Songfacts®:

• "What Y'all Want" was Eve's first single on the Ruff Ryders label, although she had featured on a song by the Roots called "You Got Me" and released a song called "Eve of Destruction" on Dr. Dre's Aftermath label. It appeared on the Ruff Ryders compilation album Ryde or Die, Vol. 1, which also included contributions from her label-mates DMX and Sheek Louch, as wells as Juvenile and Jay-Z. Eve was the first woman signed to the label, and made a statement in the song, rapping about what she's looking for in a man and what she has to offer. There were many female rappers going hard at the time, but Eve balanced her toughness with femininity and a melodic flow.
• This song helped the Ryde or Die, Vol. 1 ride all the way to #1 in America; Eve also had another track on the set called "Do That S--t" and featured on the title track. A few months later, her debut album, Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady, was released and also went to #1, giving the label three chart-toppers for 1999, as DMX' Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood hit #1 early in the year.
• Nokio of the vocal group Dru Hill sings with Eve on the chorus.
• Swizz Beatz produced the track, giving it a Latin rhythm; he's credited as a co-writer on the track along with Eve. Swizz was an architect of the Ruff Ryders sound, creating their distinctive beats early in his career.
• The music video, directed by Nick Quested, shows Eve in a supper club setting à la the Copacabana. This was an early look at the elegant side of Eve; in 2003 she got her own sitcom on the UPN network, where she played a fashion designer.