"I Got a Man" is a song by American hip hop

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

Positive K Positive K (sometimes stylized as +K) (born Darryl Gibson on August 9, 1967) is an American MC and songwriter from the Bronx, New York City, New York, and one of the original artists of the First Priority Music camp. He is best known for his hi ...

. It was released in December 1992 as the first single from his debut album '' The Skills Dat Pay Da Bills''.

Creation of the song

The song features spoken word dialog between a man and woman character, in which the man repeatedly asks the woman out and she continually rebuffs his advances by pointing out she is already in a relationship. In creating the song, Positive K provided not only the man's dialogue but also the woman's dialogue by raising the pitch of his voice using studio technology.

Release

The single peaked at number 14 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on the chart week of March 20, 1993, making it the rapper's only Top 40 hit. It sold over 500,000 copies and was certified

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by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

Music video

There were two music videos for "I Got a Man". The first version was directed by

Hype Williams Harold "Hype" Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video and film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Early life Williams was born in Queens. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Adelphi Univ ...

, while the second version was directed by Jeff Byrd.

Samples

The music samples the following: * the 1980

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

single "Rescue Me" by

A Taste of Honey ''A Taste of Honey'' is the first play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney, written when she was 19. It was adapted into an award-winning film of the same title in 1961. Set in Salford in North West England, it tells the story of Jo, ...

* the song "Spread Love" by the a cappella group

Take 6 Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received several Grammy Awards as well as D ...

* the song "High Power Rap" by the rap group

Crash Crew Crash Crew is an American early hip-hop group who recorded for Mike and Dave Records in 1980 and then signed to Sugar Hill Records. The group, based in Harlem, Lincoln Projects New York City, consisted of members DJ Daryll C. (who died in 19 ...

* the electric guitar riff from "Mama Used To Say" by

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

* the horn from "Get Up and Dance" by Freedom * The spoken intro of the song ("How can the same shit happen to the same guy twice?") is sampled from the 1990 film ''

Die Hard 2 ''Die Hard 2'' (also known by its tagline ''Die Harder'' or ''Die Hard 2: Die Harder'')The film's onscreen title is ''Die Hard 2'', as also given at the initial home-video release'official website The film's original advertising used "Die Har ...

'' in which

John McClane John McClane Sr. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the ''Die Hard'' franchise, based on Joe Leland from Roderick Thorp's action novel '' Nothing Lasts Forever''. McClane was portrayed in all five films by actor Bruce Willis, and ...

(played by

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting (TV series), Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and has appeared in over one hundred films, gaining ...

) complains about his bad luck. *the song "Kuff" by dancehall artist Shelly Thunder

Tributes to the song

In 1999,

Chanté Moore Chanté Torrane Moore (born February 17, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, television personality, and author. The first signee with record executive Louis Silas, Jr.'s Silas Records, she rose to prominence with her debu ...

and

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music at the age of nine. He discovered th ...

used an interpolation of the song on their remix of "

Chanté's Got a Man "Chanté's Got a Man" is a song by American singer Chanté Moore. It was written by Moore, Big Jim Wright, and duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis for her third studio album, ''This Moment Is Mine'' (1999). The song features an interpolation of the 19 ...

". In 2023, IDGAF, a song by

Tee Grizzley Terry Sanchez Wallace Jr. (born March 23, 1994), known professionally as Tee Grizzley, is an American rapper. He first began posting music online following a two year prison sentence, he released the song "First Day Out (Tee Grizzley song), Fir ...

, featuring

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

and

Mariah the Scientist Mariah Amani Buckles (born October 27, 1997), known professionally as Mariah the Scientist, is an American singer and songwriter. She signed with Tory Lanez's One Umbrella and RCA Records to release her debut studio album ''Master'' (2019) and ...

Creation of the song

Release

Music video

Samples

Tributes to the song

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References