Hypnotize (The Notorious B.I.G. song)
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| "Hypnotize" | |
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| Single by The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Pam of Total | |
| from the album Life After Death and Notorious (soundtrack) | |
| Released | December 13, 1996 |
| Format | CD single, CD maxi-single, cassette single, 7" single, 12-inch single |
| Recorded | November 1995 - September 1996 Caribbean Sound Basin, Trinidad |
| Genre | Hip hop |
| Length | 3:59 (CD single) 3:49 (album) |
"Hypnotize" is the Grammy-nominated hip-hop song recorded by rapper The Notorious B.I.G. It was released as the first single from his album Life After Death in December 13, 1996. It was the fifth song to hit #1 posthumously for a credited artist.
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[edit] History
The song was already a hit on U.S. radio stations before its release. Once a single was issued, "Hypnotize" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number two, right behind labelmate and co-writer/co-producer Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs ("Can't Nobody Hold Me Down"). When "Hypnotize" hit number one two weeks later, it made The Notorious B.I.G. the fifth artist in Hot 100 history to have a posthumous chart-topper (see List of Hot 100 (U.S.) chart achievements and trivia). It also gave back-to-back number-one hits to Sean Combs' Bad Boy Records label. It was nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 1998 Grammy Awards. The single reached #10 in the UK, making this his first top 10 hit in that country.
[edit] Description
The rhythm track of "Hypnotize" is the rhythm track of "Rise", a Herb Alpert instrumental, written by Andy Armer and Randy Badazz Alpert, that was a number-one hit in the U.S. in 1979. The chorus of "Hypnotize", sung by Pamela Long of Total, contains an interpolation of "La Di Da Di" by Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick.[1]
The song features many pop culture references to television and film including Star Wars, Roots, Starsky and Hutch, King of New York, Richie Rich and the pop hit "Da Doo Ron Ron" by The Crystals. Other references include popular fashion lines Versace, DKNY, Moschino and Coogi.
[edit] In popular culture
The song is featured in the film 10 Things I Hate About You in a scene where an intoxicated Kat Stratford (played by Julia Stiles) dances on a table at a party. The song is also featured in B.I.G.'s biopic Notorious. It is considered the film's theme song, as it is played three times throughout the film, the DVD's main menu, and it was used in most of the film's advertisements.
[edit] Samples
P. Diddy (known then as Puff Daddy) produced "Hyponotize" and sampled the beat from Herb Alpert's 1979 hit "Rise" which was written by Andy Armer and Herb's nephew, Randy "Badazz" Alpert.[2]
Randy recalled, "I asked Puffy, in 1996 when he first called me concerning using 'Rise' for 'Hypnotize,' why he chose the 'Rise' groove. He told me that in the summer of 1979 when he was I think 10 years old the song was a huge hit everywhere in New York and 'Rise' along with Chic's 'Good Times' were 'the songs' that all the kids were dancing and roller skating to that summer. He had always remembered that summer and that song. When he first played the loop for Biggie, (he said that) Biggie smiled and hugged him."[3]
Randy "Badazz" Alpert continued, "Over the years I was approached by Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Vanilla Ice, and maybe another 4-5 artists to use the song and I never said 'yes' until I heard a rough version of Biggie's recording. I was sent a cassette from Puffy and when I cranked it up I not only immediately loved it but my gut thought that this could be a #1 record once again. The original 'Rise' record climbed the chart all summer and became #1 around the end of October; Biggie's version was released and charted its first week at #2 and went to #1 the second week."[3]
As for the chorus, or "hook", the melody and phrasing is interpolated from a lyrical section of Slick Rick's song, "La Di Da Di" and it is also from these lyrics that the title "Hypnotize" is derived. Pam Long from the group Total sang this part.[2]
[edit] Single tracklist
- Hypnotize (Radio Mix) (4:05)
- Hypnotize (Instrumental) (3:59)
- Hypnotize (Album Version) (5:32)[4]
[edit] Charts
| Chart (1997) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[5] | 1 |
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[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Hypnotize by The Notorious B.I.G.". Songfacts.com. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=4256.
- ^ a b Liner Notes, Liner notes from both Life After Death as well as Hypnotize reference this sample.
- ^ a b Quoting Randy Alpert from personal interview,.
- ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1997". http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1997. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
- ^ Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. http://books.google.co.kr/books?id=9w0EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PP1&lr&rview=1&pg=RA1-PA4#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
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