"Rappin' Duke" is a 1984 hip-hop

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by Shawn Brown performing as the Rappin' Duke. It is the sixth track on Brown's 1985 album ''¿Que Pasa?''. The premise of the song is that actor, John Wayne, nicknamed The Duke, is

rapping Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

History

The track debuted on a

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radio station in 1984, becoming widely played locally and eventually peaking at 73 on the 1985 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ''Billboard'' chart; and also charting on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales for 1985. The song's success led to Brown opening in 1985 and 1986 for such artists as Bobby Brown and

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. Brown signed with Tommy Boy Records after the album ''¿Que Pasa?'' ran its course on the charts.

Description and analysis

"Rappin' Duke"'s lyrics parody the hip hop bragging style popular at the time, wherein the rapper boasts of seniority, superior rhymes and

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in performance. The song uses the hip hop vernacular to make numerous pop cultural references from contemporary hip hop musicians such as Kurtis Blow and Run-DMC, to parodying the opening of Chaka Khan's 1984 hit " I Feel for You", replacing references to Khan with

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. The lyrics also reference ''

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'' TV theme song " The Ballad of Jed Clampett", while also alluding to the

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. The song's constant refrain is "duh-ha, duh-ha", a parody of Wayne's distinctive laughter, sung to the music's slow beat. The video opens with an African-American cowboy alternately walking and back-sliding onscreen with a

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propped on his shoulder, obscuring his face. He is replaced by various images from old cowboy movies: gun battles, rope tricks, and the like, as well as other assorted images vaguely connected with the song lyrics. Halfway through the song, the cowboy — his facial features always hidden — reappears poolside, together with a trio of swimsuit-clad women. He shows them a few tricks, including moonwalking in his cowboy boots, and then ends up in the pool with the girls. The video fades out with the cowboy staggering into the sunset.

References in media

The Notorious B.I.G. references "Rappin' Duke" in his 1994 hit single, " Juicy," rapping, "Remember Rappin' Duke? Duh-ha, duh-ha / You never thought that hip hop would take it this far."

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1984 singles American hip hop songs Novelty songs 1984 songs Songs about actors Songs about hip hop Satirical songs Comedy rap songs Cultural depictions of John Wayne Songs about cowboys and cowgirls