Ayo!

"Ayo!"
"Ayo!" cover
Promotional single by Mýa featuring DJ Kool
Released	September 26, 2006
Format	Digital download, CD Single. 12" Single
Genre	R&B, go-go, hip hop
Length	3:50
Label	Universal Motown
Writer(s)	Chris M. Henderson, Mýa Harrison, J. Bowman Jr, Charlie Smalls
Producer(s)	Chris Henderson

"Ayo!" is a song by American recording artist Mýa. It served as a promotional single for her fourth studio album Liberation (2007) and featured Washington D.C. native DJ Kool. Initially, released as the first intended single from Liberation however though the single failed to pick up as Harrison was going through transitioning from former label Interscope to her current label Universal Motown. The song was written and composed by Harrison, Christopher “Deep” Henderson and Charlie Smalls. It sampled an interpolation from the composition He’s the Wizard written by Charlie Smalls.

The song received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics comparing the song’s production to TLC’s classic ‘90s album "CrazySexyCool". Ayo! became a minor hit on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart peaking at number seventy. No music video was released for the song due to it not being picked up as a single.

Ayo! samples an interpolation of He's The Wizard by Thelma Carpenter from the soundtrack to The Wiz. The Wiz is an adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz which features an entire African American cast. The film starred Diana Ross and Michael Jackson as well as Thelma Carpenter playing the role of Miss One, the Good Witch of the North. The song is sung by Carpenter and The Munchkins when Dorothy Gale (Ross) and Toto arrives in Oz. The song was originally written by Charlie Smalls for the musical and film, so therefore he is credited for the sample recording.

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Wikipedia