Ms. Jackson

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"Ms. Jackson"
Single by OutKast
from the album Stankonia
B-side "Sole Sunday",
"Elevators (Me & You)"
Released January 2, 2001
Format 12", CD
Recorded 2000
Genre Alternative hip hop
Length 4:30 (Album Version)
4:03 (Radio Edit)
Label Arista
Writer(s) André Benjamin, Antwan Patton, David Sheats
Producer Earthtone III
Certification Gold (RIAA)
Silver (BPI)
OutKast singles chronology
"B.O.B"
(2000)		 "Ms. Jackson"
(2001)		 "So Fresh, So Clean"
(2001)

"Ms. Jackson" is a song by American alternative hip hop group OutKast. It was released in January 2001 as the second single from their fourth album Stankonia. It topped the U.S. charts for the week of February 17, 2001, and won a 2002 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. It also reached number one in Germany and number two in the United Kingdom, held from the top spot by Atomic Kitten's "Whole Again". In October 2011, NME placed it at number 81 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[1]

The single helped sell the album following mixed reaction to the lead single "B.O.B.", which, despite nearly universal acclaim from critics, failed to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and only reached #69 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[2]

The song samples The Brothers Johnson's version (with pitch shifting and reversing) of "Strawberry Letter 23" by Shuggie Otis and features an altered version of a tune from "Bridal Chorus" from the opera Lohengrin by German composer Richard Wagner (also known as the "wedding march"), played on piano.

The song features live bass instrumentation, performed by Aaron Mills of Cameo, the music of which "Ms. Jackson" bears notable similarity to in arrangement.

Contents

Content [edit]

The titular "Ms. Jackson" is the real-life mother of Erykah Badu, André 3000's ex-girlfriend and the mother of his son Seven.[citation needed] The song discusses the problems that break-ups, separation, and divorce can have on a couple, and the animosity that a woman's mother can have for her daughter's former boyfriend or husband. In Vibe, a few years after the fact, Andre recalled creating the song; "'Ms. Jackson' was an acoustic guitar song that I was doing at home. Then I just converted it over into something people could understand a little bit more."

Music video [edit]

The video for "Ms. Jackson", directed by F. Gary Gray, features the duo in an old house. Big Boi is cleaning a car, and André 3000 is making home improvements. The house is overrun with pets, mostly dogs, two cats, a snapping turtle, and an owl that—at times—seem to contribute to the song. Through camera effects, the pets are made to nod their heads to the song.

It begins to rain, spoiling Big Boi's hard work. The light rain rapidly turns into a storm; lightning strikes the car and it explodes. Meanwhile, André attempts to keep the house, which has a roof littered with leaks, dry with the use of buckets. Big Boi attempts to climb the roof and fix the holes in the rain.

The lights go out in the house, creating yet another problem for André, who runs about trying to fix it. Big Boi, in a yellow raincoat, is on top of the roof and getting considerably more annoyed with his inability to complete the repairs.

The lights eventually return. Big Boi climbs down and joins André, helping with the rainwater. Following this, the storm clears almost instantly. The two stare up through a ceiling hole torn open by the storm, at the bright blue sky and shining sun.

The video works as a possible metaphor for the duo's "stormy" relationships with the mothers of their children and their families (themes expressed by the duo in the song). The storm theme is alluded to in the song, particularly by André 3000: "Me and your daughter got a special thing going on/You say it's puppy love, we say it's full grown/Hope that we feel this, feel this way forever/You can plan a pretty picnic, but you can't predict the weather, Ms. Jackson."

Tracklisting [edit]

UK CD1
  1. "Ms. Jackson" (UK Radio Edit) – 3:36
  2. "Elevators (Me & You)" – 4:56
  3. "Ms. Jackson" (Video) – 4:58
UK CD2
  1. "Ms. Jackson" (Radio Mix) – 4:03
  2. "Ms. Jackson" (Instrumental) – 4:34
  3. "Sole Sunday" (Radio Mix) - 4:41
  4. "Sole Sunday" (Instrumental) - 4:41
European CD Single
  1. "Ms. Jackson" (Radio Mix) – 4:03
  2. "Ms. Jackson" (Instrumental) – 4:34

Charts [edit]

Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[3] 2
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[4] 3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[6] 5
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[7] 9
Denmark (Tracklisten)[8] 3
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[9] 8
France (SNEP)[10] 5
Germany (Media Control AG)[11] 1
Ireland (IRMA)[12] 5
Italy (FIMI)[13] 9
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[14] 1
New Zealand (RIANZ)[15] 5
Norway (VG-lista)[16] 1
Romania (Romanian Top 100)[17] 6
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 2
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[20] 2
US Billboard Hot 100[21] 1
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[22] 1
US Pop Songs (Billboard)[23] 13

Chart successions [edit]

Preceded by
"I Wish" by R. Kelly		 Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number one single
December 16, 2000 (1 week)		 Succeeded by
"Independent Women Part I" by Destiny's Child
Preceded by
"Danger (Been So Long)" by Mystikal featuring Nivea		 Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number one single
February 3, 2001 (1 week)		 Succeeded by
"Stutter" by Joe featuring Mystikal
Preceded by
"It Wasn't Me" by Shaggy featuring Ricardo "Rikrok" Ducent		 Billboard Hot 100 number one single
February 17, 2001 (1 week)		 Succeeded by
"Stutter" by Joe featuring Mystikal

References [edit]

  1. ^ http://www.nme.com/list/150-best-tracks-of-the-past-15-years/248648/page/7
  2. ^ allmusic ((( Stankonia > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))
  3. ^ "Australian-charts.com – Outkast – Ms. Jackson". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  4. ^ "Outkast – Ms. Jackson – Austriancharts.at" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  5. ^ "Ultratop.be – Outkast – Ms. Jackson" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  6. ^ "Ultratop.be – Outkast – Ms. Jackson" (in French). Ultratop 50. Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  7. ^ "OutKast > Awards". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 21, 2012. 
  8. ^ "Danishcharts.com – Outkast – Ms. Jackson". Tracklisten. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  9. ^ "Finnishcharts.com – Outkast – Ms. Jackson". Suomen virallinen lista. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  10. ^ "Lescharts.com – Outkast – Ms. Jackson" (in French). Les classement single. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  11. ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  12. ^ "Chart Track". Irish Singles Chart. Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  13. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Outkast – Ms. Jackson". Top Digital Download. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  14. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 5, 2001" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  15. ^ "Charts.org.nz – Outkast – Ms. Jackson". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  16. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Outkast – Ms. Jackson". VG-lista. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  17. ^ Romanian 2001 end-of-year charts
  18. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Outkast – Ms. Jackson". Singles Top 60. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  19. ^ "Outkast – Ms. Jackson – swisscharts.com". Swiss Singles Chart. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  20. ^ "Archive Chart" UK Singles Chart. Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  21. ^ "OutKast Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for OutKast. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  22. ^ "OutKast Album & Song Chart History" Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for OutKast. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  23. ^ "OutKast Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Pop Songs for OutKast. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 21, 2012.

External links [edit]

OutKast
Studio albums
Other albums
Singles
Featured singles
Related articles
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