I Got 5 on It explained

I Got 5 on It
Cover:I Got 5 on It.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Luniz featuring Michael Marshall
Album:Operation Stackola
B-Side:So Much Drama
Released:May 23, 1995
Recorded:1994
Genre:
Length:4:13
Producer:Tone Capone
Next Title:Playa Hata
Next Year:1995

"I Got 5 on It" is a mobb music song by American rap duo Luniz featuring R&B singer Michael Marshall, released in May 1995 by C-Note, Noo Trybe and Virgin as the lead single from the duo's debut album, Operation Stackola (1995). The song reached number two in Germany, number three in the United Kingdom and number eight in the United States. It is a drug anthem about the consumption of marijuana.[1]

Its title and chorus refer to the practice of splitting the cost of a marijuana purchase and claiming five dollars' worth of it. The single was certified Platinum by the RIAA on October 31, 1995, and sold one million copies domestically.[2] [3]

In 2022, Pitchfork ranked "I Got 5 on It" one of "The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s".

Content

The title relates to the following lyrics:

"Kinda broke this evening, y'all, so all I got's five, I got five"
"Unless you pull out the fat, crispy five-dollar bill on the real before it's history"
"I got 5 on it, let's go half on a sack"

The track is performed by Yukmouth and Numskull, who duet about splitting the cost of a $10 bag of weed before going to a convenience store to buy Tanqueray Gin, Carlo Rossi wine, Arizona brand soft drinks, and a Swisher Sweets cigar to break down and convert into a blunt. The reprised version of the track suggests that the original 'five on it' came from a man who had prepaid Numskull for yet-undelivered cocaine.

The track samples Club Nouveau's "Why You Treat Me So Bad" (1987), Kool and the Gang's "Jungle Boogie" (1973) and Audio Two's "Top Billin'" (1987).[4]

Bay Ballas Remix

A remixed single and video were released to promote the album. The song was remixed by the original producer, Tone Capone, and features additional vocal performances by fellow Bay Area rappers Dru Down, E-40, Richie Rich, Shock G, and Spice 1.[5] Warren G makes a cameo in the music video.

Critical reception

Heidi Siegmund Cuda from Los Angeles Times said, "On tracks like “I Got 5 on It”, the two keep their feet so close to East Oakland’s rough streets they’re picking the glass shards off the soles of their shoes."[6] Simon Price from Melody Maker commented, "My, is it just me, or doesn't "I Got 5 on It" have that Single of the Year feel about it already — a classic piece of West Coastism to follow "Gin & Juice", "You Know How We Do It", "Regulate" and "Gangsta's Paradise" [...]?[7] Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Already a massive smash in the US, this slow rap jam, reminiscent of Warren G's "Regulate", has all the potential to emulate that success elsewhere thanks to a sparse production and an irresistible hook."[8]

A reviewer from Music Week gave the song four out of five, describing it as "catchy US hip hop that makes use of the melody from Timex Social Club's mid-Eighties hit "Thinkin' About Ya". Has all the prerequisites to sell well."[9] James Hyman from the Record Mirror Dance Update commented, "Just like Jazzy Jeff's infectious "Summertime", another Kool & The Gang-inspired laid-back 'n' lazy rap is getting heads nodding everywhere."[10]

Pitchfork ranked it one of "The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s" in 2022, commenting, "their lone hit, about going 50-50 on a dime bag, and on paper it’s a celebration of the rituals and etiquette of social smoking. But the musky, nocturnal beat, built from a corroded sample of R&B group Club Nouveau's late '80s hit "Why You Treat Me So Bad", turned the track into an exercise in paranoia."[11]

Track listings

A1. "I Got 5 on It" (clean version) – 4:13

A2. "I Got 5 on It" (instrumental) – 4:14

B1. "So Much Drama" (LP version) (street) featuring Nik Nack – 5:14

B2. "So Much Drama" (instrumental) – 5:14

  1. "I Got 5 on It" (clean short mix) – 3:59
  2. "I Got 5 on It" (clean bay ballas vocal remix) featuring Dru Down, E-40, Humpty Hump (Shock G), Richie Rich, and Spice 1 – 4:12
  3. "I Got 5 on It" (gumbo funk remix) remixed by N.O. Joe (4:50)
  4. "I Got 5 on It" (clean weedless mix) – 4:12

A1. "I Got 5 on It" (clean short mix)

A2. "I Got 5 on It" (clean bay ballas vocal remix) featuring Dru Down, E-40, Humpty Hump (Shock G), Richie Rich, and Spice 1

A3. "I Got 5 on It" (drop zone rub 1)

A4. "I Got 5 on It" (drop zone rub 2)

B1. "I Got 5 on It" (clean short mix)

B2. "I Got 5 on It" (clean bay ballas vocal remix) featuring Dru Down, E-40, Humpty Hump (Shock G), Richie Rich (2), and Spice 1

B3. "I Got 5 on It" (drop zone rub 1)

B4. "I Got 5 on It" (drop zone rub 2)

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1995–1996)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[12] 52
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Denmark (IFPI)[13] 5
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[14] 6
Europe (European Dance Radio)[15] 6
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Year-end charts

Chart (1995)Position
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 43
US Billboard Hot 100[18] 36
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[19] 31
Chart (1996)Position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[20] 34
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[21] 18
Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia)[22] 22
France (SNEP)[23] 32
Germany (Official German Charts)[24] 52
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[25] 28
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[26] 32
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[27] 58
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 22
UK Singles (OCC)[29] 47

In popular culture

The original song and a suspenseful orchestrated remix version play a crucial role in Jordan Peele's 2019 horror film Us. The track's main melody is used as a leitmotif during the film's climax. The remix is listed on the official soundtrack as the "Tethered Mix". It is featured in the films Havoc and The Last Black Man in San Francisco.[30] New York Mets third baseman David Wright had the song as his walk-up music for most of his career because he wore number 5 for the team.[31]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Caples. Garrett. 2019-03-25. How 'Us' Turned the Weed Anthem 'I Got 5 on It' Into a Creepy Horror Theme (Published 2019). en-US. The New York Times. 2021-02-23. 0362-4331.
  2. Best-Selling Records of 1995 . Billboard. BPI Communications. January 20, 1996 . May 5, 2015 . 56 . 0006-2510. 108. 3.
  3. Book: Roberts, David. 2006 . British Hit Singles & Albums. 19th. Guinness World Records Limited . London. 1-904994-10-5. 333.
  4. https://www.whosampled.com/Luniz/I-Got-5-on-It/ I Got 5 on It by Luniz feat. Mike Marshall | WhoSampled
  5. News: Drake . David . February 27, 2013 . The 25 Best Posse Cuts in Rap History . February 11, 2024 . Complex.
  6. News: Heidi. Siegmund Cuda. In Brief. Los Angeles Times. 6 August 1995. 22 January 2023.
  7. Simon. Price. Albums. Melody Maker. March 23, 1996. 38. May 9, 2024. Simon Price.
  8. New Releases: Singles . . 12 . 44 . November 4, 1995 . 12 . May 19, 2021 .
  9. Reviews: Singles . . January 27, 1996 . 27 . May 23, 2021 .
  10. James . Hyman . Hot Vinyl . Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert) . January 27, 1996 . 8 . May 23, 2021 . James Hyman.
  11. Web site: The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s. Pitchfork. Evan Rytlewski. September 27, 2022 .
  12. Web site: The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 09 Jun 1996. ARIA. February 25, 2016.
  13. Top National Sellers. Music & Media. 13. 10. March 9, 1996. 29. April 12, 2020.
  14. Hits of the World . . March 16, 1996 . 11. 67. 108 . . 0006-2510.
  15. European Dance Radio Top 25. Music & Media. 13. 11. March 16, 1996. 20. April 26, 2023.
  16. "I Got 5 on It", UK Singles Chart (1998 issue) Official Charts Company (Retrieved July 23, 2008)
  17. Web site: Årslista Singlar – År 1995. Sverigetopplistan. sv. February 29, 2020.
  18. Web site: Billboard Top 100 - 1995 . August 27, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090815124541/http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1995 . August 15, 2009 .
  19. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 1995. Billboard. May 1, 2021.
  20. 1996 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved July 23, 2008)
  21. 1996 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved July 23, 2008)
  22. 1996 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved July 23, 2008)
  23. 1996 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved April 20, 2010)
  24. Web site: Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts. de . . August 7, 2015.
  25. Web site: Single top 100 over 1996 . Top40 . nl . April 19, 2010.
  26. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Single 1996. MegaCharts. nl. February 29, 2020.
  27. Web site: Årslista Singlar – År 1996. Sverigetopplistan. sv. February 29, 2020.
  28. 1996 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved July 23, 2008)
  29. Top 100 Singles 1996. Music Week. 25. January 18, 1997.
  30. News: Ducker . Eric . How The Last Black Man in San Francisco Soundtrack Reshapes the City's Hippie Nostalgia . December 10, 2023 . . June 17, 2019.
  31. News: Berg . Ted . David Wright changes tune of World Series with monster Game 3 performance . December 10, 2023 . . October 31, 2015.