| Let the Beat Hit 'Em | |
| Cover: | Let_the_beat_hit'em.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam |
| Album: | Straight Outta Hell's Kitchen |
| Released: | 1991 |
| Recorded: | 1991 |
| Genre: | Hip house[1] |
| Length: | 4:38 |
| Label: | Columbia |
| Producer: | David Cole & Robert Clivillés |
| Prev Title: | Kiss the Tears Away |
| Prev Year: | 1989 |
| Next Title: | Where Were You When I Needed You |
| Next Year: | 1991 |
"Let the Beat Hit 'Em" is a song by American urban contemporary band Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, released as the first single from their fourth and final studio album, Straight Outta Hell's Kitchen (1991). The song spent one week at number-one on the US R&B chart in the week of September 14, 1991, and also reached No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2] On the US dance charts, it was the third and final number-one for the group.[3] It also peaked at number-one on the Canadian RPM dance chart.
On "Let the Beat Hit 'Em", Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam sampled "Ghetto Heaven" by The Family Stand, The Emotions' 1977 single "Best of My Love" and "Set It Off" by Strafe.[4] and Donald Byrd Think Twice.
"Let the Beat Hit 'Em" was sampled by Kylie Minogue on the track "Too Much of a Good Thing" off her 1991 album Let's Get To It.
Jose F. Promis from AllMusic viewed "Let the Beat Hit 'Em" as a "surprise 1991 house-dance smash".[5] J.D. Considine from The Baltimore Sun felt the music is "relentlessly danceable", describing the song as "insistent".[6] Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that here, the trio "ends a two-year recording silence with an insinuating pop/hip-hopper. Trademark production style of David Cole and Robert Clivillés is a fine complement to Lisa's appealing vocals. Pumped house version has already begun to jam in the clubs, while top 40 and urban radio should be joining the party any second now."[7] He added that the track "sported a deliciously contagious groove and Lisa's most spirited vocal in eons."[8]
Pan-European magazine Music & Media stated that it's produced by the "hottest team around lately", "for whom nothing can stop these beats anymore." They also noted that "just like on C&C's records, the main line of the chorus will remain in the listener's head for weeks."[9] A reviewer from People Magazine felt the song "reflect the producers' trademark '90s disco sound, minus the rock muscle that makes the Music Factory hum".[10] Al Walentis from Reading Eagle said the song "serves up the trio's most irresistible hook" since their 1987 hit "Head to Toe".[11] Stewart Walker from Toledo Blade remarked that "Let The Beat Hit 'Em" exemplified the "high-energy club feel" of the first half of the Straight Outta Hell's Kitchen album".[12]
A black-and-white music video was made to accompany the song, directed by German director Marcus Nispel.
In 1995, British DJ Pete Tong picked "Let the Beat Hit 'Em" as one of his "classic cuts", adding, "One of Clivilles & Cole's best remixes. You often find if you go into the studio where people are remixing there are loads of 12 inches lying on the floor because people are constantly inspired by what others are doing. In '91/'92 it was the perfect execution of what was going on in New York City."[13]
In 1996, British DJ and presenter Trevor Nelson chose the song as one of his favourites, "I chose this because C&C Music Factory wanted to make the perfect commercial dance record and, out of all the competition, this is the one, C&C is the best producer of dance records. Even though it's faster than most stuff I play now, it's always worked on the dance floor. It's not the coolest record I've ever bought but it's the most fun."[14]
In 1997 dance vocalist Shèna[15] [16] did a cover of "Let The Beat Hit Em" based on Clivilles' "Part Two" remix from 1991[17] and charted at number 28 in the UK Chart. This version was then used by Dutch DJ duo Sound De-Zign for their "Happiness" track in 2001, which reached number 19 in the UK chart in 2001, a song which chart analyst James Masterton thinks may have been the direct inspiration for a number one hit of 2022.[17] [18]
In 2012, Polish Porcys ranked "Let the Beat Hit 'Em" number 68 in their list of "100 Singles 1990–1999".[19]
In 2022, "B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All)" by Eliza Rose[20] and Interplanetary Criminal sampled the LL w/Love RC Mix[21] of the record, which charted at number 49[22] in the United Kingdom as "Let the Beat Hit 'Em, Part 2"[23] in 1991,[24] with "B.O.T.A" becoming a number 1 hit in that country[25] and a number one in Ireland.[26]
| Chart (1991) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[27] | 72 | |
| Canada Dance (RPM)[28] | 1 | |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[29] | 33 | |
| Europe (European Dance Radio)[30] | 24 | |
| France (SNEP)[31] | 36 | |
| UK Singles (OCC) | 17 | |
| UK Dance (Music Week)[32] | 2 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 37 | |
| US Hot R&B Singles (Billboard) | 1 | |
| US Hot Dance Club Play (Billboard) | 1 | |
| US Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard) | 1 |
There is also an unrelated song with the same title which has appeared in Konami's various Bemani music games.