We Need a Resolution

"We Need a Resolution"
Single by Aaliyah and Timbaland
from the album Aaliyah
B-side	"Are You Feelin' Me?" (UK) "Messed Up" (UK)
Released	April 13, 2001 (radio) April 24, 2001 (U.S. CD) May 22, 2001 (U.S. 12") August 14, 2001 (German CD)
Format	CD single, 12" single, cassette, digital download
Recorded	January 2001 at Westlake Recording Studios (Los Angeles, California)
Genre	R&B, electro hop, downtempo, hip hop, trip hop
Length	4:02
Label	Blackground/Virgin
Writer(s)	Tim Mosley, Steve Garrett
Producer	Timbaland
Aaliyah North America singles chronology
"Come Back in One Piece" (2000) "We Need a Resolution" (2001) "Rock the Boat" (2001)
Aaliyah Eurasia singles chronology "Come Back in One Piece"/"I Don't Wanna" (2000) "We Need a Resolution" (2001) "More Than a Woman" (2002) Timbaland singles chronology "Get on the Bus" (1999) "We Need a Resolution" (2001) "Ching Ching" (2002) Music video "We Need a Resolution" on YouTube

"We Need a Resolution" is an R&B/electro hop song written by Steve "Static" Garrett and Tim "Timbaland" Mosley for Aaliyah's self-titled third studio album, Aaliyah (2001). It was produced by Timbaland and released as the album's lead single and Aaliyah's first single released in the new millennium during the second and third quarter of 2001 (see 2001 in music).

The song was a moderate success internationally. "We Need a Resolution" reached the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart and the top 30 in Canada. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 119 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".

The UK single's cover features the somewhat popular cartoon version of Aaliyah that once appeared on a promotional commercial for the album, while the US CD single's cover features a close up of Aaliyah from a promo shot of the music video.

Background

In a 2001 interview, Aaliyah explains the background towards choosing the song as the lead single:

"This song is very smooth, yet it's not a ballad, but it's not your average up tempo. So I thought it was a really smooth way to make an entrance back into music with my studio album."

"It's written by Static, and on this album I wanted to speak about relationships and all kinds of relationships. Good ones, bad ones or what have you, and that song speaks of our relationship that's kind of.. in the middle, you know what I mean. It's not, either or, really, it's just at a point where they're not communicating, they have problems and they want to resolve them, then, what's actually cool about it is, not all the time, do you actually come to a resolution, you know what I mean. And at the end of the song, they don't really, they really don't resolve anything, so, and that happens in life, so that really what that songs about."

It uses a clarinet sample from John Ottman's "Tricks of the Trade" from the score to the 1998 film Incognito. While this particular part of the song is in 10/8 time signature, Timbaland used quantization to make the "We Need a Resolution" beat completely in 4/4.

Track listing

UK CD single

1. "We Need a Resolution" (album version featuring Timbaland) - 4:03
2. "Messed Up" (UK non-album track) - 3:37
3. "Are You Feelin' Me?" (from Romeo Must Die) - 3:11
4. "We Need a Resolution" (enhanced video) - 4:04

US CD and 12" single

1. "We Need a Resolution" (album version featuring Timbaland) - 4:02
2. "We Need a Resolution" (no rap version) - 3:54
3. "We Need a Resolution" (instrumental) - 4:02
4. "We Need a Resolution" (a cappella featuring Timbaland) - 4:04

UK 12" single

1. "We Need a Resolution" (album version featuring Timbaland) - 4:02
2. "We Need a Resolution" (instrumental) - 4:02
3. "Messed Up" (UK non-album track) - 3:37

US 7" single

1. "We Need a Resolution" (album version featuring Timbaland) - 4:03
2. "We Need a Resolution" (instrumental) - 4:03

Music video

The music video for the song was directed by Paul Hunter from April 6-8, 2001 and premiered on BET's 106 & Park and MTV's TRL on April 26, 2001.

The video opens with Aaliyah sitting in a dark room in a black dress and also appearing on a TV screen performing the first verse. Leading up to the chorus she can be seen laying on a glass bed with headphones on.

During the second verse and the next chorus Aaliyah is in a scene with a snake around her neck in a snake pit. As Timbaland's rap verse begins he can be seen in a dark room wearing shades. Aaliyah performs a dance routine with other dancers during Timbaland's verse. The video closes with Aaliyah in the dark bedroom scene again and Aaliyah with one of the male dancers.

The video placed at #77 on the BET: Notarized top 100 videos of 2001, and at #30 on MTV's top 50 videos of 2001.

On MTV Germany, the video was one of the most played videos of the year 2001. It ranked in the top 100 of the year-end chart.

Charts

Chart (2001)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	44
Belgian Singles Chart	47
Dutch Singles Chart	37
French Singles Chart	53
German Singles Chart	71
Swedish Singles Chart	46
Swiss Singles Chart	56
UK Singles Chart	20
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	59
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay	50
U.S. Billboard Latin Tropical/Salsa Airplay	31
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	15
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40	38