Where I Wanna Be Review

07/13/2005 6:58 AM, AMG


Propelled by a video of horribly typical bikini bling-bling proportions, Shade Sheist's Where I Wanna Be hoped to resurrect the forgotten art of summer hip-hop. It failed, of course, but in a gallant sort of way. South Central's Sheist worked with Mariah Carey and Ja Rule before breaking out. He also won the attention of the likes of Naughty By Nature's Kay Gee, who ended up sending Sheist's producer, Damizza, the single's principal beat. It was from there, with Nate Dogg and Kurupt chasing each other's slow rhymes at the wayside, that "Where I Wanna Be" eventually became a sort of heat-induced muscle relaxant this side of De La Soul's "A Roller Skating Jam Named 'Saturdays'" or Black Eyed Peas' "Magic," if only substituting their pleasantries for suspiciously placed arrogance. It was an unworkable contradiction when it came down to it, but Where I Wanna Be became the number one rap single for four months in America and went on to crack the British Top 20 the following summer. ~ Dean Carlson, All Music Guide