# 21 Questions

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For the guessing game, see [Twenty Questions](/source/Twenty_Questions).

"**21 Questions**" is a song by American rapper [50 Cent](/source/50_Cent), featuring guest vocals from American singer [Nate Dogg](/source/Nate_Dogg). Released in March 2003 through [Interscope Records](/source/Interscope_Records), [Dr. Dre](/source/Dr._Dre)'s [Aftermath Entertainment](/source/Aftermath_Entertainment), [Eminem](/source/Eminem)'s [Shady Records](/source/Shady_Records), and 50 Cent's own [G-Unit Records](/source/G-Unit_Records) as the second single from 50 Cent's debut studio album *[Get Rich or Die Tryin'](/source/Get_Rich_or_Die_Tryin')*, it differs from his previous singles and most of the songs on the album by being an [R&B](/source/R%26B)-influenced love song, largely themed around a series of questions pertaining to a relationship between 50 Cent and an unnamed girlfriend, and contains elements of [Barry White](/source/Barry_White)'s 1978 song "[It's Only Love Doing Its Thing](/source/It's_Only_Love_Doing_Its_Thing)".

"21 Questions" peaked at #1 on the US [*Billboard* Hot 100](/source/Billboard_Hot_100) chart in May 2003, becoming the second consecutive chart-topping single for 50 Cent, following the album's lead single "[In da Club](/source/In_da_Club)", and the first for Nate Dogg.[1] Overall, the song spent four consecutive weeks atop the Hot 100 and twenty-three weeks on the chart. It was also successful internationally, reaching the top ten in [the Netherlands](/source/Dutch_Top_40), [New Zealand](/source/Recorded_Music_NZ) and the [United Kingdom](/source/UK_Singles_Chart), and the top five in [Canada](/source/Canadian_Singles_Chart) and [Australia](/source/ARIA_Charts).

## Background

When producer Dr. Dre worked with 50 Cent on his debut album, he objected to the song being included on the tracklist. According to 50 Cent:

"Dre was, like, 'How you goin' to be gangsta this and that and then put this sappy love song on?'"

50 Cent responded saying:

"I'm two people. I've always had to be two people since I was a kid, to get by. To me that's not diversity, it's necessity."[2]

## Music video

Directed by Damon Johnson, Dr. Dre and [Phillip Atwell](/source/Phillip_Atwell) in March 2003,[3] the music video for "21 Questions" depicts 50 Cent being arrested and confined to prison, where he tries to keep in touch with his [girlfriend](/source/Girlfriend), played by [Meagan Good](/source/Meagan_Good). In prison, he is constantly harassed by a rival inmate ([Tyson Beckford](/source/Tyson_Beckford)). The video ends with a continuation of the beginning, showing 50 Cent and his girlfriend watching from their home as the police arrest Beckford instead; the prison scenes are revealed to be a hypothetical scenario imagined by a worried 50 Cent. The video has [cameo appearances](/source/Cameo_appearances) by Nate Dogg (who provides vocals on the chorus and the outro)[3] and fellow [G-Unit](/source/G-Unit) members [Lloyd Banks](/source/Lloyd_Banks) and [Young Buck](/source/Young_Buck) as other inmates.

On April 15, 2003, the video debuted on MTV's *[Total Request Live](/source/Total_Request_Live)* at number six, reached number one two days later, and stayed on the chart for 50 days.[3][4] It also reached number two on the *[MuchMusic](/source/MuchMusic)* video charts.[5]

The music video on [YouTube](/source/YouTube) has received over 605 million views as of July 2024.[6]

## Remixes

Official remixes of the single includes featured artists among the likes of [Nate Dogg](/source/Nate_Dogg), [Monica](/source/Monica_(entertainer)), [Free](/source/Free_(rapper)) and [Lil' Mo](/source/Lil'_Mo), all of whom have either rapped or sung their own verses over the song's instrumentals.

### "21 Answers"

"**21 Answers**" is remix recorded by American singer and rapper [Lil' Mo](/source/Lil'_Mo) and former *[106 & Park](/source/106_%26_Park)* co-host [Free](/source/Free_(rapper)), as an [answer song](/source/Answer_song) to "21 Questions." Kevin "Dirty Swift" Risto, one-half of [Midi Mafia](/source/Midi_Mafia), originally conceived the idea of creating a female response record; he immediately got in touch with Lil' Mo and added Free as a collaborator.[7] The song subsequently premiered on New York's [Hot 97](/source/WQHT) radio station—resulting in numerous rotations on various radio stations across the United States—and later debuted on the US [Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs](/source/Hot_R%26B/Hip-Hop_Songs) at number 77.[8] Although the song went on to spend 11 weeks on the chart based solely on airplay,[9] it failed to be included on Lil' Mo's second studio album *[Meet the Girl Next Door](/source/Meet_the_Girl_Next_Door)* (2003), due to the song not being finalized in time to meet the album's deadline.[8][10] However, because of [Elektra Records](/source/Elektra_Records)' 2004 merging with [Atlantic](/source/Atlantic_Records), the song appeared on the 2011 re-release of *Meet the Girl Next Door*.[11]

#### Charts

Weekly chart performance for "21 Answers" Chart (2003) Peak position US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[9] 50

## Track listings

- **UK CD single**[12]

1. "21 Questions" - 3:44
1. "Soldier (Freestyle with [G-Unit](/source/G-Unit)) - 3:18
1. "21 Questions" (Live from New York) - 4:54
1. "21 Questions" (Music Video) - 3:49

- **French CD single**[13]

1. "21 Questions" - 3:44
1. "21 Answers" (featuring [Monica](/source/Monica_(singer))) - 4:03

## Credits and personnel

- Producer: Dirty Swift of Midi Mafia
- Mixed by: [Dr. Dre](/source/Dr._Dre)
- Recorded by: [Sha Money XL](/source/Sha_Money_XL) and Maurico "Veto" Iragorri
- Protool edits by: Carlise Young
- Assisted by: Ruben Rivera

## Charts

### Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "21 Questions" Chart (2003) Peak position Canada (Canadian Singles Chart)[14] 5 Canada CHR (Nielsen BDS)[15] 5

### Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "21 Questions" Chart (2003) Position Australia (ARIA)[16] 44 Ireland (IRMA)[17] 97 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[18] 99 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[19] 99 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 80 UK Singles (OCC)[21] 129 UK Urban (Music Week)[22] 6 US Billboard Hot 100[23] 14 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks (Billboard)[24] 7

## Release history

Release dates and formats for "21 Questions" Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref. United States March 4, 2003 Digital download Interscope · Shady · Aftermath [25] April 8, 2003 Rhythmic contemporary radio · urban contemporary radio [26] May 13, 2003 12-inch vinyl [27] Germany June 23, 2003 Maxi CD Universal Music [28] Australia June 30, 2003 [29] United Kingdom 12-inch vinyl · cassette · maxi CD Polydor [30] France August 19, 2003 CD [31]

## Myke Towers version

In 2020, Puerto Rican rapper/singer [Myke Towers](/source/Myke_Towers) released a Spanish version of the song titled "Girl" for his album *Easy Money Baby*.[32] His version is all in the same rhythm as the original but the message of the lyrics is different.[33] His version entered the charts in the Hispanic market and was certified quintuple platinum in the United States.

### Charts

Chart (2020) Peak position

## References

1. ["50 Cent Chart History: Billboard Hot 100"](https://www.billboard.com/artist/50-cent/chart-history/hsi/). *Billboard*. Retrieved July 13, 2018.

1. Allison Samuels, February 21, 2007. [The Flip Side of 50 Cent](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6959748/site/newsweek/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20100810010334/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6959748/site/newsweek) August 10, 2010 at the Wayback Machine. MSNBC. Retrieved July 7, 2007.

1. Reid, Shaheem (May 2, 2003). [50 Cent: Still Hungry After 4 Million Records](https://web.archive.org/web/20030608145512/http://www.mtv.com/bands/123/50_cent/news_feature_050203/index2.jhtml). MTV. Retrieved July 7, 2007.

1. [TRL Archive Debuts](http://host17.hrwebservices.net/~atrl/trlarchive/db.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20080102172613/http://host17.hrwebservices.net/~atrl/trlarchive/db.html) January 2, 2008 at the Wayback Machine. *Popfusion*. Retrieved July 7, 2007.

1. Universal Urban (April 24, 2007). [50 Cent's new album, Curtis, takes Hip-Hop to the bank](https://web.archive.org/web/20070706160808/http://universalurban.com/50cent/). Retrieved July 7, 2007.

1. [50 Cent - 21 Questions (Official Music Video) ft. Nate Dogg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDMhlvbOFaM).[YouTube](/source/YouTube)

1. Bronson, Fred (2003), *The Billboard Book of Number One Hits: Updated and Expanded 5th Edition*, Watson-Guptill Publications, p. 932, ISBN 0-8230-7677-6

1. Jessen, Wade. "Singles Minded > Back and Forth." *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))*. May 10, 2003: 67. Print.

1. "Lil' Mo - Chart history". *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))*. Retrieved May 22, 2013.

1. Brown, Jamie Foster. "Lil' Mo has '21 Answers' for 50 Cent." *[Sister 2 Sister](/source/Sister_2_Sister)*. September 2003: 27. Print.

1. ["Meet The Girl Next Door: Lil' Mo"](https://www.amazon.com/Meet-The-Girl-Next-Door/dp/B00008PBZR). *Amazon*. Retrieved May 22, 2013.

1. ["21 Questions – 50 Cent"](http://www.allmusic.com/album/21-questions-r645247). AllMusic. April 13, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2011.

1. ["21 Questions"](https://www.amazon.co.uk/21-Questions-Cent-Feat-Nate-Dogg/dp/B00009VGRS/ref=sr_1_4?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1359108459&sr=1-4). *Amazon UK*. Retrieved July 13, 2018.

1. ["50 Cent Chart History (Canadian Digital Song Sales)"](https://www.billboard.com/artist/50-cent/chart-history/cns/). *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))*. Retrieved August 31, 2023.

1. ["Canadian Top 20 in 2003"](http://www.crosscanadacountdown.com/pdfs/2003.pdf). *Cross Canada Countdown*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20050407223203/http://www.crosscanadacountdown.com/pdfs/2003.pdf) April 7, 2005 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 4, 2024.

1. ["ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2003"](https://www.aria.com.au/charts/2003/singles-chart). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 7, 2020.

1. ["Top 100 Songs of 2003"](https://web.archive.org/web/20040602113024/http://www.rte.ie/2fm/charts/top100_2003.html). [Raidió Teilifís Éireann](/source/Raidi%C3%B3_Teilif%C3%ADs_%C3%89ireann). 2003. Archived from [the original](http://www.rte.ie/2fm/charts/top100_2003.html) on June 2, 2004. Retrieved March 16, 2022.

1. ["Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2003"](https://www.top40.nl/bijzondere-lijsten/top-100-jaaroverzichten/2003). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved January 7, 2020.

1. ["Jaaroverzichten – Single 2003"](https://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=2003&cat=s) (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved January 7, 2020.

1. ["Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2003"](https://hitparade.ch/charts/jahreshitparade/2003). *hitparade.ch*. Retrieved January 10, 2020.

1. ["The Official UK Singles Chart 2003"](http://www.ukchartsplus.co.uk/ChartsPlusYE2003.pdf). *[UKChartsPlus](/source/UKChartsPlus)*. Retrieved January 13, 2020.

1. ["2003 Urban top 30"](https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/2004/Music-Week-2004-01-17.pdf). *[Music Week](/source/Music_Week)*. January 17, 2004. p. 18. Retrieved August 4, 2023.

1. ["2003 – Billboard Top 100"](http://billboardtop100of.com/2003-2/). *Billboard*. Retrieved August 16, 2019.

1. ["Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2003"](http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2003/hot-r-and-and-b-hip-hop-songs). *Billboard*. Retrieved October 6, 2019.

1. RIAA

1. ["Going for Adds"](https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Archive-RandR/2000s/2003/RR-2003-04-04.pdf). *[Radio & Records](/source/Radio_%26_Records)*. April 4, 2003. p. 28. Retrieved August 31, 2023. – via World Radio History.

1. ["21 Questions – 50 Cent"](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/21-questions-mr0001463798). [Interscope Records](/source/Interscope_Records). May 13, 2003. Retrieved August 31, 2023. – via [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic)

1. ger

1. ["New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 30th June 2003"](http://aria.com.au/Issue697.pdf). *The ARIA Report*. '***(697): 26. [Australian Recording Industry Association](/source/Australian_Recording_Industry_Association). June 30, 2003. [Archived](https://web.archive.org.au/awa/20080222222434mp_/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20030707-0000/Issue697.pdf) July 7, 2003 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 31, 2023. – via [Pandora archive](/source/Pandora_archive)***

1. ["New Releases – For Week Starting 30 June 2003"](https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/2003/Music-Week-2003-06-28.pdf). *[Music Week](/source/Music_Week)*. June 28, 2003. p. 31. Retrieved August 31, 2023. – via World Radio History.

1. ["21 questions – 50 Cent – CD single"](https://www.fnac.com/a1461753/50-Cent-21-questions-CD-single) (in French). France: [Polydor Records](/source/Polydor_Records). August 19, 2003. Retrieved August 31, 2023. – via [Fnac](/source/Fnac)

1. [MYKE TOWERS LANZA SU TAN ESPERADO ÁLBUM INÉDITO «EASY MONEY BABY»](https://galaxymusicpromo.com/myke-towers-lanza-su-tan-esperado-album-inedito-easy-money-baby/)

1. [MYKE TOWERS SAMPLEA A 50 CENT EN “GIRL”](https://estacion40.com.py/myke-towers-samplea-a-50-cent-en-girl/)

## External links

- ["21 Questions" Official music video](https://www.youtube.com/cDMhlvbOFaM) on YouTube

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [21 Questions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21_Questions) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21_Questions?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.