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Production Credits:

So What'Cha Want


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First Appearance: Check Your Head LP, 21 April 1992
Written by: Beastie Boys
Performed by: Beastie Boys
Production Notes: Engineered by Mario Caldato, produced by Beastie Boys and Mario Caldato. Recorded and mixed at G-Son Studios, Atwater Village, CA. Sequenced at PCP Labs. So What'cha Want (Soul Assassin Remix) remixed by DJ Muggs for the Soul Assassins.

Behind the Beats and Lyrics...

Samples:

  • Biz Markie
  • "I've Been Watching You" by Southside Movement - Moving South (1975) by Southside Movement
  • "Just Rhymin' With Biz" by Big Daddy Kane - Long Live the Kane (1988) by Big Daddy Kane

References:

  • Eddie Harris - tenor saxophone jazz musician
  • Paris - capital of France
  • Spoonie Gee - old school rap artist known as the "love rapper" for his romantic hip-hop style
  • Chevy Impala - Chevrolet automobile
  • Wisk - namebrand laundry detergent
  • Ready-Whip - namebrand of whipped dessert topping
  • Dr. Spock [1904-1998] - Benjamin Spock, a world-famous pediatrician
  • Off the Wall - a street game in which a rubber ball is thrown against a wall by one player while other players scramble to catch it
  • Victor the Cleaner - film character from 1990 French film Nikita and 1993 American film Point of No Return
  • Gardena - city in SW California

Sample & Reference Breakdown:

  • "Just plug me in just like I was Eddie Harris" references the song "Plug Me In" by Eddie Harris
  • "You can't front on that" sample: Biz Markie
  • "I'm like Spoonie Gee I'm the Metropolitician" references the lyrics in "Spoonin' Rap" by Spoonie Gee: "My name is Spoonie Gee and I wanna be known as the metropolitician of the microphone"
  • "But the sweat is getting wet around the ring around your collar" is a reference to a Wisk laundry detergent commercial slogan
  • "I want you off the wall if you're playing the wall" is a term used by baseball coaches in directing their outfielders.
  • Guitar and bassline sample: "I've Been Watching You" by Southside Movement
  • scream sample: "Just Rhymin' With Biz" by Big Daddy Kane screamed by Biz Markie

Commentary:

Beastie Boys

"Adam Horovitz had a couple of loops on his SP 1200 which we thought were cool. We put them on the two-inch tape with Mario, but then ended up playing over the samples, eventually replacing them all together. Adam played some guitar parts, I played some beats on the kit, and Mark Nishita did a few takes of some funky organ that we sampled as well. In a last-minute flurry, the vocals came together, and the Biz was sampled from an earlier session he had done with us, making the song complete" - Michael Diamond, 1999

Press & Print Media:

"...when Mike D raps 'I think I'm losing my mind this time, I think I'm losing my mind...' he sounds like he's speaking through a malfunctioning megaphone" - Newsday, 1992

"...a subterranean swirl, [So What'cha Want] recalls the rappers' former uncaged energy" - People, 1992

"The straight up street [So What'cha Want] shows and proves that [the Beasties] still have what it takes to make heads nod on the MC'in tip" - The Source, 1992

 

Released Versions:

So What'Cha Want
So What'Cha Want (A Cappella)
So What'Cha Want (All The Way Live Freestyle Version)
So What'Cha Want (Beastie Boys Vs Led Zepplin)
So What'Cha Want (Butt Naked Version)
So What'Cha Want (Cheap Cologne Remix)
So What'Cha Want (Green Mix)
So What'Cha Want (Instrumental)
So What'Cha Want (Live)
So What'Cha Want (Radio Freestyle)
So What'Cha Want (Single Version)
So What'Cha Want (Soul Assassin Remix Version)
So What'Cha Want (Soul Assassin Remix Version) (Instrumental)
So What'Cha Want Lady Madonna (Beastie Boys Vs The Beatles)

Live:

Performed in 279 known Concerts.

First known Performance:
17-May-1992 : Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States

Last known Performance:
12-Jun-2009 : Great Stage Park, Manchester, TN, United States

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