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Let Me Hold You

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Let Me Hold You

"Let Me Hold You" is a song by American rapper Bow Wow. It was the first single off his fourth album, Wanted (2005). Released on March 11, 2005, the song features American R&B singer Omarion (the first collaboration they did together). It was co-written and co-produced by frequent producer Jermaine Dupri and No I.D. and uses a sample of Luther Vandross' 1985 version of Brenda Russell's "If Only for One Night".

The song received positive reviews from critics. "Let Me Hold You" peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, making this the first top 10 hit for both Bow Wow and for Omarion as a solo artist. It also became a number-one hit for both artists on the Hot Rap Songs chart and stayed there for seven weeks. The song also peaked at numbers 2 and 10 on both the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Mainstream Top 40 charts respectively, and reached the top 40 in countries like Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The song was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling over 1,000,000 copies. A music video, directed by Bryan Barber, was made to promote the single and featured Bow Wow and Omarion hanging out at a house party.

Bow Wow had publicly announced his interpretation of the song's meaning as he stated in an interview with MTV:

"Basically the song is me talking to a girl and telling her, 'These are the things I can do for you. Let me hold you down. This is what I want to do for you as a man. These are the things I'm capable of doing for you if you get with me. Just hear me out.' I'm just really talking to the ladies. The song is really special to me, and I love that song."

The collaboration began when Bow Wow was talking with producer Jermaine Dupri about the song and how he suggested on getting Omarion to appear on the track.

In a 2011 retrospective of his previous hits with Complex, producer No I.D. said that this was the first time he worked with Dupri and was asked by him to bring over his samples to pick one that would be used for a single to finish off the album. He played him the Luther Vandross sample and was hesitant about his initial reaction at first before thinking it over and seeing its potential as a smash hit.

"Let Me Hold You" was co-written and co-produced by Jermaine Dupri and No ID. It features a sample of Luther Vandross' version of "If Only for One Night", written and originally performed by Brenda Russell. The song is in 4
4
time and in the key of E♭ minor.

The song received positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic's David Jeffries put it alongside "Like You" as the album's highlights that work "on a more adult level." Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews praised the production by Dupri and No ID for their clever take on the sample, Bow Wow's lyrics and Omarion's guest vocal performance. Angie Romero of Vibe praised the sing-song hook for making the track "undeniably catchy."

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