I'm Outstanding
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"I'm Outstanding" is a song by American former professional basketball player
Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...
, released in November 1993 by
Jive Records Jive Records (later stylized as JIVE Records) was a British-American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary of the Zomba Group of Companies, Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chic ...
as the second single from his debut album, '' Shaq Diesel'' (1993). The song was co-written by O'Neal with producer
Erick Sermon Erick Sermon (born November 25, 1968) is an American rapper and producer. He is best known as one-third—alongside PMD & DJ Scratch—of 1980s/1990s hip hop group EPMD and for his production work. Early life Erick Sermon was born on November ...
, Alisa Yarbrough and Raymound Calhoun. The single features several samples and was a minor success, making it to number 47 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 70 on the UK Singles Chart. Its accompanying music video was directed by Jim Swaffield and shot in
Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...
.


Samples

"I'm Outstanding" sampled the following songs: *" Don't Stop the Music" by Yarbrough & Peoples *" The Payback" by
James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...
*"
Outstanding "Outstanding" is a song originally performed by the Gap Band and written by member Raymond Calhoun. The song originally appeared on the group's platinum-selling 1982 album ''Gap Band IV''. It is one of their signature songs and biggest hits, rea ...
" by
The Gap Band The Gap Band was an American Contemporary R&B, R&B and funk band that rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. The band consisted of three brothers: Charlie Wilson (musician), Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson, along with other members; it wa ...
*" Jingling Baby" by
LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...


Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...
from ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' commented, "Basketball superstar edges closer to getting much-desired
hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
credibility with this
Erick Sermon Erick Sermon (born November 25, 1968) is an American rapper and producer. He is best known as one-third—alongside PMD & DJ Scratch—of 1980s/1990s hip hop group EPMD and for his production work. Early life Erick Sermon was born on November ...
-produced kicker, which is fueled by a well-placed sample from '
Outstanding "Outstanding" is a song originally performed by the Gap Band and written by member Raymond Calhoun. The song originally appeared on the group's platinum-selling 1982 album ''Gap Band IV''. It is one of their signature songs and biggest hits, rea ...
' by
the Gap Band The Gap Band was an American Contemporary R&B, R&B and funk band that rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. The band consisted of three brothers: Charlie Wilson (musician), Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson, along with other members; it wa ...
. O'Neal's lyrical chops are as puffed up and boastful as any rapper worth his salt. He displays a lot of promise here, and is aided by a radio-friendly hook that could connect with open-minded programmers." Pan-European magazine ''
Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...
'' wrote, "The 7 foot 3 master of disaster of the basketball pitch slowly raps his own impressive biography—about the young, gifted and black who made it outside of the gettho."


Music video

The music video for "I'm Outstanding" was directed by American director Jim Swaffield and shot in
Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...
. Roger Tonry directed photography, and J. Nardelli, Chris Wagoner and Keith Milton produced.


Single track listing


A-side

#"I'm Outstanding" ( LP version) – 4:07 #"I'm Outstanding" (Funk Lord remix) – 3:55


B-side

#"I'm Outstanding" (808
instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...
) – 4:04 #"I'm Outstanding" (Funk Lord remix instrumental) – 3:56 #"Ode to Shaquille" – 2:07


Charts


References

1993 singles 1993 songs Shaquille O'Neal songs Jive Records singles Song recordings produced by Erick Sermon Songs written by Erick Sermon Songs written by Shaquille O'Neal {{1990s-hiphop-song-stub