"Satisfaction" is a song by American rapper-songwriter Eve, released on February 25, 2003 as the second and final single from the album, Eve-Olution. Co-produced by Dr. Dre and his then-protégé Mike Elizondo, it was one of the last songs that Eve added to the final track listing of her album. The song was moderately successful in the United States, reaching number 27and 22 on the BillboardHot 100 and R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, respectively. It was less commercially successful outside of the US, peaking at number 87 in the Netherlands, number 60 in France and number 50 in Belgium. However, the single did fare better in the United Kingdom, where it debuted at peaked at number 20. It received favorable reviews from most music critics and a nomination for Best Female Rap Solo Performance at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards. However, it lost to Missy Elliott's "Scream." The music video for the song was filmed in her home-state of Pennsylvania.
Background
"Satisfaction" was one of the last songs that Eve added to the album. About the recording of the song, Eve told MTV, "I actually was getting ready to walk out the studio. I had a headache, I was stressed out. I just was like... working with Dre... me and Dre got this love/hate relationship. Every time I write a song , it's the hardest song I wrote. Like 'Blow Your Mind'; it just was drama." The song was originally recorded for Scorpion, but however, did not make the album because she already had two songs produced by Dr. Dre. She said, "We decided to put it on this album and it fit in perfectly."
Critical reception
Entertainment Weekly writer, Marc Weingarten, compared the song to "Let Me Blow Ya Mind", and characterized the song as "a three-note bass riff and a slow-drip beat, Eve raps for her right to party and creates a starkly evocative successor to her breakout single." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine expressed that the "rhythmes are sexy" and the "rhymes are slick". The Village Voice described it as a "Salt-n-Pepa style" song. The song received a nomination for Best Female Rap Solo Performance at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards, but lost to "Scream" by Missy Elliott.
Chart performance
"Satisfaction" was the most commercially successful in the United States. It peaked at number 22 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song saw similar success in the United Kingdom, debuting and peaking at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart in April 2003, leaving the charts after its fourth week. In France, the song was less successful. It debuted in early March 2003 at number 69, climbing up nine positions the following week. After that, it went down the chart, exiting it in mid April. The song was a commercial failure in the Netherlands, landing on the chart at number 87 and dropping off the next week.
Music video
The music video for "Satisfaction" was produced by Phillipa Davis and directed by Nzingha Stewart. It first aired on the week of October 21, 2002. The video starts with Eve standing out in a crowd of people, in front of a car while she raps the first verse. During the second verse, Eve is shown sitting on bleachers within another crowd of people while a basketball game goes on. During the final verse, she's shown rapping in yet another crowd of people dancing at a house party. Throughout, the clip intercuts with scenes of inclined people, Eve jumping rope with kids, and people dancing. The video also features verses from "Double R What" at the end. The music video was filmed in Philadelphia.
