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Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang

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"Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang"
Song

EAST COAST NIGGA!!!!!!!!!!!!!"Nuthin' but a "G" Thang" is a 1993 hit song by American gangsta rapper Dr. Dre, from his debut solo album, The Chronic. It features rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg and is the first single from the album. "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, outperforming The Chronic's other singles "Fuck wit Dre Day (and Everybody's Celebratin')" (number 8) and "Let Me Ride" (number 34). The single also reached number one on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. It was also a hit in the UK, where it reached number 31.

Background

The song's music video was MTV's third most requested video of 1993. On MTV, the music video was heavily cut; a full-length version of the video exists with uncut footage (e.g., drug references and a scene where a woman's bikini top was yanked open).

  • Notarized: BET's Top 100 Videos of The 20th Century: number five
  • On MTV's 100 Greatest Music Videos Ever Made it was listed at number thirty-two in 1999.[1]
  • In April 2005 MTV2 and XXL's 25 Greatest West Coast Videos number two.
  • 2001 VH1: 100 Greatest Videos: number eighty
  • 2003 VH1: 100 Best Songs of the Past 25 Years: number thirty-one [2]
  • 2007 VH1: Best 100 songs of the 90's : 13th
  • 2008 VH1: Best 100 Hip Hop Songs of all Time : 3rd
  • Voted #14 in the Top 100 Rap Songs [3].

The vocals are shared by Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg (who has sole songwriting credit), who drop in trademark references to Long Beach and Compton in California. The song contains samples from Leon Haywood's "I Wanta Do Something Freaky to You" and "Uphill (Peace of Mind)" by Frederick Knight. On the inside cover of The Chronic album under "Credits" Leon Haywood's name is incorrectly cited as "L. Hayward"

"Nuthin' but a "G" Thang" is listed in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It's Dre's only song on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (ranked number 419), not counting two other songs that feature Dre as producer and on vocals, N.W.A.'s "Fuck tha Police" and 2Pac's "California Love". Q magazine listed it as the 24th greatest hip-hop song of all time.[4]. AcclaimedMusic.net lists it as the 131st best song of all time, the best song of 1992, and as the sixth best hip-hop/rap song of all time.[5] Number 3 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.

Derivative versions

  • Kris Kross heavily sampled Nuthin' but a "G" Thang on their 1993 single I'm Real.
  • Snoop Dogg's first single from "Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told" was a sequel to the song entitled, "Still a G Thang."
  • Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg retooled "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" into the titular theme of their 2001 comedy film The Wash.
  • The song "I Need a G" by Dani Stevenson featuring Snoop Dogg used the same sample as "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang".
  • Twista used the same Leon Haywood sample for the song "Mobsta's Anthem" from his 1997 album Adrenaline Rush.
  • Young Dro's video for his 2006 single "Shoulder Lean" references "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang."
  • "Get It Up" by Silkk the Shocker uses the reworked chorus of "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang".
  • Ja Rule's "Livin' It Up" contains a sample of "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang".[6] It was nominated for a Grammy Award.[7]
  • MIMS's "This Is Why I'm Hot" contains a short sample of the song sampled in "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang"
  • Juelz Santana has made a song over the beat entitled "Secret", which can be heard at his official MySpace.
  • There also is a radio edit, where most of the profanity is removed by changes in lyrics.
  • There is now a 2009 UK version created by new age old skool, Seb Good Feat. WhiPrap sensation "Jonny Boi"
  • The song was sometimes played in concert as an instrumental by rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers during their Californication tour.

Music video

The music video depicts Dr. Dre coming into Long Beach, California, where Snoop Dogg's house is, to pick him up to go to a block party. They arrive at the party where they perform the first verses outside, while a barbecue cookout and a game of volleyball goes on, while a female player's bikini top is pulled down, exposing her breasts. For the next verses they go inside the house where the party is taking place and perform there. A small sequence of events shows a 'stuck-up' female partygoer being humiliated by being sprayed with shaken up malt liquor bottles, ruining her hairdo and outfit. The video ends with Dre dropping Snoop off back at his house, with Snoop walking unsteadily up the driveway. The MTV version makes edits, correcting the director claim which appears on the bottom left of the screen. Snoop wears a Weed leaf cap which is also blurred out (since 1993), in compliance with MTV's content restrictions. Dr. Dre, as was typical in many of his videos, wears a Chicago White Sox hat.

Charts

Year Chart Position
1993 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 2
1993 Hot Rap Singles 1
1993 Hot R&B Singles & Tracks 1
1993 Rhythmic Top 40 2
1993 Hot Dance Music/Club Play 22
1993 Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales 3
1994 UK Top 75 Singles 31
2006 Hot Ringtones 26
2007 40 Songs That Changed the World[8] 38

References

  1. ^ Rock On The Net: MTV: 100 Greatest Music Videos Ever Made
  2. ^ Rock On The Net: Dr. Dre
  3. ^ Top 100 Rap Songs
  4. ^ * * * Q Mag: 150 Rock Lists * * *
  5. ^ Acclaimed Music
  6. ^ Friday After Next (2002) - Soundtracks
  7. ^ GRAMMY.com
  8. ^ http://www.rollingstoneextras.com/patron40songs/
Preceded by Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks number one single
February 27, 1993 		Succeeded by
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