"Mind Playing Tricks on Me" | ||||
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Single by Geto Boys | ||||
from the album We Can't Be Stopped | ||||
Released | July 1, 1991 | |||
Recorded | 1991 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 5:11 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Scarface | |||
Geto Boys singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
"Mind Playing Tricks on Me" |
"Mind Playing Tricks on Me" is a song by Geto Boys, featured on their 1991 album We Can't Be Stopped . The lyrics describe the mental anguish and exhaustion of life as a gangster, including dealing with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, paranoia, suicidal ideation, and loneliness. It also samples "Hung Up on My Baby" by Isaac Hayes, from his 1974 film Tough Guys . [1] At the song's peak, it reached 23 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the highest-charting single by the Geto Boys.
The song was originally intended for a Scarface solo album as he penned three of the song's four verses. [2] However, the Geto Boys' label, Rap-A-Lot Records, decided that the record would be more valuable as a breakout single for the group. [2]
On an episode of Yo! MTV Raps: Classic Cuts , Scarface and his grandmother spoke about how she inspired the track "Mind Playing Tricks on Me". [3] Scarface's grandmother was reportedly mumbling to herself, and when asked, "'Mama, what you talkin' about?'" replied, "'Oh, nothing, my mind's just playing tricks on me'". [3]
In 1994, Scarface recorded a new solo version of the song titled "Mind Playin' Tricks '94", for his album The Diary .
"Mind Playing Tricks on Me" has received critical praise since it was first released. In 2012, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it the fifth greatest hip-hop song of all time and at number 192 on their "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time". [4] [5] The song was ranked number 18 out of 100 Best Rap Songs of All Time by LiveAbout. [6] VH1 ranked the song 82 on its list of the 100 Greatest Songs of the 90's, and 45 on its list of the 100 Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop. [7] [8] Pitchfork ranked the song 45 on its Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s list, with reviewer Tom Breihan writing, "this track established the South as a serious force in the music, proving that these Texans could do dark better than anyone on either coast". [9] The song was also included in The Pitchfork 500 , a compilation book of the greatest 500 songs from 1976 to 2006. [10]
On a 2019 episode of NPR's Morning Edition , Rodney Carmichael described the song as unique because at the time of its release it emphasized the trauma and vulnerability of life in the streets. [11]
"Mind Playing Tricks on Me" has been referenced and sampled by numerous artists. The Kottonmouth Kings made a cover of the song for their 2001 album, Hidden Stash II: The Kream of the Krop . The Insane Clown Posse also covered the song with Anybody Killa (also known as ABK) and Lil Wyte on their 2012 album, Smothered, Covered & Chunked . Rapper Kodak Black sampled the song in his song, "Transportin'".
In a 2012 Complex magazine interview, rapper Kid Cudi cited "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" as his "favorite song in the world". [12] Kid Cudi further revealed that the song was the inspiration for his hit single, "Day 'n' Nite", saying, "I love it so much I wanted to make my own version of it. And then "Day 'n' Nite" came out of it". [12]
It was also featured on Grand Theft Auto V 's fictional radio station West Coast Classics. [13]
Hip-hop group Clipping's 2020 album Visions of Bodies Being Burned is titled after a lyric in the song.
Chart (1991) | Peak position |
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US Billboard Hot 100 [14] | 23 |
US Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard) [15] | 32 |
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard ) [16] | 10 |
US Hot Rap Songs ( Billboard ) [17] | 1 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [18] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |