Mama Said Knock You Out (song)
| "Mama Said Knock You Out" | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Single by LL Cool J | |||||||||||||||||||
| from the album Mama Said Knock You Out | |||||||||||||||||||
| Released | February 26, 1991) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Format | CD | ||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Hip hop | ||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 4:52 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Label | Def Jam | ||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | LL Cool J | ||||||||||||||||||
| Producer | Marley Marl | ||||||||||||||||||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | ||||||||||||||||||
| LL Cool J singles chronology | |||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
"Mama Said Knock You Out" is a number-one hit single by LL Cool J from his album of the same name. The song famously begins with the line "Don't call it a comeback/I've been here for years." Before "Mama Said Knock You Out" was released, many people felt that LL Cool J's career was waning; his grandmother, who still believed in his talent, told him to "knock out" all his critics. The song was produced by Marley Marl[1] with help from Shadman Kaiser along with LL. The single reached number 17[2] on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold by the RIAA. LL Cool J won Best Rap Solo Performance at the Grammy Awards of 1992. The song takes various shots at Kool Moe Dee.
The song was featured in the Michael J. Fox action comedy The Hard Way, in which LL also co-starred.
Contents |
Background
The song uses samples from James Brown's "Funky Drummer," the Chicago Gangsters' "Gangster Boogie," Sly & The Family Stone's "Trip to Your Heart" and the drum break from Digital Underground's The Humpty Dance, and Rock the Bells by LL Cool J. The music video features LL Cool J in a boxing ring, rapping into a microphone similar to the one an announcer would use in a boxing match. Frequently, there are shots of him working out and scenes of boxers being punched out. At the end of the video, his grandmother says "Todd! Todd! Get upstairs and take out that garbage".
Cultural references
The song has been parodied on the 1990s comedy show In Living Color as a music video skit, "Mama's Gonna Kick Me Out" with Shawn Wayans as Jimmie Walker's Good Times character, J.J. Evans[3] and in the 1994 hip-hop mockumentary film and its soundtrack album, Fear of a Black Hat as a solo single for rapper Tasty-Taste (Larry B. Scott), "Granny Said Kick Yo Ass."
The title was heard in the Futurama episode, "Proposition Infinity," when during a brief hostage taking of Amy Wong in a police holding cell, the police robot unit URL uses the Vulcan nerve pinch from Star Trek to subdue a violent criminal, then afterwards cooly says: "Mama said Spock you out."
Covers
UK rap rock band Senser covered the song frequently at live concerts during the 1990's along with other hip hop songs that they admired.
Street Sweeper Social Club covered the song on The Ghetto Blaster EP and have also performed it live.
The song was included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
The song was also featured in Bebe's Kids and Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.!
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
|
Certifications
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
- ^ Pareles, Jon (November 18, 1990). "HOME ENTERTAINMENT/RECORDINGS: RECENT RELEASES". The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
- ^ "Mama Said Knock You Out - LL Cool J Song Information". billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "LL Cool J" UK Singles Chart. Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
- ^ "Australian-charts.com – LL Cool J – Mama Said Knock You Out". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
- ^ "Charts.org.nz – LL Cool J – Mama Said Knock You Out". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
- ^ "LL Cool J Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for LL Cool J. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
- ^ "LL Cool J Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play for LL Cool J. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
- ^ "LL Cool J Album & Song Chart History" Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for LL Cool J. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
- ^ "LL Cool J > Awards". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
- ^ "American single certifications – L.L. Cool J – Mama Said Knock You Out". Recording Industry Association of America. May 15, 1991. Retrieved September 30, 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH