"One Step Ahead" is a song by American soul singer Aretha Franklin. The single containing the song was released by Columbia Records in 1965. "One Step Ahead" was the A-side of the single, and peaked at #18 on the

Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart. The B-side, "I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face," was taken from her 1964 album ''Runnin' Out Of Fools''. The single was released two years before Aretha achieved stardom when she joined Atlantic Records. "One Step Ahead" was not included on any of her Columbia studio albums, and remains one of her rarest releasesAretha Franklin: One Step Revisited
Retrieved September 14, 2013. In 1999, hip-hop producer

Ayatollah Ayatollah ( ; fa, آیت‌الله, āyatollāh) is an honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy in Iran and Iraq that came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Etymology The title is originally derived from Arabic word p ...

sampled its chorus for the track " Ms. Fat Booty", produced for

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

. The same vocal part was sampled by

Clutchy Hopkins Clutchy Hopkins is purportedly a multi-instrumentalist musician based out of California. His existence has not yet been fully verified, though he is widely believed to be a pseudonym for one of several popular DJs. The true identity of the pers ...

for his "Sleepers Never Dig, Diggers Never Sleep Bootleg" and

High Contrast Lincoln Barrett (born 18 September 1979), better known by the stage name High Contrast, is a Welsh electronic music producer, DJ and record producer. He produces drum and bass music, and his 2009 album ''Confidential'' reached BPI gold cer ...

for his song "Remind Me". In 2022, hip-hop and rap producer DJ Scheme sampled multiple segments from the song, including the chorus part sampled in "Ms. Fat Booty", for "

Surround Sound Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener (surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to s ...

" which he produced for

JID Destin Choice Route (born October 31, 1990), better known by his stage name JID (also stylized J.I.D), is an American rapper. He is a part of the musical collective Spillage Village, founded by EarthGang in 2010, with Hollywood JB, JordxnBryant ...

's album ''

The Forever Story ''The Forever Story'' is the third studio album by American rapper JID. It was released on August 26, 2022, through Dreamville and Interscope Records. The album features guest appearances from Kenny Mason, EarthGang, 21 Savage, Baby Tate, L ...

''.

Use in movies

Aretha Franklin's recording of the song has appeared in the music documentary ''

Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, the population of Muscle Shoals was 13,146. The estimated popu ...

'' (2013) and in the dramatic film, '' Moonlight'' (2016).

References

{{Aretha Franklin 1965 songs 1965 singles Aretha Franklin songs Columbia Records singles Songs written by Charles Singleton (songwriter) Songs written by Eddie Snyder