"Plug Tunin (includes the subtitle "Are You Ready for This?") is a song by hip hop trio

De La Soul De La Soul ( ) is an American hip hop music, hip hop group formed in the village of Amityville on Long Island, New York (state), New York in 1988. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, eccentric lyrics, and contributions to the evoluti ...

. In June 1988 it was released as the group's debut single as part of a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

with "Freedom of Speak (We Got Three Minutes)". A remix of the song, under the title "Plug Tunin' (Last Chance to Comprehend)", would later be included on their debut album ''

3 Feet High and Rising ''3 Feet High and Rising'' is the debut studio album by the American hip hop group De La Soul, released on February 6, 1989, by Tommy Boy Records. It was the first of three collaborations with the producer Prince Paul, and was the critical and ...

''. Lyrically, the song is idiosyncratic, however, musically it laid the foundations for the sound the group would realise more fully with their debut album. In the end of year-roundups, the song placed at 40 in the magazine '' The Face'' list of best singles of 1988. In January 1998 was included on ''

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''s "The 100 Best Rap Singles of All Time" list. In 1999, '' Ego Trip''s editors ranked "Plug Tunin at 8 in their list of Hip Hop's 40 Greatest Singles by Year 1988 in ''Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists''. In 2013 was ranked by ''

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 ...

'' at 5 on their list "The 100 Best

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Songs".

Sampling

De La Soul's label, Tommy Boy, offered a $500 reward for "the first person to identify a convoluted sample" on the song. "Plug Tunin has also been sampled by other artists such as

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

, and the

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' "Defective Trip", which is also produced by Prince Paul.

Conception and composition

Lyrically, the song is idiosyncratic; "Transistors are never more shown with like / When vocal flow brings it all down in ruin / Due to a clue of a naughty noise called Plug Tunin' (Hmm-mm, hmm-mm, hmm-mm, hmm-mm, hmmmm)", however, musically it laid the foundations for the sound the group would realise more fully with their debut album ''

''.

Track listing

# "Plug Tunin' (Are You Ready for This?)" – 3:41 # "Freedom of Speak (We Got Three Minutes)" – 2:52 # "Freedom of Speak (We Got More Than Three)" – 4:16 # "Plug Tunin' (Something's Wrong Here)" – 3:10 # "Strictly Dan Stuckie" – 0:38

References

{{Authority control 1988 singles 1988 songs De La Soul songs Songs written by Vincent Mason Songs written by Kelvin Mercer Songs written by David Jude Jolicoeur Songs written by Prince Paul (producer) Song recordings produced by Prince Paul (producer) Tommy Boy Records singles