouns divus, diva, which means god, goddess, and the adjective divinius, which means divine or heavenly. It has often been used to refer t ...

-wails.". Breihan also shows surprise with Fergie's

rap Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

skills. It was considered the fortieth best song of 2017 by ''

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 ...

''.

Personnel

Taken from Tidal. * Fergie – vocals, performer, songwriter *

– vocals, featured artist, performer, songwriter *

– producer * Joel Metzler – vocal producer * Aubrey Delaine – vocal producer * Johannes Raasina – mixing engineer * Padraic Kerin – engineer * Joe Peluso – engineer

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2017 songs 2017 singles Fergie (singer) songs Nicki Minaj songs Songs written by Fergie (singer) Songs written by Nicki Minaj Songs written by James Brown Song recordings produced by will.i.am Songs written by will.i.am Songs written by Big Daddy Kane Black-and-white music videos