Aaliyah decided to record "Got to Give It Up" because she wanted to have party songs on the album. In an interview Aaliyah stated "I wanted some real party songs, so when my uncle played me that track, I thought of how I could make it different. Slick Rick had been in jail was on work release at the time, so Vincent got him on the song". Producer Craig King recalls that when Aaliyah was recording "Got To Give It Up" she was dancing the entire time.