Left & Right (D'Angelo song)

1999 single by D'Angelo featuring Method Man & Redman

"Left & Right"

Single by D'Angelo featuring Method Man & Redman

from the album Voodoo

Released

October 19, 1999 (1999-10-19)

Recorded

1999

Studio

Electric Lady Studios (New York, NY)

D'Angelo singles chronology

"Devil's Pie"
(1998)

"Left & Right"
(1999)

"Untitled (How Does It Feel)"
(2000)

Audio sample

Music video

"Left & Right" on YouTube

"Left & Right" is a song by American neo soul musician D'Angelo featuring fellow American rappers Method Man & Redman. It was released on October 19, 1999 via Virgin Records as the second single from the singer's second studio album Voodoo. Recording sessions took place at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. Written by D'Angelo, Method Man, Redman and Q-Tip, it was produced by D'Angelo himself. An accompanying music video was directed by Malik Hassan Sayeed.

Background

A part of the musical collective Soulquarians, producer J Dilla served as a frequent collaborator of theirs. Although album tracks such as "Left & Right" and "Devil's Pie" help to bring this claim to light, Dilla himself was not officially credited for production. However, he contributed significantly to Voodoo's overall sound, specifically the rhythm and percussion. Q-Tip was originally intended to contribute a verse to the song "Left & Right", but was replaced by rappers Method Man & Redman during recording due to creative differences. Questlove has stated that "general opinion was that the song was cool but nobody was feeling Tip's verse". According to former A&R representative Gary Harris, D'Angelo's manager Dominique Trenier "thought that Tip’s verse was wack".

Track listing

12" maxi single
No.	Title	Writer(s)
1.	"Left & Right" (Radio Edit)	Michael Eugene Archer Clifford Smith Reginald Noble Jonathan Davis
2.	"Left & Right" (Explicit Edit)	Archer Smith Noble Davis
3.	"Left & Right" (Instrumental)	Archer Smith Noble Davis
4.	"Untitled (How Does It Feel)"	Archer Charles Ray Wiggins
5.	"Left & Right" (Album Version)	Archer Smith Noble Davis
6.	"Left & Right" (A Cappella)	Archer Smith Noble Davis

CD single
No.	Title	Writer(s)
1.	"Left & Right" (Radio Edit)	Archer Smith Noble Davis
2.	"Left & Right" (W/o Rap Version)	Archer Smith Noble Davis
3.	"Left & Right" (Explicit Version)	Archer Smith Noble Davis
4.	"Devil's Pie"	Archer

Personnel

Michael Eugene "D'Angelo" Archer – songwriter, vocals, producer
Clifford "Method Man" Smith – songwriter, rap vocals
Reginald "Redman" Noble – songwriter, rap vocals
Jonathan "Q-Tip" Davis – songwriter
Russell Elevado – recording, mixing

Charts

Chart (1999–2000)	Peak position
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)	39
US Billboard Hot 100	70
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)	18
US R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (Billboard)	44

References

^ Touré. Untitled Document: D'Angelo, May 2000. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 2, 2011.
Columnist. Featured Drummers: Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson. Drummerworld. Retrieved on 2008-08-09.
^ Thompson, Ahmir 'Questlove'. "Review: Voodoo". ?uestcorner/Okayplayer: 1999. Archived from the original on August 9, 2008.
Gonzales, Michael A. "D'Angelo: Black Pop Kool-Aid".
"Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
"D'Angelo Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
"D'Angelo Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
"D'Angelo Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2024.

External links

D'Angelo – Left & Right at Discogs (list of releases)

v t e D'Angelo
Studio albums	Brown Sugar Voodoo Black Messiah
Other albums	Live at the Jazz Cafe Voodoo DJ Soul Essentials The Best So Far...
Singles	"Brown Sugar" "Cruisin'" "Lady" "Devil's Pie" "Left & Right" "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" "Send It On" "Feel Like Makin' Love" "Really Love" "Unshaken"
Other songs	"Nothing Even Matters" "The Root" "Imagine"
Tours	The Voodoo World Tour Occupy Music Tour The Liberation Tour The Second Coming Tour
Related articles	Discography Soulquarians The Soultronics Questlove Angie Stone

v t e Method Man
Discography Videography
Studio albums	Tical (1994) Tical 2000: Judgement Day (1998) Tical 0: The Prequel (2004) 4:21... The Day After (2006) The Meth Lab (2015) Meth Lab Season 2: The Lithium (2018) Meth Lab Season 3: The Rehab (2022)
Collaboration albums	Blackout! (1999) Blackout! 2 (2009) Wu-Massacre (2010)
Compilations	Back to Back: Raw & Uncut (2008)
Singles	"Bring the Pain" "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" "How High" "The Riddler" "Hit 'Em High (The Monstars' Anthem)" "Judgement Day" "Da Rockwilder" "Part II" "Say" "A-Yo" "Mrs. International"
Featured singles	"Ice Cream" "Shadowboxin'" "4, 3, 2, 1" "The Worst" "Grand Finale" "Symphony 2000" "Left & Right" "N 2 Gether Now" "Love @ 1st Sight" "Still on It" "Trillmatic"
Other songs	"Rollin' (Urban Assault Vehicle)" "Wu Tang Forever"
Related articles	Wu-Tang Clan Method Man & Redman Method & Red

v t e Redman
Discography
Studio albums	Whut? Thee Album Dare Iz a Darkside Muddy Waters Doc's da Name 2000 Malpractice Red Gone Wild: Thee Album Reggie Mudface
Collaboration albums	El Niño (with Def Squad) Blackout! (with Method Man) Blackout! 2 (with Method Man)
Singles	"Blow Your Mind" "Time 4 Sum Aksion" "Tonight's da Night" "Rockafella" "Can't Wait" "How High" "Funkorama" "It's Like That" "Whateva Man" "Pick It Up" "Full Cooperation" "I'll Bee Dat!" "Da Goodness" "Da Rockwilder" "Let's Get Dirty (I Can't Get in da Club)" "Smash Sumthin'" "Part II" "Put It Down" "A-Yo" "Mrs. International"
Featured artist	"Head Banger" "The Points" "4, 3, 2, 1" "Made It Back" "How Deep Is Your Love" "Symphony 2000" "Left & Right" "Oooh." "Rollin' (Urban Assault Vehicle)" "React" "Dirrty" "Yeah Yeah U Know It"
Related articles	Def Squad Hit Squad Method Man & Redman Wu-Tang Clan Method & Red Rockwilder

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