"Shake Ya Ass", also known by its clean title "Shake It Fast", is a song by American rapper
Mystikal
Michael Lawrence Tyler (born September 22, 1970), better known by his stage name Mystikal, is an American rapper and actor from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is noted for brash, obstreperous vocal delivery, characterized by a Southern rasp. He si ...
, released on July 18, 2000 as the first single from his fourth album, ''
Let's Get Ready
''Let's Get Ready'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper Mystikal, released on September 26, 2000. The album debuted at number 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 330,663 copies in its first week. It has sold approximately 2,227,536 c ...
''. Produced by
the Neptunes
The Neptunes were an American record production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provided backing vocals and music video appearances on the duo's productions, while H ...
, the song features a hook performed by
Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...
, who is uncredited on various releases of the song. It was Mystikal's biggest commercial success, peaking at number 13 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, number three on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
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 ...
chart and number seven 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 statio ...
chart. Both the song and music video (directed by
Little X
Julien Christian Lutz (born October 31, 1975), known professionally as Director X, is a Canadian music video director. Having trained under Hype Williams, Lutz has been credited for directing over a hundred music videos spanning various genres si ...
) received heavy radio airplay and it has become Mystikal's most popular song, along with its similarly successful follow-up, "
Danger (Been So Long)
"Danger (Been So Long)" is the second single released by American rapper Mystikal from his fourth album, '' Let's Get Ready'' (2000), featuring singer Nivea. The song was released on December 12, 2000, and was produced by the Neptunes. "Danger" w ...
"—which the Neptunes also produced.
History
There were two edited versions of "Shake Ya Ass", allowing radio stations to choose between the two refrains but both versions had modified lyrics. Only the edited version of "Shake Ya Ass" was never released as opposed to "Shake It Fast" on the album's edited version.
In March 2002, Mystikal was sued by Steve Winn, the creator of the Cajun in Your Pocket keychain toy, who claimed that "Shake Ya Ass" bore many similarities to his product.
In an interview with ''RapGenius'', Mystikal explained that he was reluctant to release the song as a single at first, stating that he felt that it did not adequately showcase his abilities as an artist. However, he stated that he was grateful it was released, saying that its success "proved me wrong" and that it was the "biggest song of my career".
Music video
The music video for this song shows Mystikal being invited to a party by three Black women. He later goes to the house where this party is being held. As he enters the house, he notices a group of bikini-clad women wearing masks and shaking on the dance floor. One of the women leads him upstairs, removes her mask, and shows him she was one of the three women he had met earlier. Pharrell can also be seen singing and dancing with some of the women. The video vixens featured are
Melyssa Ford
Melyssa Savannah Ford (born November 7, 1976) is a Canadian media personality, actress, and former video vixen. Since 2022, she has co-hosted ''The Joe Budden Podcast'' alongside broadcaster and former rapper Joe Budden.
Early life
Melyssa Savan ...
,
Tanisha Scott
Tanisha Scott (born in Toronto, Ontario) is a three-time MTV VMA-nominated choreographer best known for her work with Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Drake (musician), Drake, Sean Paul and Beyoncé. She is noted for incorporating Dancehall reggae, Jamaican ...
, and Maritza Murray.
Legacy
The song was listed as the 303rd best song of the 2000s by ''
Pitchfork Media
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...
''.
In popular culture
Since its release, the song has been featured in several films and other media. It has been featured in the films ''
The Hot Chick
''The Hot Chick'' is a 2002 American fantasy comedy film directed by Tom Brady (in his directorial debut), from a screenplay by Brady and Rob Schneider, and starring Schneider, Anna Faris, Matthew Lawrence, Eric Christian Olsen, and Rachel ...
'', ''
Zoolander
''Zoolander'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the '' VH1 Fashion Awards'' televisi ...
'', ''
Crossroads
Crossroads is a junction where four roads meet.
Crossroads, crossroad, cross road(s) or similar may also refer to:
Film and television Films
* ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa
* ''Cross Roads'' (film), a ...
'', ''
Down to Earth'', ''
Juwanna Mann
''Juwanna Mann'' is a 2002 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Jesse Vaughan, written by Bradley Allenstein, and produced by Bill Gerber. The film stars Miguel A. Núñez Jr., Vivica A. Fox, Kevin Pollak, Tommy Davidson, Kim Wayans ...
'', ''
Scary Movie 2
''Scary Movie 2'' is a 2001 American parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. It is the sequel to '' Scary Movie'' and the second installment in the ''Scary Movie'' film series. The film stars Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Shawn Wayans and ...
'', ''
Identity Thief
''Identity Thief'' is a 2013 American road comedy film directed by Seth Gordon, written by Craig Mazin from a story by Mazin and Jerry Eeten. It stars Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy, Jon Favreau, Amanda Peet, Tip 'T.I.' Harris, Genesis Rodrigu ...
'', ''
About a Boy'' and ''
It's a Boy Girl Thing
''It's a Boy Girl Thing'' is a 2006 romantic comedy film directed by Nick Hurran and written by Geoff Deane, starring Kevin Zegers and Samaire Armstrong and set in the United States but filmed and produced in Canada and the United Kingdom. The ...
,'' as well as the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
television series ''
Treme'' and in the first-season episode "Everybody Hates Drew" of TV series ''
Everybody Hates Chris
''Everybody Hates Chris'' (stylized in all lowercase) is an American semi-autobiographical sitcom created by Chris Rock and Ali LeRoi that originally aired on UPN from 2005 to 2006, and then on The CW until 2009. The series is based loosely ...
''. It also appeared in the 2008 video game ''
Grand Theft Auto IV
''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's ''Grand Theft Auto: San And ...
''. In 2019, the song lyrics were read by former
WCW commentator
Tony Schiavone
Noah Anthony Schiavone ( ; born November 7, 1957) is an American sports announcer, professional wrestling commentator and podcaster. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he serves as the play-by-play commentator for ''Collision'', ...
on his popular podcast ''What Happened When''. This was a big success with the podcast audience and has led to Schiavone reading different rap songs every week. The song was subsequently remixed with Schiavone's initial version dubbed in over the music.
Track listing
A-side
#"Shake Ya Ass" (LP version) – 4:20
#"Shake Ya Ass" (instrumental) – 4:39
B-side
#"Shake Ya Ass" (clean radio edit) – 4:17
#"Shake It Fast" (cleaner radio edit) – 4:16
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{Authority control
2000 songs
2000 singles
Dirty rap songs
Jive Records singles
Music videos directed by Director X
Mystikal songs
Song recordings produced by the Neptunes
Songs written by Pharrell Williams
Songs written by Mystikal
Songs written by Chad Hugo