"Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check" is a song by American rapper Busta Rhymes. It was released on January 7, 1996, by Flipmode Entertainment and Elektra Records as his debut solo single and the lead single from his debut studio album, The Coming (1996). The song was both written and produced by Rhymes and Rashad Smith. It contains additional vocals by Flipmode Squad member and Rhymes' cousin Rampage, credited as Rampage the Last Boy Scout. A critical and commercial success, the song peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100, and also peaked at the same position in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. In the United States, the song was released with several remixes of the song and "Everything Remains Raw", also appearing on The Coming, as its B-side. The single received a nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 39th Grammy Awards, losing to "Hey Lover" by LL Cool J. In addition, its music video, directed by Hype Williams, received a nomination for Breakthrough Video at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards.
| "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US single version cover | ||||
| Single by Busta Rhymes | ||||
| from the album The Coming | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | January 7, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | Summer 1995 | |||
| Studio | The Music Palace, New York City | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 4:31 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| Busta Rhymes singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check" on YouTube | ||||
Viewed as a classic, it has since become one of Rhymes' most famous and beloved songs. In 2008, it was ranked number 56 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop".[1]
Background
editIn a studio session with Rampage and record producer Rashad Smith, Smith went through his record collection and found Galt MacDermot's 1968 instrumental song "Space". Rhymes told him that he wanted to use the sample for himself, and to put the record away and save it for him. Eventually Smith and Busta produced the instrumental for the song using the sample, but Rhymes could not come up with any lyrics. However, seven months later, as Rhymes listened to the Sugarhill Gang's 1980 song "8th Wonder", he found new inspiration through the lyric "Woo-Hah! Got them all in check", which he went on to interpolate as part of the chorus.[2]
Rhymes reused parts of the lyrics from a freestyle battle he did in 1994 with rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard, who would later feature on the remix version of the song.[3] While working on the song, Rhymes was also inspired by singer and record producer George Clinton and aesthetic influences from dancehall, reimagining the cadences of toasters he heard growing up in a Jamaican household and a community of Caribbean immigrants.[4]
Composition and lyrics
edit"Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check" was composed in 4
4 time and the key of C♯ major, with a tempo of 92 beats per minute. It has a duration time of four minutes and thirty-one seconds.[5] The song features "cleverly-written" lyrics with a "manic delivery" over an "infectious" instrumental. For each of the three verses, the last word in each lyric rhymes with one another.[6]
Furthermore, Rhymes references his then-two year old son T'ziah Wood-Smith. ("Yes, I catch wreck and that's word on my seed").[4]
Critical reception
editNeil Kulkarni from Melody Maker named "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check" Single of the Week, writing, "This is getting mad playlisting in the US right now, and it could be the record to bring East Coast hip hop bombing back to the charts over here. Formerly of the wicked Leaders Of The New School, Busta's brilliantly hoarse delivery keeps up an incredible flow on this track, recalling the freestyle genius of Mad Skillz or Lord Finesse. But what makes huge crossover so inevitable is the most insanely catchy cartoon loop and a chorus destines to permanently scar the mind and enter the hip hop lexicon of dancefloor-detonating classics."[7] In December 1996, Melody Maker ranked it number 48 in their list of "Singles of the Year".[8] James Hyman from Music Week's RM Dance Update rated the song five out of five, adding, "Imagine the inane style of Biz Markie mixed up with a pinch of Leaders Of The New School, Ol' Dirty Bastard (who appears on one mix) plus phat production from the likes of DJ Scratch (EPMD) & J.D. (Pharcyde, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Slum Village) and you simply have the most boisterous, most infectious and freshest rap single of the year."[9] Retrospectively, Daryl McIntosh of Albumism wrote that "Busta Rhymes cemented himself as a household name, by helping to add new dimensions to both the look and sound of hip-hop. […] Busta was even more energetic than we had seen and heard on “Scenario” and the "Flava in Ya Ear" reworking. His rhymes […] jumped through the speakers to connect with listeners, who still regard the rhymes as an all-time go-to quotable."[10]
Music video
editThe official music video for "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check" was directed by American director Hype Williams and designed by visual artist and designer Ron Norsworthy. It begins with the first few lyrics and part of the hook of the songs B-side Everything Remains Raw, and features cameos from Spliff Star, Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest, Consequence, Onyx, and Jam Master Jay.[11] The music video has become one of his most popular and very influential in both the hip hop and pop culture.[12]
Daryl McIntosh of Albumism called the music video "equally entertaining [as the song], as Busta was dressed in bright colors to correspond with vibrant backgrounds, which was a welcome break from the gloomier imagery that prevailed during the 'grimey era'".[10]
Track listing
editUnited Kingdom 12-inch single
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check" (Album Radio Edit) | 4:41 | ||
| 2. | "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check (Fila Mix 3)" | 4:55 | ||
| 3. | "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check (The DJ Scratch Albany Projects Remix)" (Radio Edit) | 4:10 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check (Origin Unknown Mix)" | 6:44 | ||
| 2. | "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check (Fila Mix 4)" | 6:39 | ||
| 4. | "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check (The Jay-Dee Other Shit Remix)" (Radio Edit) | 4:10 | ||
| Total length: | 31:19 | |||
United States 12-inch single
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check" (Album Version) | 4:40 | ||
| 2. | "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check (The World Wide Remix)" (featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard) | 4:25 | ||
| 3. | "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check (The Jay-Dee Bounce Remix)" | 4:42 | ||
| 4. | "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check (The DJ Scratch Albany Projects Remix)" | 4:48 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Everything Remains Raw" (Album Version) | 3:43 | ||
| 2. | "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check (The World Wide Remix)" (Instrumental) | 4:18 | ||
| 3. | "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check (The Jay-Dee Bounce Remix)" (Instrumental) | 4:42 | ||
| 4. | "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check (The Jay-Dee Other Shit Remix)" | 4:42 | ||
| 5. | "Everything Remains Raw" (Album Version Instrumental) | 2:38 | ||
| Total length: | 38:38 | |||
United States CD single
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check" | 4:40 | ||
| 2. | "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check (The World Wide Remix)" (featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard) | 4:25 | ||
| 3. | "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check (The Jay-Dee Bounce Remix)" | 4:42 | ||
| 4. | "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check (The DJ Scratch Albany Projects Remix)" | 4:48 | ||
| 5. | "Everything Remains Raw" | 3:43 | ||
| 6. | "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check (The World Wide Remix)" (Instrumental) | 4:18 | ||
| 7. | "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check (The Jay-Dee Bounce Remix)" (Instrumental) | 4:42 | ||
| 8. | "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check (The Jay-Dee Other Shit Remix)" | 4:42 | ||
| 9. | "Everything Remains Raw" (Instrumental) | 3:37 | ||
| Total length: | 39:37 | |||
The World Wide Remix
edit| "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check (The World Wide Remix)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| | ||||
| Single by Busta Rhymes featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard | ||||
| A-side |
| |||
| B-side | ||||
| Released | February 27, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | 1995–1996 | |||
| Studio | The Music Palace, Long Island | |||
| Genre | Alternative hip hop | |||
| Length | 4:25 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| Busta Rhymes singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Ol' Dirty Bastard singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check (The World Wide Remix)" on YouTube | ||||
"The World Wide Remix" to "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check" features American rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard and was released as the B-Side to the United States release of the song. It was written by Busta Rhymes, Ol' Dirty Bastard and Rashad Smith and produced by Rhymes and Smith. It features a new beat and new verses, plus a re-worked chorus. Although the song was originally not included on any album it is part of the 25th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition of The Coming.
Background
editRhymes and ODB were very close friends and often hung out which led the collaboration to happen naturally.[13] They later went on to collaborate on songs such as Where's Your Money? in 2005 and Slow Flow in 2020, both released posthumously after ODB's death in 2004, with the latter containing sampled vocals from him.
Composition
edit"The World Wide Remix" to "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check" was written by its original contributors, Busta Rhymes and Rashad Smith alongside Ol' Dirty Bastard and produced by the first two. It is composed in 4
4 time and the key of C Minor, with a tempo of 89 beats per minute. It has a duration time of four minutes and twenty-five seconds.[14]
Music video
editThe official music video for "The World Wide Remix" was directed by Michael Lucero and features the two rappers as they wear straitjackets and are imprisoned in a padded room.[15]
Charts
editWeekly charts
edit| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[16] | 96 |
| Germany (GfK)[17] | 42 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[18] | 27 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[19] | 20 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[20] | 9 |
| Scotland (OCC)[21] | 36 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[22] | 13 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[23] | 8 |
| UK Dance (OCC)[24] | 3 |
| UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[25] | 2 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[26] | 8 |
| US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[27] | 1 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[28] | 6 |
| US Hot Rap Singles (Billboard)[27] | 1 |
| US Rhythmic (Billboard)[29] | 24 |
Year-end charts
edit| Chart (1996) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[30] | 57 |
| US Billboard Hot Rap Singles[31] | 8 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[32] | 39 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[34] | Platinum | 1,000,000[33] |
References
edit- ^ "VH1's 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs". 29 September 2008.
- ^ "Talib Kweli & Busta Rhymes Talk ELE: 2, J Dilla, Q-Tip, Kendrick, 5% & Chuck D | People's Party Full". YouTube. December 14, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ "Busta Rhymes vs. ODB Freestyle Battle". YouTube. December 17, 2016. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ a b Bell, Max (March 25, 2021). "How Busta Rhymes Harnessed the Dungeon Dragon on His Classic Debut". The Ringer. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
- ^ "Key & BPM for Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check". Tunebat. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ Bailey, Matthew (March 18, 2016). "Hey look! A music review – Busta Rhymes – The Coming (1996)". WordPress.com. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ Kulkarni, Neil (April 20, 1996). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 34. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
- ^ "Singles Of The Year". Melody Maker. December 21, 1996. p. 68. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
- ^ Hyman, James (March 30, 1996). "Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 9. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
- ^ a b McIntosh, Daryl (March 24, 2021). "Busta Rhymes' Debut Solo Album 'The Coming' Turns 25 | Anniversary Retrospective". Albumism. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ "mvdbase.com - Busta Rhymes - "Woo-hah! got you all in check [version 1]"". Music Video DataBase. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
- ^ "VDN Throwbacks Takes It Back w/Busta Rhymes' 'Woo Hah!! Got You All In Check' Music Video". Vanndigital. November 10, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ "Busta Rhymes On Working With Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, His New Album & More | Drink Champs". YouTube. October 31, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ "Key & BPM for Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check (The World Wide Remix)". Tunebat. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ "Busta Rhymes & Ol' Dirty Bastard: Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check". IMDb. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 28 Jul 1996". ARIA. Retrieved April 16, 2020 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The HP column displays the single's highest position.
- ^ "Busta Rhymes feat. Rampage The Last Boy Scout – Woo-Hah!! Got You All In Check" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 27, 1996" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ "Busta Rhymes feat. Rampage The Last Boy Scout – Woo-Hah!! Got You All In Check" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ "Busta Rhymes feat. Rampage The Last Boy Scout – Woo-Hah!! Got You All In Check". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
- ^ "Busta Rhymes feat. Rampage The Last Boy Scout – Woo-Hah!! Got You All In Check". Singles Top 100. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ "Busta Rhymes Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ a b "Busta Rhymes – Awards". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ "Busta Rhymes Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ "Busta Rhymes Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1996". Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ "This Year in Music: Hot Rap Singles". Billboard. December 28, 1996. p. YE-42.
- ^ "End of Year Charts 1996". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ^ "Best-Selling Records of 1996". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 3. BPI Communications Inc. January 18, 1997. p. 61. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
- ^ "American single certifications – Busta Rhymes – Woo-Hah". Recording Industry Association of America.
