Hit 'Em Up: Difference between revisions
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The first verse is performed by 2Pac, the second by [[Hussein Fatal]], the third by 2Pac, the fourth by [[Yaki Kadafi]] and the fifth by [[E.D.I. Mean]].<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4HjsZqOaQ0</ref> |
The first verse is performed by 2Pac, the second by [[Hussein Fatal]], the third by 2Pac, the fourth by [[Yaki Kadafi]] and the fifth by [[E.D.I. Mean]].<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4HjsZqOaQ0</ref> |
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The phrase "Take money", which is repeated throughout the song, is a [[satirical]] play on Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s then recent hit, "Get Money". Additionally, the "Don't Look Any Further" sample was also used in "Gettin' Money"; a remix of "Get Money". The chorus of "Hit 'Em Up" is a play on the chorus of Junior M.A.F.I.A's "Player's Anthem", which is itself an interpolation of the melody from [[Yellowman]]'s "Zunguzung". [[Jay-Z]], [[Lil Kim]], and [[Lil Cease]] were originally insulted in the song's lengthy [[outro]] - right before Shakur says: "''Fuck you, die slow [[motherfucker]], my [[ |
The phrase "Take money", which is repeated throughout the song, is a [[satirical]] play on Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s then recent hit, "Get Money". Additionally, the "Don't Look Any Further" sample was also used in "Gettin' Money"; a remix of "Get Money". The chorus of "Hit 'Em Up" is a play on the chorus of Junior M.A.F.I.A's "Player's Anthem", which is itself an interpolation of the melody from [[Yellowman]]'s "Zunguzung". [[Jay-Z]], [[Lil Kim]], and [[Lil Cease]] were originally insulted in the song's lengthy [[outro]] - right before Shakur says: "''Fuck you, die slow [[motherfucker]], my [[Ebonics|fo-fo]] make sure all y'all kids don't grow!''" - but [[Hussein Fatal]] of the [[Outlawz]] convinced Shakur that Brooklyn rapper Jay-Z had been neutral and the insult was erased, leaving several seconds of silence in its absence in certain remade versions of the song. But later versions of the song do contain this insult. |
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==Reception== |
==Reception== |
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Revision as of 21:46, 14 October 2010
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2009) |
| "Hit 'Em Up" | |
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| Song |
"Hit 'Em Up" is a diss song by 2Pac, featuring his rap group the Outlawz. It is the B-side to the 1996 single "How Do U Want It". The song viciously insults several East Coast rappers, chiefly Tupac Shakur's former friend and rival, The Notorious B.I.G.. "Hit 'Em Up" was produced by long-time collaborator Johnny J and samples "Don't Look Any Further" by Dennis Edwards.
A demo version containing a different 2Pac verse can be found on video hosting service YouTube. This version was most likely the first take or the building block towards creating the released version. This version is still officially unreleased.
Background and lyrics
In response to the release of "Who Shot Ya?", which Shakur felt was directed towards him as well as being tasteless for it's proximity to his shooting[1], "Hit 'Em Up" was aimed primarily at The Notorious B.I.G. and Sean "Puffy" Combs, whom he believed had advance knowledge that he would be robbed and shot in a November 30, 1994 incident in New York City. By extension, Shakur also took aim at Combs' Bad Boy Records and B.I.G.'s associates Lil' Kim and Junior M.A.F.I.A., most notably, Lil' Cease. Chino XL also came under fire and Mobb Deep rapper Prodigy was mocked for suffering sickle-cell disease.
Verses
The first verse is performed by 2Pac, the second by Hussein Fatal, the third by 2Pac, the fourth by Yaki Kadafi and the fifth by E.D.I. Mean.[2]
The phrase "Take money", which is repeated throughout the song, is a satirical play on Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s then recent hit, "Get Money". Additionally, the "Don't Look Any Further" sample was also used in "Gettin' Money"; a remix of "Get Money". The chorus of "Hit 'Em Up" is a play on the chorus of Junior M.A.F.I.A's "Player's Anthem", which is itself an interpolation of the melody from Yellowman's "Zunguzung". Jay-Z, Lil Kim, and Lil Cease were originally insulted in the song's lengthy outro - right before Shakur says: "Fuck you, die slow motherfucker, my fo-fo make sure all y'all kids don't grow!" - but Hussein Fatal of the Outlawz convinced Shakur that Brooklyn rapper Jay-Z had been neutral and the insult was erased, leaving several seconds of silence in its absence in certain remade versions of the song. But later versions of the song do contain this insult.
Reception
"Hit 'Em Up" was accused by many critics for going 'too far' due to 2Pac's claim that he had sexual intercourse with Notorious B.I.G.'s wife, Faith Evans, and his derision of Mobb Deep's Prodigy for having sickle-cell anemia. It was also criticized for intensifying the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry, and in hindsight, cited as the turning point towards the violence that later claimed the lives of both 2Pac and the Notorious B.I.G.. 2Pac disregarded criticism that he had taken the traditional hip hop rivalry to a dangerous extreme, remarking that the song was a "classic battle record". Other criticims regarding the song was its lack of lyrical substance and creativity. Despite this, XXL Magazine named Hit 'Em Up as their Number 1 diss song on their 20 List of greatest diss songs.
Response from Biggie
The Notorious B.I.G. humorously responded to 2Pac's claims that he had slept with his wife on "Brooklyn's Finest", a duet with Jay-Z from the latter's 1996 debut Reasonable Doubt, rapping, "if Faith had twins, she'd probably have two Pacs / Get it? Tu... pac's." The Carlito's Way-referencing intro ("Okay! I'm reloaded") is followed by other lines: "Think you big-time? / Fuckin' with Jay-Z / You gonna die big time! / Here come the pain!" These lines may be in reference to the fact that 2Pac planned to insult Jay-Z on "Hit 'Em Up". Many songs off of Biggie's last studio effort, Life After Death, such as "Long Kiss Goodnight", have been interpreted as a rebuttal against all of Shakur's slurs insulting the Brooklyn rapper and his label, Bad Boy Records.
Response from other artists
Mobb Deep responded to 2Pac and Death Row with the track "Drop a Gem on 'em" which was first released as a promotional single, and later appeared on their album Hell on Earth. Chino XL responded with a nameless diss track which was never released, and a mixtape track entitled When Thugz Cry. The song sampled the same beat as Notorious B.I.G.'s "Who Shot Ya?" and mocked 2Pac for the hardships in his life, including a time in which 2Pac's mother was a crack addict and his 1995 prison stint.
Music video
In the music video (directed by Kevin Swain and released in June, 1996), 2Pac raps in a white room with the Outlawz with TV monitors in the background showing clips of himself, Puffy, and Biggie Smalls.[3] (These clips focused on gestures alluding to Tupac's claim to have stolen money from Bad Boy Records.) Gestures included Tupac stealing money with his crew from a safe, Puffy and Biggie dancing as cash appears from their position into the hands of Tupac, and them driving (which possibly alludes to the fact that Faith Evans was Biggie's estranged wife, so Biggie knew nothing about what Shakur claimed to have happened). The video itself has repeated parody characters of Puffy, Biggie, and Lil' Kim, with actors reprising their role from the "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted" video. There are also clips of 2Pac and his crew in a purple-caged room and a black room with bullet holes in the background.
The white background scenes with monitors in the background is showing the "Made Niggaz" video, also a video with an appearance by 2Pac, which was released in 1997 at the release of Shakur's last film Gang Related.
At the end of the edited video version, Tupac gives shout-outs to Naughty by Nature, Freddie Foxxx and others.
Compilations
One of Shakur's most popular songs, it would reappear on a number of releases:
- How Do U Want It Original Single features this song on a b-side.
- Greatest Hits features the song upon track 12 on disc 1.
- Nu-Mixx Klazzics features a remix of the song, with the intro lyrics from the originally explicit version and the main lyrics from the edited radio version.
- Live at the House of Blues features Hit Em Up, the concert was Tupac's last live performance, and the song was available on DVD and CD. In addition to the track's harsh levies at Bad Boy, Tupac publicly blasted Biggie on the stage before performing the song, and fans went along with Tupac's flow (as this was at the time in the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry that fans were already taking sides with one set of artists or another. He slandered Faith Evans as well, referring to her as a "bitch" and proceeding to threaten the lives of Biggie and Puffy, and slandering several East Coast MCs, as he called them fakers.
- This song also appears on Death Row Greatest Hits
- The second half of the underground Eminem song "Quitter" is a remix of this song, and in itself a diss track aimed towards Everlast.
- Khia uses the beat and part of the hook in her diss "Hit 'Em Up" to female rappers Trina and Jacki-O.
- Bow Wow's diss song to fellow rapper Soulja Boy Tell 'em, entitled "What I Think About You," is a reinterpolation of the song.