"Rump Shaker" is a song by American hip-hop group Wreckx-N-Effect. It was released in August 1992 as the lead single from their second album, '' Hard or Smooth''. It features production and guest vocals from Teddy Riley, brother of Wreckx member Markell Riley. Due to the massive success of

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...

's version of " I Will Always Love You," the song did not advance further than No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

charts. Nevertheless, it peaked at No. 1 on the

Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...

, and No. 9 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts. The chorus of the 2008 single, " Paper Planes" by British musician M.I.A. was widely speculated to be based on the chorus, although the song's writers are not credited.

Composition

"Rump Shaker" is built on a

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

sample from the 1972 song "Darkest Light" by Lafayette Afro Rock Band and a drum sample from "Midnight Theme" by Manzel. Other samples include "Scratchin'" by the Magic Disco Machine and "Blues and Pants" by James Brown (the vocal "come on!"). Riley's "Rump Shaker (Teddy 2)" remix adds a bass and piano sample from "Blind Alley" by

The Emotions ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

as well as a vocal sample from " Stop, Look, Listen" by

MC Lyte Lana Michele Moorer (born October 11, 1970), better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rap music, rapper, Disc jockey, DJ, actress and entrepreneur. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, Lyte first gained fame in the late 19 ...

. Additionally, Teddy Riley's verse includes an allusion to the 1982 song " I Like It" by

DeBarge DeBarge was an American musical recording group composed of several members of the DeBarge family. In addition to various solo projects completed by members of the family, DeBarge was active between 1979 and 1989. The group originally consisted ...

, with the lines, "I like the way you comb your hair, I like the stylish clothes you wear, it's just the little things you do...". The song opens with Teddy Riley chanting the chorus "All I wanna do is zooma-zoom-zoom-zoom and a boom-boom." Subsequent verses are rapped by

Aqil Davidson Aqil Davidson, sometimes socially referred to as A-Plus or Empra, is an Award winning American lyricist, Hip-Hop artist, and record producer. He is known for being front man and lead rapper of Hip-Hop / New Jack Swing brand Wreckx-n-Effect and ...

, Teddy Riley, and Markell Riley. Teddy Riley's verse is notable for being written by his young

protégé Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom h ...

, later to achieve fame as a member of

The Neptunes The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos ...

and a solo artist. It was rumored that Pharrell, along with fellow future-Neptune

Chad Hugo Charles Edward Hugo (born February 24, 1974) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. With close friend Pharrell Williams, he formed the production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he has prod ...

, contributed additional production work, but producer

Ty Fyffe Tyrone "Ty" Fyffe (also known as Sugarless) is an American record producer from Queens borough of New York City. During his career he produced tracks for MC Lyte, Foxy Brown, Slick Rick, Ja Rule, Canibus, Jayo Felony, Queen Pen, Cam'ron, 54 ...

stated in a 2011 interview that he and Teddy Riley alone produced the song and that Pharrell's only contribution was lyrical.

Reception

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

, depicting Wreckx-N-Effect and Riley hosting a party at

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous cit ...

, received criticism for its alleged exploitation of women in bikinis. The video was banned from MTV.TEDDY RILEY and WRECKX-N-EFFECT : Shakin' Their Moneymakers
LA Times

Track listing

A-side

#"Rump Shaker" (Radio Remix)- 4:34 #"Rump Shaker" (Bonus Beat)- 5:55 #"Rump Shaker" (Percapella)- 3:19

B-side

#"Rump Shaker" (Radio Mix)- 3:56 #"Rump Shaker" (Teddy 2)- 6:00 #"Rump Shaker" (Dub)- 6:00

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

On the Continuing Resonance of "Rump Shaker" (Blog from "The Village Voice")
{{Authority control 1992 singles Songs written by Pharrell Williams Song recordings produced by Teddy Riley Dirty rap songs New jack swing songs 1992 songs MCA Records singles Songs written by El DeBarge