It's Goin' Down (X-Ecutioners song) explained

It's Goin' Down
Cover:Xecutioners itsgoindown.jpg
Type:single
Artist:the X-Ecutioners featuring Mike Shinoda and Mr. Hahn
Album:Built from Scratch
Released:11 March 2002
Recorded:2001
Genre:
Length:
  • 4:08 (album version)
  • 3:32 (radio version)
Label:
Producer:Mike Shinoda
Chronology:The X-Ecutioners
Prev Title:Música Negra (Black Music)/Wordplay
Prev Year:1997

"It's Goin' Down" is a song by American turntablists the X-Ecutioners. It features two members of American rock band Linkin Park, rapper Mike Shinoda and turntablist Joe Hahn. It is often mistaken for a Linkin Park track due to their involvement. It was released as the only single from The X-Ecutioners' second studio album Built from Scratch, which was originally released on February 26, 2002. The single was released in March 2002 in CD and vinyl format.

Background

While the song is foremost credited to the X-Ecutioners, it was written and performed primarily by Shinoda and Hahn of the band Linkin Park. It was also produced by Shinoda. The song includes samples of the Xzibit song "Year 2000" and Linkin Park's demo tracks "Step Up" (originally from the original and reissue of the EP Hybrid Theory) and "Dedicated (Demo 1999)" (originally from the LP Underground 2.0 EP). The chorus and bridge of the song both refer to the group as "X-Men", an old name that they changed in order to avoid accusations of copyright infringement.

"It's Goin' Down" peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart and number 28 in Australia. In the US, it reached number 85 on the Billboard Hot 100,[3] number 13 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart[4] and number 29 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

The song also samples Linkin Park songs on two occasions during the intro. First being "Watch them flee/Hip hop heads", which comes from the track "Dedicated (Demo 1999)". The second is a sample saying, "You do it like this," which is from "Step Up". Linkin Park performed "It's Goin' Down" often between 2002 and 2004. They also collaborated with American rapper Snoop Dogg in one performance in which he said a few verses from "Gin and Juice".[5]

History

In an article from Resident Advisor, the song has been carefully described as "a rap rock style to expect from Linkin Park being taken into the X-Ecution chamber, ready to be finally cut up, getting a lot of the JJJ play already, and is quite a decent track with a pretty average and flowless rap from Shinoda."[6] An instrumental version of "It's Goin' Down" on the 12-inch vinyl format is included in the single itself.

Music video

The music video for "It's Goin' Down" also features Linkin Park's Rob Bourdon on drums, Dave Farrell on bass, and Static-X guitarist and frontman Wayne Static on guitar, although they were not involved in the recording of the song. Linkin Park guitarist Brad Delson and late lead vocalist Chester Bennington also made a cameo appearance, as well as other well-known musicians such as Xzibit, Kris Kohls & Mike Ransom of Adema & DJ Babu of Dilated Peoples.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2002)! scope="col"
Peak
position
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[7] 54

Year-end charts

Chart (2002)! scope="col"
Position
UK Singles (OCC)[8] 182

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The 13 best nu metal videos. 20 February 2018.
  2. Web site: The Best Rap-Rock Songs. Complex.
  3. [{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=the x-ecutioners|chart=all}} The X-Ecutioners Album & Song Chart History ]. Billboard. 2010-09-13.
  4. http://www.billboard.com/charts/2002-05-18/alternative-songs Billboard
  5. Web site: Linkin Park Live Guide.
  6. DJ Robotek RA Reviews: X-ecutioners - Built from Scratch on Sony (Album) Resident Advisor Retrieved July 31, 2014
  7. X-Ecutioners. .
  8. Web site: The Official UK Singles Chart 2002. UKChartsPlus. May 8, 2020.