Keep Their Heads Ringin'

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"Keep Their Heads Ringin'"
Keep Their Heads Ringin' single cover.jpg
Single by Dr. Dre
from the album Friday (soundtrack)
B-side "Take a Hit" by Mack 10
ReleasedMarch 7, 1995 (1995-03-07)
Recorded1994
Studio Dre's Crib (Los Angeles)
Genre
Length5:06
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre singles chronology
"Natural Born Killaz"
(1994)		"Keep Their Heads Ringin'"
(1995)		"U Better Recognize"
(1995)
Music video
"Keep Their Heads Ringin'" on YouTube

"Keep Their Heads Ringin'" is a song by American rapper Dr. Dre featuring vocalist Nanci Fletcher. [1] It was the only single released from the soundtrack of the 1995 movie Friday , [2] starring Dre's former N.W.A bandmate, Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. Although the soundtrack was released on Priority Records, Death Row Records still owns the masters to the song. In the United States, the song topped the Hot Rap Tracks chart and peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. It was certified gold by the RIAA on May 10, 1995, and sold 700,000 copies domestically. [3] [4] It interpolates "Funk You Up" by The Sequence from their 1980 single released under Sugar Hill. F. Gary Gray directed the music video for the song.

Contents

Critical reception

Dr. Bayyan from Cash Box wrote, "Well, there is no doubt that the patented "Dre funk" is present, but there's one aspect that fans will notice about this single. He concentrates more on his improved lyrical delivery rather than on killin' niggas and cheekin' ho's. Dre is one of the few rappers that doesn't have to tone down his hardcore image to gain commercial status." [5]

Cathi Unsworth from Melody Maker said, "Dr Dre practices what he preaches in one long reeling reefer high that pulses like the first narcotic rush that brings on the weekend. A smoothly subversive operator." [6] Keith Cameron from NME commented, "The vibes from the crib are up tp the regulatory slink norm, the gel chorus keeps matters literal ("Ring ding dong/A ring-a-ding-ding-ding-dong"), and regardless of how good the film is, it's hard to imagine Cube coming up with a line as chucklesome as Dre's: "Your chances of jackin' me are slim, Gl'Cos I rock from summer 'til Santa comes down the chimney"." [7]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Keep Their Heads Ringin'" was directed by American film director, film producer, and music video director F. Gary Gray and takes place in a plane hangar. The video contains cameo appearances from the actors of the movie Friday including Chris Tucker, Faizon Love, Paula Jai Parker and Nia Long. New Line offered the clip to theatres to play right before showings of Friday. It also appears as a bonus feature on the VHS and DVD releases of the film.

Track listing

  1. "Keep Their Heads Ringin'" (LP Version) — 5:01
  2. "Keep Their Heads Ringin'" (Instrumental) — 4:57
  3. "Take a Hit" (by Mack 10) (LP Version) — 4:34
  4. "Take a Hit" (by Mack 10) (Instrumental) — 4:34
  1. "Keep Their Heads Ringin'" (Radio Version) — 5:02
  2. "Keep Their Heads Ringin'" (LP Version) — 5:01
  3. "Keep Their Heads Ringin'" (Instrumental) — 4:57

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ) [35] Gold5,000*
United Kingdom (BPI) [36] Silver200,000‡
United States (RIAA) [3] Gold700,000 [4]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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