"So What'cha Want" is the second single from the album ''

Check Your Head ''Check Your Head'' is the third studio album by American rap rock group Beastie Boys, released by Grand Royal and Capitol Records on April 21, 1992. Three years elapsed between the releases of the band's second studio album '' Paul's Boutique'' ...

'', the third studio album by American

rap rock Rap rock is a fusion genre that fuses vocal and instrumental elements of hip hop with various forms of rock. Rap rock's most popular subgenres include rap metal and rapcore, which include heavy metal and hardcore punk-oriented influences, res ...

group the Beastie Boys. Released on June 2, 1992, the song samples "Just Rhymin' With Biz", by Big Daddy Kane featuring

Biz Markie Marcel Theo Hall (April 8, 1964 – July 16, 2021), known professionally as Biz Markie, was an American rapper, singer, songwriter, DJ, and record producer. Markie was best known for his 1989 single " Just a Friend", which became a Top 40 hit ...

, and "I've Been Watching You" by Southside Movement. The song also appears in the video game '' Rock Band 2''.

Music video

The music video, directed by

Nathanial Hörnblowér Adam Nathaniel Yauch ( ; August 5, 1964 – May 4, 2012), better known under the stage name MCA, was an American rapper, bass player, filmmaker and a founding member of the hip hop group Beastie Boys. Besides his musical work, he also directed ...

, simply has the Beastie Boys recite the song in a

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, addressing the viewer by looking down at the camera which is at ground level, with clips of

DJ Hurricane Wendell Timothy Fite, also known as DJ Hurricane (born January 12, 1965) is an American hip hop DJ, producer and rapper. He is best known for his work with the Beastie Boys. He was a member of the groups Solo Sounds and The Afros and recorded ...

and

Money Mark Mark Ramos Nishita (born February 10, 1960), known professionally as Money Mark, is an American producer and musician, best known for his collaborations with the Beastie Boys from 1992 until 2011. Early life Born in Detroit to a Japanese-Hawai ...

interspersed throughout. It was one of the first music videos to feature slow motion action while the artists' lips remained in sync with the sound track, an effect that would later become a mainstay of music videos. The sky has a photo negative effect which was created by visualist Ash Beck, a direct allusion to the werewolf point-of-view in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major off ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apo ...

'' Wolfen''. Similarly, the

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from aroun ...

style incorporated during the band cutaways are a homage to the hunter vision in ''

Predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

''. The video was also featured on the 1993 "No Laughing" episode of '' Beavis and Butt-Head''.

Track listing

#"So What'cha Want" (Single version) – 3:37 #"The Skills to Pay the Bills" (Original version) – 3:14 #"So What'cha Want" (Soul Assassin Remix version) – 4:06 #"Groove Holmes" (LP version) – 2:34 #"So What'cha Want" (Butt Naked version) – 3:25 #"Groove Holmes" (Live vs. the Biz) – 6:10 #"So What'cha Want" (All the Way Live Freestyle version) – 3:37

Charts

References

1992 singles 1992 songs Beastie Boys songs Capitol Records singles Songs written by Ad-Rock Songs written by Mike D Songs written by Adam Yauch Songs written by Mario Caldato Jr. Song recordings produced by Mario Caldato Jr. {{1990s-single-stub