The Time Is Now (John Cena song) explained

The Time Is Now
Cover:John Cena - The Time Is Now.jpg
Type:single
Artist:John Cena and Tha Trademarc
Album:You Can't See Me
Released:March 17, 2005
Recorded:2004
Genre:Hip hop
Length:2:57
Label:WWE
Producer:Jake One
Prev Title:Untouchables
Prev Year:2003
Next Title:Bad Bad Man
Next Year:2005

"The Time Is Now" is a song by professional wrestler and actor John Cena. It is the current entrance theme used by Cena in WWE. Cena recorded the song in 2004 for his debut studio album, You Can't See Me. The song was released on March 17, 2005, as the lead single from the album on Columbia and WWE Music Group. The song was released as a single on the iTunes Store on June 20, 2011.[1]

The song is widely known as being part of the Internet meme "Unexpected John Cena".

Background

Cena made his television debut answering an open challenge by Kurt Angle on June 27, 2002.[2] In October, Cena and Billy Kidman took part in a tag team tournament to crown the first WWE Tag Team Champions of the SmackDown! brand, losing in the first round.[3] The next week, Cena turned on and attacked Kidman, blaming him for their loss, becoming a villain.[2] Shortly after the Kidman attack, on a Halloween themed episode of SmackDown, Cena dressed as Vanilla Ice performing a freestyle rap.[2] The next week, Cena received a new character: a rapper who cuts promos while rhyming.[2]

He performed his own theme song, "Basic Thugonomics", and it was featured on the WWE soundtrack album WWE Originals. He also recorded a song, "Untouchables", for the company's next soundtrack album . He collaborated on the song "H-U-S-T-L-E remix" along with Murs, E-40, and Chingo Bling.[4] Cena's debut album, You Can't See Me, was recorded with his cousin Tha Trademarc.[5]

Composition

"The Time Is Now" was composed by Cena along with his cousin, Marc Predka (better known by his stage name Tha Trademarc). Having recorded the album with Cena, Predka was featured on virtually every track of the album. Production was handled by Jake One. The song contains samples of "Ante Up" by M.O.P. which in turn samples "Soul Sister, Brown Sugar" by Sam & Dave, and Pete Schofield and The Canadians' rendition of "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" originally by Vicki Lawrence.[6] [7]

On October 14, 2008, M.O.P. filed suit in a New York Federal Court against Sony BMG, Stephanie Music Publishing, Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company, WWE and John Cena. The group alleged that Cena and the WWE stole parts of their song "Ante Up" for his theme song, arguing that the song was unlawfully sampled and clearly repeated three times, during the introduction, the second and third chorus. M.O.P. sought the destruction of the song and $150,000 in damages. They dropped the lawsuit two months later.[8] [9]

Usage in video games

The song was used in the video games WWE Day of Reckoning 2, SmackDown! vs RAW 2006, SmackDown vs RAW 2007, SmackDown vs RAW 2008, SmackDown vs RAW 2009, SmackDown vs RAW 2010, SmackDown vs RAW 2011, WWE All Stars, WWE '12, WWE '13, WWE 2K14, WWE 2K15, WWE 2K16, WWE 2K17, WWE 2K18, WWE 2K19,[10] WWE 2K20, WWE 2K Battlegrounds, WWE 2K22, WWE 2K23, Fortnite, and WWE 2K24.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: WWE: The Time Is Now (John Cena) - Single by John Cena & Tha Trademarc on iTunes. iTunes. 2016-03-21.
  2. Hamilton, Ian. Wrestling's Sinking Ship (p.67)
  3. Web site: SmackDown! results – October 10, 2002. May 9, 2007. Online World of Wrestling. https://web.archive.org/web/20070930230228/http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/smackdown/021010.html. September 30, 2007. live. mdy-all.
  4. Web site: H-U-S-T-L-E, MP3 Album page. May 17, 2007. eMusic. https://web.archive.org/web/20070926230043/http://www.emusic.com/album/10851/10851182.html?fref=150051 . September 26, 2007. dead.
  5. Web site: The Unlikely Origin of WWE Star John Cena's Entrance Music . Roche . Jason . L.A. Weekly . 23 March 2015 . 2018-07-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180104160329/https://www.laweekly.com/music/the-unlikely-origin-of-wwe-star-john-cenas-entrance-music-5442988 . 4 January 2018 . live . dmy-all .
  6. WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008. Yuke's. THQ. 2007.
  7. Web site: Cena & Shaq's time is now on "Carpool Karaoke" on Sept. 5 . WWE . 2018-07-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171206151513/http://www.wwe.com/article/john-cena-shaquille-o-neal-carpool-karaoke-sept-5 . 2017-12-06 . live .
  8. Web site: The Royalty Network vs. Sony BMG et al. . 2012-05-21 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110930034526/http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_documents/4028_cena_opt1.pdf . 2011-09-30 .
  9. Web site: M.O.P.'s Lawsuit Against John Cena Voluntarily Dismissed. March 11, 2015. December 19, 2008. AbduSalaam, Ismael. All Hip Hop. https://web.archive.org/web/20150309231858/http://allhiphop.com/2008/12/19/m-o-p-s-lawsuit-against-john-cena-voluntarily-dismissed/. March 9, 2015. live. mdy-all.
  10. Web site: John Cena age, wife, movies, theme song, net worth and everything you need to know about him. . sportskeeda.com . 2018-07-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161102185839/http://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/john-cena-age-wife-movies-theme-song-net-worth-and-everything-you-need-to-know-about-him . 2016-11-02 . live .