"Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" is a song by American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

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 ...

, released in May 1991 by

Tommy Boy Records Tommy Boy Records is an American independent record label and multimedia brand founded in 1981 by Tom Silverman. The label is credited with helping and launching the music careers of Queen Latifah, Amber, Afrika Bambaataa, Stetsasonic, Digita ...

as the lead single from their second album, ''

De La Soul Is Dead ''De La Soul Is Dead'' is the second studio album by American hip hop group De La Soul, released on May 13, 1991. The album was produced by Prince Paul, whose work on ''3 Feet High and Rising'' was highly praised by music critics. The album was ...

'' (1991). It is a party jam about overzealous fans who pursue the group with demo tapes in their efforts to obtain an endorsement from the group. The song was inspired by one overzealous fan in particular,

Breakestra Breakestra is a ten-piece funk "orchestra" from Los Angeles, California, formed by Miles Tackett in 1996. Tackett, also known as "Musicman", records, composes, plays bass, upright cello, guitar, keyboards and drums. He also sings along with th ...

frontman Miles Tackett, who was shopping demo tapes to the group (note "demo tapes by the miles" in the song's subtitle). It was very successful on the charts in Europe, reaching number one in Finland, Greece and Switzerland, as well as on the UK Dance chart. Additionally, the song was a top-10 hit also in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the UK. Its music video was directed by

Mark Romanek Mark Lee Romanek (; born September 18, 1959) is an American film, music video and commercial director and photographer. He is best known for directing the films ''One Hour Photo'' (2002) and ''Never Let Me Go (2010 film), Never Let Me Go'' (2010) ...

Composition

"Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" has been assumed to have sampled the 1982

Fat Larry's Band Fat Larry's Band was an American R&B and funk band from Philadelphia, which enjoyed some commercial success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom. Career Formed by drummer and vocalist "Fat" Larry James (August ...

song "Act Like You Know"; but in fact, it samples the 1981

The Whatnauts The Whatnauts were an American soul group from Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 c ...

song "Help Is on the Way", that replays the same bassline as "Act Like You Know". The chorus of "Ring Ring Ring" is, an

interpolation In the mathematics, mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one ...

of the

Curiosity Killed the Cat Curiosity Killed the Cat were a British pop band formed in London in 1984, comprising singer Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot, guitarist Julian Godfrey Brookhouse, bassist Nick Thorpe and drummer Migi Drummond. The band achieved success in the UK in t ...

song "

Name and Number "Name and Number" (stylised on the single as "Name & No.") is a song by English band Curiosity Killed the Cat. Released as a single on 4 September 1989, the song peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. Background "Name and Number" was rec ...

". The bass in the introduction comes from

Lou Johnson Louis Brown Johnson (September 22, 1934 – October 1, 2020), nicknamed "Sweet Lou," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. Johnson's professional baseball career lasted for 17 seasons, and included 8 years in the majors: parts of 196 ...

's "Beat" and the drum break is from The Honey Drippers' " Impeach the President". The single version's saxophone is original.

Critical reception

In a retrospective review, Justin Chadwick from Albumism described "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" as "undeniably irresistible", noting that the song is driven by "astute commentary", "unabashed sarcasm" and a "rousingly rhythmic groove". He complimented the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

as "memorable", stating that it is a "further testament to De La Soul and Prince Paul's uncanny penchant for merging obscure samples with more familiar fare to craft instantly unforgettable tunes that stick with you." Steve Huey from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

remarked that it "complains about being harassed into listening to lousy demo tapes." Upon the release,

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' felt that the rap trio "returns with a

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

-driven workout that benefits from a cute and contagious chorus—not to mention group's signature clever wordplay." Irish ''

Evening Herald ''The Herald'' is a nationwide mid-market tabloid newspaper headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and published by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. It is published Monday–Saturday. The newspaper was known as the ''Ev ...

'' stated that the single "shows that the trio still have the imagination to bring off the big one."

Everett True Everett True (born Jeremy Andrew Thackray on 21 April 1961) is an English music journalist and musician. He became interested in rock music after hearing The Residents, and formed a band with school friends. He has written and recorded as The ...

from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' named it Single of the Week, writing, "So De La Soul are back — tear up that ticker-tape, roll out them barrels, find yourself a megaphone and prepare to storm the barricades. It's an occasion, understand? A happening. A joyous event to be broadcast from each and every window, as and when you find them." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' named it one of two "best tracks" of ''

''. ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' said, "Using, of all things, a

Curiosity Killed The Cat Curiosity Killed the Cat were a British pop band formed in London in 1984, comprising singer Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot, guitarist Julian Godfrey Brookhouse, bassist Nick Thorpe and drummer Migi Drummond. The band achieved success in the UK in t ...

song for its chorus. Chunky and funky."

Miranda Sawyer Miranda Caroline Sawyer (born 7 January 1967) is an English author, journalist and broadcaster. Education and early life Sawyer was born in Bristol and grew up in Wilmslow, Cheshire with her brother Toby, who is an actor. Sawyer was educated ...

from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' gave "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" six out of ten, adding, "It sounds most pleasant and as usual is chirruped along by an effortless groove and wiggy lyrics, but, well, it's not in the same league as "

Eye Know "Eye Know" is a 1989 single from US hip hop trio De La Soul's debut album ''3 Feet High and Rising''. It peaked at number 14 on the UK singles chart. It was not released as a single in the United States. The song is an upbeat love song featuri ...

" or "Mama Gave Birth" because there's not enough twiddly bits and that's always a mistake in a rap record." Bob Mack from ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' stated that "the music and delivery are fresh as ever. But the subject matter—a gripe about would-be rappers bugging De La to get their demos signed—seems out of place and a smidge arrogant."

Music video

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

music video was produced to promote the single, directed by American director

. It features the members of De La Soul and producer Prince Paul in a cameo as an artist trying to hand them his tapes.

Influence

* This song was interpolated on

Jaheim Jaheim H. Hoagland (born May 26, 1978), known mononymously as Jaheim, is an American R&B singer. He was signed by Naughty by Nature's Kaygee to Divine Mill Records in 2000 and released his debut album '' Ghetto Love'' in 2001. His second effo ...

's 2009 single, "

Ain't Leavin Without You "Ain't Leavin Without You" is a song by American R&B singer Jaheim. It was released to radio on October 23, 2009, and is the first single from his fifth studio album, '' Another Round''. It was produced by his longtime producer Kay Gee. Songwrit ...

". * The 2013

Little Mix Little Mix are an English girl group that formed on the eighth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor.'' They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consisted of Leigh-Anne Pin ...

single "

How Ya Doin'? "How Ya Doin'?" is a song by British girl group Little Mix, featuring American rapper Missy Elliott. It was released on 15 April 2013, through Syco Music as the fourth and final single from Little Mix's debut studio album, ''DNA'' (2012). "How ...

" uses the same lyrics which "Ring Ring Ring" uses. All 3 songs use the same beat from "Help Is on the Way".

Track listings

* 12" maxi, Europe # "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" (party line mix) (6:56) # "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" (extended decision U.S. mix) (5:15) # "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" (piles and piles of demo taped bi-da miles - Conley's decision) (4:05) * 12" maxi, US # "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" (extended decision) (5:15) # "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" (radio decision) (3:59) # "Piles And Piles of demo Tapes Bi-Da Miles (Conley's Decision)" (4:05) # "Afro Connection At A Hi 5 (In The Eyes Of The Hoodlum)" (3:42) * 7" single # "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" (Party Line Edit) (4:05) # "Ring Ring Ring (piles and piles of demo taped bi-da miles - Conley's decision) (4:05) * CD maxi # "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" (party line edit) (4:05) # "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" (party line mix) (6:56) # "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" (extended U.S. mix) (5:15) # "Ring Ring Ring" (piles and piles of demo taped bi-da miles) (3:35) * CD maxi / 12" maxi - Remixes # "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" (CJ's alternative mix) (5:10) # "Afro Connection At A Hi 5" (3:42) # "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" (sax mix) (5:10)

Official versions

* "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" (LP Version) (5:06) * "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" (Radio Decision) (3:59) * "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" (CJ's Alternative Mix) (5:10) * "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" (Party Line Edit) (4:05) * "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" (Party Line Mix) (6:56) * "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" (Extended Decision U.S. Mix) / (Extended Decision Mix) / (Extended U.S. Mix) (5:15) * "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" (Piles and Piles of Demo Taped Bi-Da Miles - Conley's Decision) (4:05) * "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" (Sax Mix) (5:10)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1991 songs 1991 singles De La Soul songs Music videos directed by Mark Romanek Black-and-white music videos Music Week number-one dance singles Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Greece Number-one singles in Switzerland Song recordings produced by Prince Paul (producer) Tommy Boy Records singles Songs written by David Jude Jolicoeur Songs written by Vincent Mason Songs written by Kelvin Mercer Songs written by Prince Paul (producer) Songs about telephone calls