"Gangster Tripping" (released as a single under the name "Gangster Trippin", which is also the title of the clean version that censors profanity) is a song by British
big beat
Big beat is an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno. The term has been used by the British music industry to describe music by artists such as the ...
musician
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known as Fatboy Slim, is an English musician and DJ who helped popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. His music makes extensive use of Sampling (music), samples from eclectic ...
. It was released on 5 October 1998 as the second single from his second studio album, ''
You've Come a Long Way, Baby
''You've Come a Long Way, Baby'' is the second studio album by English electronic music producer Fatboy Slim (Norman Cook). It was first released on 19 October 1998 in the United Kingdom by Skint Records and a day later in the United States by A ...
'' (1998).
Samples
The song contains samples from "Entropy" by
DJ Shadow
Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972 in San Jose, California, San Jose, California), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ and record producer. His debut studio album, ''Endtroducing.....,'' was released in 1996.
He uses l ...
,
[WhoSampled – Discover Fatboy Slim's Sample-Based Music and Cover Songs](_blank)
/ref> "Word Play" and "The Turntablist Anthem" by the X-Ecutioners
The X-Ecutioners, originally known as X-Men, are a group of American hip hop DJs/ turntablists from New York City, New York. The group formed in 1989 and currently consists of three DJs, including Total Eclipse, DJ Boogie Blind, and DJ Precis ...
,Jackie Mittoo
Donat Roy Mittoo (3 March 1948 – 16 December 1990), better known as Jackie Mittoo, was a Jamaican-Canadian keyboardist, songwriter and musical director. He was a member of The Skatalites and musical director of the Studio One record label.
...
, "Sissy Walk" by Freedom Now Brothers, and "You Did It" by Ann Robinson
Ann Robinson (born May 25, 1929) is an American former actress and stunt horse rider. She had a leading role in the science-fiction classic ''The War of the Worlds (1953 film), The War of the Worlds'', and starred in the 1954 film ''Dragnet (1 ...
. The song was featured in the 2006 PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...
game ''Lumines II
is a 2006 puzzle video game developed by Q Entertainment for the PlayStation Portable (PSP). It was released in November 2006 in the PAL region and North America by Buena Vista Games, and in February 2007 in Japan by Bandai Namco Games. The ob ...
'' and the 1999 film '' Go''. The single peaked at 3 in the United Kingdom and No. 49 in Switzerland.
The recognizable "''We gotta kick that gangsta shit''" sample comes from the first recorded live performance by jazz rap duo Pete Rock & CL Smooth
Pete Rock & CL Smooth were an American hip hop duo from Mount Vernon, New York. They made their debut with their 1991 EP, '' All Souled Out'' and followed that with their 1992 LP ''Mecca and the Soul Brother''.
Career
1991–1994: The Golden Ag ...
(sampled by DJ Shadow on "Entropy"). In the radio cut, it was re-edited for censorship purposes.
In 2013, Nicky Lockett (aka MC Tunes) of the Dust Junkys[MC Tunes wins court case over use of vocals](_blank)
/ref> won a three-year court case to recover unpaid royalties for use of his vocals in the main chorus of the song.
Music video
The music video for "Gangster Trippin", directed by Roman Coppola
Roman François Coppola (born April 22, 1965) is an American filmmaker and music video director. He is the son of Francis Ford and Eleanor Coppola, and is known for his film collaborations with Wes Anderson.
Coppola serves as president of fi ...
, consists simply of scenes of furniture sets exploding, shown from multiple angles, and often in slow-motion. Fatboy Slim himself makes a cameo in the video, being shown on a photograph on the mirror where a lady stands up from. According to MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
at the time, the script for the video contained just one line: "Blow stuff up".
The video shows certain similarities to the ending of Antonioni's ''Zabriskie Point
Zabriskie Point is a part of the Amargosa Range located east of Death Valley in Death Valley National Park in California, United States, noted for its erosional landscape. It is composed of sediments from Furnace Creek Lake, which dried up 5 mil ...
'' where several pieces of furniture are blown up similarly in slow motion and from different angles. Director Coppola often praised the works of Antonioni in interviews.
Track listings
Standard CD, 12-inch, and cassette single
# "Gangster Trippin"
# "The World Went Down"
# "Jack It Up (DJ Delite)"
European CD single
# "Gangster Trippin"
# "The World Went Down"
Japanese CD single
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
{{Authority control
1998 songs
1998 singles
Astralwerks singles
Fatboy Slim songs
Music videos directed by Roman Coppola
Songs written by Norman Cook
Skint Records singles
UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles