User:Tomica/Sandbox/What's My Name

"What's My Name?" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her fifth studio album, Loud (2010). Canadian rapper Drake sang a rap verse and co-wrote the song with Ester Dean, Traci Hale and its producers, StarGate. It was sent to contemporary hit and rhythmic radio stations in the United States on October 26, 2010, as the second single from Loud.

Development and release
In November 2009, in an interview with MTV News, Canadian rapper Drake praised Rihanna's then-upcoming fourth studio album, Rated R (2009). During the same interview, he revealed that they have collaborated on a track that didn't make the final cut on the album, "the record we have is great. It's a special record, so for it not to make it, I know something had to click. It's all good. I think the project's gonna be great no matter what." Talking for the same publication, Tor Erik Hermansen of Norwegian production duo StarGate recalled that during an event Rihanna met with Drake backstage and asked him to record a verse on her song, "She's calling me up saying, 'Where are the files?' That's one thing you don't hear often from artists on her level." "What's My Name?" was written by Mikkel S. Eriksen, Hermansen, Ester Dean, Traci Hale and Drake, while the production was done by StarGate. In an interview for HitQuarters explained that she got into the project that's to a phone call she received from Dean. She also elaborated that her work on the song was mostly lyrical, while Dean and StarGate did most of the music. When asked what's the inspiration behind the song she stated, "Oh love, love, love! And it’s sexy – it started as a real sexy track and then you put something sexy over it."

The collaboration was originally planned to be a remix of the song, while the solo version would have been included on Rihanna's fifth studio album Loud. However, in the end it made the final cut on the album. Regarding Drake's inclusion on the song, Rihanna told MTV News, "Drake is the hottest rapper out right now and we've always been trying to work together." According to her, when he heard the song he liked it very much and knew what he will do on it; he wrote his verse after three days. Rihanna has further described the song as very youthful, playful and very melodic track and that's the reason according to her why Drake was the perfect choice to be on it, "cause he's a young rapper who has incredible melodies". "What's My Name?" was released as the second single from Loud; it was sent to contemporary hit and rhytmic radio in the United States on October 26, 2010. The single was made available for digital download on November 12 via the iTunes Store. A CD single featuring the song and a remix of it was released on January 21, 2011 in Germany.

Production
The music for "What's My Name?" was recorded at the Roc the Mic Studios in New York City and at the Westlake Recording Studios as Los Angeles by Eriksen and Miles Walker. Rihanna's vocals were recorded by Kuk Harrell, Josh Gudwin and Marcos Tovar, while Harrell also produced them. Bobby Campbell served as the vocal assistant. Drake's vocals were recorded by Noah "40" Shebib at The Hit Factory Studios in Miami. The recording of his vocals was assisted by Noel Cadastre and Brandon Joner. "What's My Name?" was mixing was done by Phil Tan at Ninja Beat Club in Atlanta while Damien Lewis provided an additional and assistant engineering. All the instruments were provided by Eriksen and Hermansen while Dean sang the background vocals.

In May 2011, in The Mix Review, an analyzing commercial productions, Mike Senior of Sound on Sound revisited the original mixing of the song. According to him, before he started the mix, Senior played the song a couple of times before releasing what thing about it "bugged" him. Working it out, he released that the harmony of the mix is undermined by the kick drum. "What's My Name?" contains basic harmonies that are a bar of F# minor, a bar of A major and two bars of D-major. Senior stated that on the other side however, there's a very little in the arrangement that could be seen like a traditional melodic bass-line. As the result of that, the "808-style" kick-drum's pronounce pitched components with a power of 37Hz and 74Hz fill that help void with a 'D' note. According to Senior, "the problem is that this only really supports the D‑major chord, destabilizing the home chord of F# minor (by implying that it's actually part of a D‑major 7th chord) and clashing nastily with the A‑major." He further stated that although might not be as apparent on small speakers, it still represents "weakness" for him. The section of the song at 3:12 has four bars without the kick-drum and four without it.

Composition and lyrical interpretation
"What's My Name?" has a length of four minutes and twenty-five seconds. Digital Spy critic Nick Levine said that it is a mid-tempo electro-R&B song, while Ryan Burleson of Consequence of Sound characterized it as a futuristic R&B song. It features "dark, humid synths", "swirling snare skitters" and Carribean music influences. Musically, Levine compared the song's composition to that of Rihanna's 2010 single, "Rude Boy". According to EMI Music Publishing's digital sheet music for the song, "What's My Name?" is composed in the key of F# minor and set in common time signature, and has a moderate hip hop groove of 104 beats per minute. Rihanna's vocals span from the low note of F#3 to the high note of C#5. Eric Berman of Chicago Now noted that Rihanna's voice on the song is "semi auto tuned" and compared it to that of American vocalist Ronnie Spector.

Lyrically, the song features Rihanna challenging her potential lover to impress her.

Formats and track listings

 * Digital download
 * 1) "What's My Name?" (featuring Drake) – 4:24


 * CD single
 * 1) "What's My Name?" (featuring Drake) – 4:24
 * 2) "What's My Name?" (Low Sunday "Up On It" Radio) – 3:47

Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Loud.


 * Locations
 * Recorded at Roc the Mic Studios, New York City; Westlake Recording Studios, Los Angeles; The Hit Factory, Miami
 * Mixed at Ninja Beat Club, Atlanta


 * Personnel


 * Songwriting – Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Ester Dean, Traci Hale, Aubrey Graham
 * Production – StarGate
 * Recording – Mikkel S. Eriksen, Miles Walker
 * Vocal production – Kuk Harrell
 * Vocals recorded by – Kuk Harrell, Noah "40" Shebib, Josh Gudwin, Marcos Tovar
 * Vocal recording assistant – Bobby Campbell, Noel Cadastre, Brandon Joner
 * Mixing – Phil Tan
 * Engineering assistant – Damien Lewis
 * Instrumentation – Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen
 * Background vocals – Ester Dean