| Bust a Move | |
| Cover: | Bustamove cover.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Young MC |
| Album: | Stone Cold Rhymin' |
| Recorded: | 1989[1] |
| Genre: | Hip hop |
| Length: | 4:20 |
| Label: |
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| Producer: |
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| Prev Title: | Know How |
| Prev Year: | 1988 |
| Next Title: | Principal's Office |
| Next Year: | 1989 |
"Bust a Move" is a song by British-American rapper Young MC from his 1989 debut album, Stone Cold Rhymin'. The song is built on a sample of "Found a Child" by the group Ballin' Jack. The drums, produced by a LinnDrum, are sampled from the song "Radio-Activity" by RoyalCash. The breakdown segment contains a combination of beats sampled from the songs "Scorpio" by Dennis Coffey and the Detroit Guitar Band, and "Daytime Hustler" by Bette Midler. "Bust a Move" also featured guest vocals by Crystal Blake and bass guitar by Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, who both appear in the music video.
Released as a single on May 22, 1989, "Bust a Move" is Young MC's biggest hit, reaching number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topping the charts in Australia in 1990. The song stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 for 39 weeks and 20 weeks in the top 40, winning the 1990 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance. In 2008, the song was ranked number 47 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop". The single was certified platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in January 1990.
| Chart (1989–1990) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[2] | 7 | |
| US 12-inch Singles Sales (Billboard)[3] | 5 | |
| US Dance Club Play (Billboard)[4] | 7 | |
| US Hot Black Singles (Billboard)[5] | 9 | |
| US Hot Rap Singles (Billboard)[6] | 2 |
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | May 22, 1989 | ||||
| United Kingdom | July 3, 1989 | 4th & B'way | [10] | ||
| Japan | November 25, 1989 | Mini-CD | Polystar | [11] |
The song is featured in the films Uncle Buck (1989), Dude, Where's My Car? (2000), See Spot Run (2001), Grind (2003), You, Me and Dupree (2006), The Blind Side and 17 Again (2009), The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) and It (2017). Romeo sampled the song's music and hook for his song "Big Moves" on the soundtrack of the 2001 film Max Keeble's Big Move. It also appears in the 2009 film Up in the Air, in which Young MC has a cameo performing the song.[12]
Bust a Move is a playable song in the rhythm game Dance Central (2010), and appears on the soundtrack of the 2016 video game Forza Horizon 3.[13] The song was regularly used in the television show My Name Is Earl as Randy's favorite party song. It was performed by Will Schuester in the Glee episode "Mash-Up", and was sung during karaoke in The Big Bang Theory episode "The Positive Negative Reaction". The song is featured in the Futurama episode "Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV", the Lucifer episode "Lady Parts", and the King of the Hill episode “What Makes Bobby Run?”