"Funky Worm" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Ohio Players | ||||
from the album Pleasure | ||||
B-side | "Paint Me" | |||
Released | January 16, 1973 | |||
Recorded | 1972 | |||
Genre | Funk [1] | |||
Length | 2:41 | |||
Label | Westbound | |||
Songwriter(s) | Ohio Players | |||
Producer(s) | Ohio Players | |||
Ohio Players singles chronology | ||||
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"Funky Worm" is a song by American funk group the Ohio Players, from their album Pleasure . It peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart in 1973 and also peaked at number fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100. [2] Billboard ranked it as the No. 84 song for 1973.
The song's ARP synthesizer [3] solos, played by Junie Morrison, [4] have become a staple part in hip hop sampling history, being sampled by artists such as MC Breed, Too $hort, Dr. Dre, Xzibit, and Game. The high-pitched whine of the synthesizer on the song was often emulated by producers from the West Coast and became a staple in G-funk music. N.W.A notably sampled "Funky Worm" on their songs "Gangsta Gangsta" and "Dope Man". Ice Cube sampled "Funky Worm" for his songs "Wicked" and "'Ghetto Bird", duo Kris Kross' 1992 single "Jump", Lil' ½ Dead's 1994 song "East Side, West Side", Tim Dog's single "Skip to My Loot" (featuring Smooth B), DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince's 1993 hit "Boom! Shake the Room", and Ruff Ryders 1999 song "Bugout" also samples the song. [5]
It was also sampled in De La Soul’s "Me Myself & I”, off their 1989 album 3 Feet High and Rising. It was also sampled for the ring entrance for L.A.X.
The song can be heard on the fictional radio station Bounce FM, in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas . The Google Doodle celebrating the 44th anniversary of Hip Hop (August 11, 2017) featured the song on a virtual record that allows users to "scratch.". [6] The song can also be heard as a Player Anthem in the video game Rocket League, where it was released in a pack called "Behind The Samples" for free on February 1, 2022. [7]
Chart (1973) | Peak position |
---|---|
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 15 |
U.S. Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles | 1 |
G-funk, short for gangsta funk, is a sub-genre of gangsta rap that emerged from the West Coast scene in the early 1990s. The genre is heavily influenced by the synthesizer-heavy 1970s funk sound of Parliament-Funkadelic, often incorporated through samples or re-recordings. It is represented by commercially successful albums such as Dr. Dre's The Chronic (1992) and Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle (1993).
Doggystyle is the debut studio album by American rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg. It was released on November 23, 1993, by Death Row and Interscope Records. The album was recorded and produced following Snoop Doggy Dogg's appearances on Dr. Dre's debut solo album The Chronic (1992), to which Snoop contributed significantly. The West Coast style in hip-hop that he developed from Dre's first album continued on Doggystyle. Critics have praised Snoop Dogg for the lyrical "realism" that he delivers on the album and for his distinctive vocal flow.
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Kris Kross were an American hip hop group, consisting of rappers Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith, and producer Jermaine Dupri. Kris Kross was the youngest hip-hop group to gain success, with gold and platinum albums at 12 and 13 years old. Smith and Kelly were discovered by Dupri in 1991 and hit worldwide status the following year with their smash hit debut single, "Jump", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks and was certified double platinum as a single. They went on to release three studio albums, with their debut album Totally Krossed Out topping the US Billboard 200, and their following albums, Da Bomb and Young, Rich & Dangerous making it into the Top 20. The duo were also noted for their signature fashion style of wearing their clothes backwards. Kelly died of a drug overdose on May 1, 2013.
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"Jump" is a song by American hip hop duo Kris Kross, released on February 6, 1992 by Ruffhouse and Columbia, as their first single from their debut studio album, Totally Krossed Out (1992). It was produced by Jermaine Dupri and Joe "The Butcher" Nicolo, and achieved international success, topping charts in Switzerland, Australia, and the United States. Additionally, it was the third-best-selling song of 1992 in the United States, with sales of 2,079,000 physical copies that year. The song's accompanying music video was directed by Rich Murray and filmed in Atlanta. Billboard magazine featured "Jump" in their lists of "Billboard's Top Songs of the '90s" in 2019 and "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time" in 2023.
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Ohio Players are an American funk band, most popular in the 1970s. They are best known for their songs "Fire" and "Love Rollercoaster", and for their erotic album covers that featured nude or nearly nude women. Many of the women were models featured in Playboy.
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...taken from "Funky Worm," the 1973 funk workout from former Number Ones artists Ohio Players.