| Gangster Trippin | |
| Cover: | Fatboy Slim - Gangster Tripping.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Fatboy Slim |
| Album: | You've Come a Long Way, Baby |
| B-Side: |
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| Length: | 5:20 |
| Label: | Skint |
| Producer: | Fatboy Slim |
| Prev Title: | The Rockafeller Skank |
| Prev Year: | 1998 |
| Next Title: | Praise You |
| Next Year: | 1999 |
"Gangster Tripping" (released as a single under the name "Gangster Trippin", which is also the title of the clean version that censors profanity) is a song by British big beat musician Fatboy Slim. It was released on 5 October 1998 as the second single from his second studio album, You've Come a Long Way, Baby (1998).
The song contains samples[1] from "Entropy" by DJ Shadow,[2] "Word Play" and "The Turntablist Anthem" by the X-Ecutioners, "Beatbox Wash" by the Dust Junkys (this track contains the song's chorus line), "Change the Mood" by Jackie Mittoo, "Sissy Walk" by Freedom Now Brothers, and "You Did It" by Ann Robinson. The song was featured in the 2006 PlayStation Portable game Lumines II and the 1999 film Go. The single peaked at 3 in the United Kingdom and No. 49 in Switzerland.
The recognizable "We gotta kick that gangsta shit" sample comes from the first recorded live performance by jazz rap duo Pete Rock & CL Smooth (sampled by DJ Shadow on "Entropy"). In the radio cut, it was re-edited for censorship purposes.
In 2013, Nicky Lockett (aka MC Tunes) of the Dust Junkys[3] won a three-year court case to recover unpaid royalties for use of his vocals in the main chorus of the song.
The music video for "Gangster Trippin", directed by Roman Coppola, consists simply of scenes of furniture sets exploding, shown from multiple angles, and often in slow-motion. Fatboy Slim himself makes a cameo in the video, being shown on a photograph on the mirror where a lady stands up from. According to MTV at the time, the script for the video contained just one line: "Blow stuff up".
The video shows certain similarities to the ending of Antonioni's Zabriskie Point where several pieces of furniture are blown up similarly in slow motion and from different angles. Director Coppola often praised the works of Antonioni in interviews.[4] [5]
Standard CD, 12-inch, and cassette single[6] [7] [8]
European CD single[9]
Japanese CD single[10]
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[11] | 75 |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[12] | 20 |
| Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[13] | 14 |
| Italy (Musica e dischi)[14] | 13 |
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 5 October 1998 | Skint | [16] | ||
| Japan | 14 October 1998 | CD | [17] | ||
| United States | 20 July 1999 | Alternative radio | [18] |