| I Got The... | |
| Cover: | I Got The...png |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Labi Siffre |
| Album: | Remember My Song |
| B-Side: | The Vulture |
| Released: | 2003 (as single) 1975 (as album track) |
| Length: |
|
| Label: | Pye (album release) Stateside (single release) |
| Prev Title: | City of Dreams |
| Prev Year: | 1991 |
| Next Title: | Love Is Love Is Love |
| Next Year: | 2020 |
"I Got The..." is a song by British musician Labi Siffre, originally released in 1975 as the opening track on his album Remember My Song.
The song gained a resurgence in popularity in 1999 when it was sampled by American rapper Eminem on his breakthrough hit "My Name Is". This newfound interest led to "I Got The..." being released as a single in 2003.
As with the other tracks on Remember My Song, "I Got The..." was written by Siffre and produced by Big Jim Sullivan and Derek Lawrence. The recording featured session musicians Chas Hodges on guitar and Dave Peacock on bass guitar, who would later become notable in their own right as Chas & Dave.[1] [2]
In 1999, a guitar and bass riff from "I Got The..." was sampled by the American rappers Eminem and Dr. Dre for Eminem's song "My Name Is", which became his breakthrough hit.
Siffre, who is openly gay, said in an interview that he refused permission for the sample until sexist and homophobic lyrics were removed from "My Name Is": He eventually allowed the sample when he was sent a censored "clean" version, though the "dirty" version continued to use the lyrics that he objected to.[3]
"I Got The..." was also sampled on P Diddy's "Bad Boy For Life" and Jay-Z's "Streets Is Watching" from his 1997 album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1.[4]
"I Got The..." appeared in the 2020 Better Call Saul episode "Bagman".[5]
According to Somehow Jazz:[6]