Lyrically, "We Need a Resolution" speaks about a passive-aggressive relationship that has hit a rough patch in which the narrator (Aaliyah) asks for solutions while her partner dismisses her feelings.

Upon its release, the song received generally positive reviews from most music critics who praised Aaliyah's vocals, the lyrical content, and the production.

Due to her hectic schedule at the time, she decided to record the album simultaneously with the filming, thus her team of producers–excluding Timbaland–traveled to Australia.

According to Tim Barnett, former assistant to songwriter Static Major, they "went back to New York and did them in either Sound King or Manhattan studio.

"[1] Once Aaliyah reached out to Timbaland and asked him to produce songs for the album, there were constant doubts about him meeting his deadline in time due to the last-minute request.

Due to the uncertainty with Timbaland being able to meet his deadline, the song "Loose Rap" was chosen as the album's lead single, with filming of its accompanying music video already scheduled.

[9][3] On the song, Timbaland combines "idiosyncratic beats, moody, off-key melodies and an insistent, dirgelike chorus for a strangely hypnotic effect".

[10] The production, has a sparse arrangement with stop-start drum patterns, hand claps, while also implementing "Horror-movie organs".

[9] "Aaliyah is bitter about her boyfriend's actions, but sly enough to hide her personal disgust so that her complaints have a universal feel".

[14] According to Natelegé Whaley from Mic, the song opens with warpy clarinet samples, as Timbaland avoids confrontation by repeatedly saying "I'm tired of arguing girl.

"[15] Aaliyah's first line in the song cuts to the chase, responding in a relaxed yet direct manner: "Did you sleep on the wrong side?

[11] The song leaves its hook unresolved, plays backwards after Timbaland's rap, and concludes with a reversed loop of the vocal "where were you last night", which echoes the female protagonist's sentiment.

This particular song doesn't touch on anything that happened to me in my life, it just speaks about a relationship that has gone a little sour and the lady's asking for a resolution.

[30] Chris Heath from Dotmusic praised the song by saying "it's what's going on beneath the chorus and verse that makes We Need A Resolution such an alluring proposition".

[3] Connie Johnson from the Los Angeles Times felt that "We Need a Resolution", along with "Rock the Boat", was a standout song from Aaliyah.

[31] Music Week felt that the song was a strong follow up to "Try Again" (2000) and that its "beat-laden Timbaland-produced sound certainly oozes crossover potential".

[32] Alex Needham from NME compared the songs production to Jay-Z's Big Pimpin' (2000) and felt that though it lacks a "bassline, like 'Get Ur Freak On', this creates a universe of drama, suspicion and pain out of almost nothing.

[33] In a review of Aaliyah, Luke McManus from the Irish publication RTÉ felt that it "is a highlight – a heartfelt tale of domestic stress over backward loops, deranged arpeggios and a rare Timbaland appearance on the microphone".

[35] Rich Bellis from The Atlantic praised Aaliyah's vocals on the song, describing them as going "from staccato to snake-charmer and a beat that hopscotches all over the place".

[8] Variety praised the song and Aaliyah's vocals saying, "She sings perfectly in sync with Timbaland's beatboxes and violin strings throughout".

[71] In the video, Aaliyah wore various outfits, including a black gown by Italian designer Roberto Cavalli.

According to her stylist Derek Lee, Aaliyah wore the gown backwards because "It was covering too much of the front, but it had a lot of skin out in the back, so we flipped it".

It's clearly the work of an artist who is comfortable with her image and confident that she can look good and appear desirable no matter what's she wearing".

The video begins "with a crisp, cool shoot of Aaliyah sitting down, giving the camera a confident, sultry look".

[76] The following scene begins to slightly speed the pace up, with Aaliyah traveling in a futuristic subway tube.

[78] On April 26, Aaliyah appeared on both BET's 106 & Park and MTV's Total Request Live to promote the video.

[83] In the United Kingdom, it was made available for streaming via NME's website ahead of its UK single release, with the publication describing it as a "stylistic revamp" of Aaliyah's artistry.

[75] Author Ytasha L. Womack argued in her book Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture (2013), that Aaliyah's "slithering snake adornments" from the video is an archetypical reference to ancient Egyptian goddess Isis and water spirit Mami Wata.

[87] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine praised the video for its sultry imagery and felt that it "marked the singer's transition from semi-awkward adolescence to full-fledged, unapologetic womanhood".

[41] Kathy Iandoli from Noisey Vice mentioned that in the video, Aaliyah "adopted this sexy yet spacey motif", adding: "From see-through lace to gothic make up, and back around to one-dot lipstick application and free-flowing curls, "We Need A Resolution" captured every angle of Aaliyah's existence at the time".