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Big Pimpin'

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"Big Pimpin'"
Song

"Big Pimpin'" is the fifth and final single from rapper Jay-Z's fourth album Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter. It features rapping by Southern hip hop group UGK as well as production by Timbaland.

Timbaland samples "Khosara Khosara", composed by Baligh Hamdi of Egypt in the mid-20th century and originally recorded by the famous Egyptian vocalist Abdel Halim Hafez. The sampled version of "Khosara Khosara" was arranged and performed by Hossam Ramzy, and can be heard on a CD compilation entitled, "The Best of Bellydance from Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey", an album that also contains another song that Timbaland sampled for the Petey Pablo track, "Raise Up". In 2007, the song sparked controversy when copyright co-owner Osama Ahmed Fahmy filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Federal Court, alleging that Timbaland illegally replayed portions of "Khosara Khosara" note-for-note. Jay-Z, Timbaland, Linkin Park and EMI Music Inc. were among the defendants named in the lawsuit. (Linkin Park was included because the track was also mashed up with their song "Papercut" on the collaborative EP Collision Course in 2004).[1] The Linkin Park mash-up was entitled "Big Pimpin/Papercut".

This latest lawsuit follows an August (2007) decision by a California judge to dismiss another lawsuit by Ahab Joseph Nafal, who claimed Big Pimpin' infringed the copyright on Khosara Khorasa. Lawyers for EMI Records argued the 50-year-old track was governed by the 1909 Copyright Act, AllHipHop.com reports.[2]

"Big Pimpin'" was the most commercially successful single from Jay-Z's fourth album, as it reached #18 on The Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart. In Rolling Stone's updated 2010 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", the song ranked at #467. Despite the song's performance, Jay-Z later revealed he regretted the song's lyrics claiming that, "Some [lyrics] become really profound when you see them in writing. Not "Big Pimpin." That's the exception. It was like, I can't believe I said that. And kept saying it. What kind of animal would say this sort of thing? Reading it is really harsh."[3] Katy Perry covered the song during her 2011/12 California Dreams Tour. The cast of The Big Bang Theory made a flashmob during the live taping of an episode, featuring the song as well as others.[4]

Music video

The music video was shot in Trinidad during its Carnival and features Jay-Z and UGK on a music truck dispensing money into the crowd and partying on a lavish yacht. It features hip hop model Melyssa Ford. It was directed by Hype Williams. [citation needed] The music video for Lonely Island's I'm on a Boat is largely a parody of this video.[5]

Chart positions

Peak positions

Chart (2000) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 18
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks 6
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Singles 9
UK Singles Chart 23[6]

End of year charts

End of year chart (2000) Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[7] 31

Single track list

CD

  1. "Big Pimpin' (Radio Edit)"
  2. "Watch Me (LP Version)"
  3. "Big Pimpin' (Instrumental)"
  4. "Big Pimpin' (Video)"

Vinyl

A-side

  1. "Big Pimpin' (Album Version)" (4:05)
  2. "Big Pimpin' (song about Ian) (5:43)

B-side

  1. "Watch Me (LP Version)" (4:34)
  2. "Big Pimpin' (Instrumental)" (4:57)

See also

References

  1. ^ "Gyp the System". Wayneandwax.com. 2007-09-12. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  2. ^ Nolan Strong (2007-09-04). "Rappers Jay-Z, Timbaland Sued Over 'Big Pimpin' Melody". Allhiphop.com. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  3. ^ Jurgensen, John (2010-10-21). "Just Asking - Decoding Jay-Z". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
  4. ^ Chan, Anna (November 16, 2012). "'Big Bang Theory' cast surprises audience with 'Call Me Maybe' flash mob". The Clicker. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  5. ^ "Music Video Clichés No.3 - Boats N' Hoes - NME Video Blog - NME.COM - The world's fastest music news service, music videos, interviews, photos and free stuff to win". Nme.Com. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
  6. ^ "Jay-Z - Big Pimpin'". Chart Stats. 2000-06-24. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  7. ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 2000". Retrieved 2010-08-31.
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