"Dance (Ass)", often stylized "Dance (A$$)", is a song by American rapper

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. He met Kanye West as a teenager, and signed with his record label GOOD Music, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2007. He gained popul ...

, released as the third single from his debut studio album, '' Finally Famous'' (2011). It was added to urban radio formats on September 20, 2011 as the album's third official single. The official remix of the song features

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

. It samples

MC Hammer Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper known for hit songs such as "U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit", and "Pumps and a Bump", flashy dance movements, e ...

's "

U Can't Touch This "U Can't Touch This" is a song co-written, produced, and performed by American rapper MC Hammer. It was released in May 1990 by Capitol Records as the third single from his third album, ''Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em'' (1990), and has been con ...

", which in turn samples

Rick James James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in his tee ...

's single "

Super Freak "Super Freak" is a 1981 single produced and performed by American singer Rick James. The song, co-written by James and Alonzo Miller, was first released on James' fifth album, '' Street Songs'' (1981) and became one of James' signature songs. "F ...

Critical reception

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' said it is a "stale stripper anthem out of synch with what surrounds it. The production is heavy on vocal hooks, synths, and chattering beats, but the focus is Sean’s wit and insistent flow." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' complimented the song's use of MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" and further went on to say that the song "basically cribs its chorus (uncredited) from the oeuvre of

DJ Assault Craig De Shan Adams (born October 19, 1977), better known as DJ Assault or Craig Diamonds, is an electronic musician and producer known for pioneering Detroit booty music and the ghettotech genre. Adams was born in Detroit and relocated to the su ...

, the Detroit ghettotech innovator. Nowhere does Big Sean sound more confident or hilarious." ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' gave a positive review of the track and called it freewheeling, fast-footed, and full of swagger. ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'' complimented Sean's performance on the track and said "he took his microphone and turned it into an extension of his phallus, waving it down there like a gleeful toddler as the track imbued new meaning to MC Hammer's signature phrase 'Hammer Time', released in 1990 to the artist Hammer Time." ''Ology'' called it a positive minority in the album and complimented the "flow-flip" and "low bass tones" in the song. HipHopDX commented on the song and said that it "narrowly escapes formulaic territory by injecting enough personality, comedy and verbal gymnastics to ably complement Da Internz' pounding, dance-ready bassline." ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' did not favor the track and called it repetitive and minimalist compared to most of the other tracks on the album.

Music video

The music video of the song's remix version premiered on

Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

on November 1, 2011.Big Sean – Dance (A$$) Remix ft. Nicki Minaj
since then it has received over 42 million views. YouTube (November 1, 2011). Retrieved on February 6, 2012.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Radio and release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dance (ASS) 2011 singles Big Sean songs Nicki Minaj songs GOOD Music singles Def Jam Recordings singles Songs written by Nicki Minaj Songs about dancing Song recordings produced by Da Internz 2011 songs Songs written by Big Sean Songs written by Rick James