United (Prince Ital Joe and Marky Mark song)

"United"
One of cover arts mainly for German releases
Single by Prince Ital Joe and Marky Mark
from the album Life in the Streets
Released	March 1994
Recorded	1993
Studio	Nemo Studios, Hamburg [1]
Genre	Eurodance [1] ragga [1]
Length	4:02
Label	Ultraphonic / EastWest Records GmbH
Songwriter(s)	Alex Christensen Frank Peterson Joseph Paquette Mark Wahlberg
Producer(s)	Alex Christensen Frank Peterson
Prince Ital Joe and Marky Mark singles chronology
"Happy People" (1993) "United" (1994) "Babylon" (1995)

"United" is a song recorded by Dominican-American reggae/ragga recording artist Prince Ital Joe and American rapper Marky Mark. It was released in March 1994 as the third single from their debut album, Life in the Streets (1994). The song was co-written and produced by Alex Christensen and Frank Peterson. It reached number one in Germany and the top 10 in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Background and release

Prince Ital Joe and Marky Mark met by chance in 1993 at the JFK airport in New York and got on so well they decided to record something together. ^[1] The result was their debut single, "Happy People", a number four hit in Germany. The follow-up, "Life in the Streets", reached number 11. "United", their third single, became their first and only number-one hit on the German Singles Chart, staying on the top position for five weeks. ^[2] It spent a total of 23 weeks within the chart.

Critical reception

Alan Jones from Music Week gave the song a score of four out of five, writing, "Number one in Germany, this catchy confection combines Ital Joe's Haddaway and Dr. Alban influences with Marky Mark's streetwise rapping. A substantial hit." ^[3] He later added, "This is an anthemic German production pairing the patois of Prince Ital and a more conventional Marky Mark rap with a big chorus. Don't underestimate the potential of a record which has now been huge all over Europe, and consequently exposed to million of British holidaymakers." ^[4] Miranda Watson from Music & Media noted that the follow-up single to "Happy People" "again blends the Eurodance sound with ragga and rap." ^[1] Dele Fadele from NME noted "a hi-NRG stomp, a ridiculously overblown chorus, Marky Mark's hardman rap and Prince Ital Joe's namechecking toast". ^[5] James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update deemed it a "Boney M-ish chant-along cheesy German smash" in his weekly dance column. ^[6] Emma Cochrane from Smash Hits complimented "United" as a "great dance track". ^[7]

Music video

The accompanying music video for the song features Prince Ital Joe and Marky Mark being chauffeured around predominantly rough neighborhoods of New York City in a Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullmann limousine. This footage is interspersed with a second storyline showing a mixed-race couple reuniting after the female partner has apparently moved out of their apartment. The video was A-listed on Germany's VIVA and put on "Breakout Rotation" on MTV Europe. ^{[8] [1]}

Track listings

• CD maxi - Europe (1994)

1. "United" (Radio Edit) - 4:02
2. "United" (Extended Version) - 5:59
3. "United" (United Mix) - 5:29
4. "In The 90's" - 3:17

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1994–95) Peak position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [9] 6 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [10] 30 Denmark (IFPI) 7 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [11] 9 Europe (European Dance Radio) [12] 13 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) [13] 10 Germany (GfK) [2] 1 Lithuania (M-1) [14] 2 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [15] 9 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [16] 7 Scotland (OCC) [17] 72 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [18] 6 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [19] 9 UK Singles (OCC) [20] 79 UK Club Chart ( Music Week ) [21] 87 UK on a Pop Tip Club Chart ( Music Week ) [22] 4

Year-end charts Chart (1994) Position Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [23] 53 Germany (Media Control) [24] 12 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [25] 64 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [26] 76 Sweden (Topplistan) [27] 37 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [28] 38

References

1. Watson, Miranda (May 21, 1994). "Prince Ital, Marky Mark Turn To Germany For Top Production" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 11, no. 21. p. 10. Retrieved May 11, 2025.
2. "Prince Ital Joe feat. Marky Mark – United" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
3. Jones, Alan (June 25, 1994). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Singles" (PDF). Music Week . p. 18. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
4. Jones, Alan (September 10, 1994). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Singles" (PDF). Music Week . p. 20. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
5. Fadele, Dele (February 11, 1995). "Singles". NME . p. 45. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
6. Hamilton, James (July 2, 1994). "Dj directory" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental insert). p. 7. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
7. Cochrane, Emma (August 3, 1994). "New Albums". Smash Hits . p. 55. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
8. "Station Reports > VIVA TV/Cologne" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 11, no. 21. May 21, 1994. p. 30. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
9. "Prince Ital Joe feat. Marky Mark – United" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
10. "Prince Ital Joe feat. Marky Mark – United" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
11. Billboard - July 16, 1994 Google Books
12. "European Dance Radio Top 25" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 11, no. 29. July 16, 1994. p. 26. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
13. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN   978-951-1-21053-5.
14. "M-1 Top 40". M-1.fm. August 14, 1994. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
15. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Prince Ital Joe feat. Marky Mark" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
16. "Prince Ital Joe feat. Marky Mark – United" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
17. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
18. "Prince Ital Joe feat. Marky Mark – United". Singles Top 100.
19. "Prince Ital Joe feat. Marky Mark – United". Swiss Singles Chart.
20. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
21. "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 2 July 1994. p. 4. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
22. "The RM on a Pop Tip Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental insert). 4 February 1995. p. 13. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
23. "1994 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 11, no. 52. 24 December 1994. p. 12. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
24. "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 1994" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
25. "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 1994" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
26. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1994". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 May 2020.
27. "Årslista Singlar, 1994" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
28. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1994". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 24 May 2020.