Flex (Mad Cobra song)

"Flex"
Single by Mad Cobra
from the album Hard to Wet, Easy to Dry
B-side	"Yes or No"
Released	30 July 1992 (1992-07-30) [1]
Genre	R&B [2]
Length	3:55
Label	Columbia
Songwriters	Ewart Brown Brian Thompson
Producers	Clifton Dillon Sly Dunbar
Mad Cobra singles chronology
"Love Fever" (1991) "Flex" (1992) "Dead End Street" (1993)
Music video
"Flex" on YouTube

"Flex" is a song co-written and performed by Jamaican dancehall recording artist Mad Cobra, issued as the first single from his sixth studio album, Hard to Wet, Easy to Dry (1992), by Columbia Records. It is his only song to appear on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 13 in January 1993. It also peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart and on Canada's The Record singles chart.

Composition

Mad Cobra stated that he was on a flight returning from New York, and was watching an exercise video on the in-flight entertainment system, and the lyrics "How this lady flex like she want to have sex?" came to him. He wrote the lyrics for the song on an air sickness bag in his plane seat and took them to the studio when he arrived in Jamaica. The song was meant to be an uptempo dancehall track in Mad Cobra's usual style, but became a slower R&B song when the backing tape accidentally slowed down and Mad Cobra slowed down his vocals to match the tape speed. ^[2]

Music video

The official music video for "Flex" was directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy.

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Flex" Chart (1992–1993) Peak position Canada Retail Singles ( The Record ) [3] 1 US Billboard Hot 100 [4] 13 US Hot R&B Singles ( Billboard ) [5] 7 US Hot Rap Singles ( Billboard ) [6] 1 US Maxi-Singles Sales ( Billboard ) [7] 12 US Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover ( Billboard ) [8] 27

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "Flex" Chart (1993) Position US Hot R&B Singles (Billboard) [9] 80 Decade-end charts Decade-end chart performance for "Flex" Chart (1990–1999) Position Canada (Nielsen SoundScan) [10] 63

References

1. "Flex [Single] – Mad Cobra –Reviews". AllMusic . Retrieved 30 March 2021.
2. Cooke, Mel (13 June 2017). "Story of the Song: 'Flex' a glorious musical trial". The Gleaner . Retrieved 16 April 2021.
3. "Hits of the World: Canada" (PDF). Billboard . 20 February 1993. p. 50. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
4. "Billboard Hot 100" . Billboard. 9 January 1993. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
5. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs" . Billboard. 28 November 1992. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
6. "Hot Rap Songs" . Billboard. 26 December 1992. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
7. "Dance Singles Sales" . Billboard. 5 December 1992. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
8. "Rhythmic Airplay" . Billboard. 28 November 1992. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
9. "The Year in Music: Hot R&B Singles". Billboard. Vol. 105, no. 52. 25 December 1993. p. YE-29.
10. Lwin, Nanda. "Top 100 singles of the 1990s". Jam!. Archived from the original on 29 August 2000. Retrieved 26 March 2022.

External links

• "Flex" at AllMusic
• " Flex " at Discogs (list of releases)