"Touch It" is a song by

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

. Released on December 13, 2005, it was the first single from Rhymes'

Aftermath Aftermath may refer to: Companies * Aftermath (comics), an imprint of Devil's Due Publishing * Aftermath Entertainment, an American record label founded by Dr. Dre * Aftermath Media, an American multimedia company * Aftermath Services, an Americ ...

Interscope Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mu ...

debut, ''

The Big Bang The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the ...

''. The song reached number one in New Zealand, and number six in the United Kingdom. The song features a minimalistic beat provided by

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, rapper, disc jockey (DJ) and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ. At the ag ...

, and a sample from the song "

Technologic "Technologic" is a song by French duo Daft Punk from their third studio album, '' Human After All'' (2005). It was released as the second single on 14 June 2005. The music video for "Technologic" was directed by Daft Punk. Composition In the so ...

" by electronic duo

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...

. "Touch It" in turn was incorporated into Daft Punk's live album, ''

Alive 2007 ''Alive 2007'' is the second live album by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk, released on 19 November 2007 by Virgin Records. It features Daft Punk's performance at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy arena in Paris on 14 June 2007 duri ...

''.

History

The release date for the single in the UK was 15 May 2006. However, due to UK chart rules allowing songs to chart on download sales alone, one week before the single's physical release, "Touch It" managed to make the top 40, entering at #23 on download sales only. After the physical single release, the song climbed to #6, its peak position. The song had a strong chart run initially, spending seven weeks inside the top 30 there, however, because the physical copies of the single were deleted, the single was withdrawn from the chart due to new chart rules stating that singles could only remain in the chart for two weeks after their physical deletion. This is why the record seemingly fell from the UK top 75 from the top 30. The song was also popular on the charts in the U.S., peaking at #16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topping the chart in New Zealand.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Touch It (Remix)

After the release of "Touch It", a series of remixes were set into play. The main remix features

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

Rah Digga Rashia Tashan Fisher (born December 18, 1974), known professionally as Rah Digga, is an American rapper and actress. She is best known as a longtime member of the Flipmode Squad, a hip hop group led by Busta Rhymes. Her debut album, '' Dirty ...

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

Lloyd Banks Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, alongside childhood friends 50 Cent and Tony Yayo. After ...

Papoose Papoose (from the Algonquian ''papoose'', meaning "child") is an American English word whose present meaning is "a Native American child" (regardless of tribe) or, even more generally, any child, usually used as a term of endearment, often in t ...

and

DMX Earl Simmons (December 18, 1970 – April 9, 2021), known professionally as DMX, was an American rapper and actor. He began rapping in the early 1990s and released his debut album ''It's Dark and Hell Is Hot'' in 1998, to both critical acclaim ...

. The result was five popular versions of the song and a video, each featuring different well-known hip-hop artists. An EP was released on iTunes featuring four of the remixes on March 7, 2006. The final full-length

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

had an accompanying video.

Remix video

In the opening of the video, the head

cheerleader Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

and the rest of the girls are in burgundy and silver outfits. Busta Rhymes then arrives and decides who runs the city. Upon the entrance of each performer, they mention something positive happening. After Bust and Spliff finish their battle (freestyle), the cheerleaders sing and step to the "Touch It" beat. An electronic machine makes a zapping-sound and a bolt of green lighting appears in the background. In each scene, all the rappers wear colors that match the background. Usually, after one rapper finishes their verse the others appear and start strutting and dancing on beat. The screen shows two or more sides of the other backgrounds and their rappers. After Busta Rhymes, the other rappers appear in this order:

in white,

in pink,

in purple,

in blue,

in green and

in black (he has his hood up). Busta Rhymes and his friend,

Spliff Star William A. Lewis (born April 18, 1971), professionally known as Spliff Star, is an American rapper and record producer from Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York. He's best known for his work with Busta Rhymes. Both ''Vibe'' and '' Complex'' listed Splif ...

, appear in red at the beginning and in yellow at the end. Each singer appears with different outfits, such as Busta's white T-shirt, Papoose's, DMX's,

' jackets, and the ladies'

fur Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket ...

coats. During Mary J. Blige's part, her

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", "doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differe ...

, Brooke Lynn, appears dressed in a matching white costume. Other cameo appearances in the music video are of

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques OD (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican rapper and singer who is regarded as one of dancehall's most prolific artists. Paul's singles " Get Busy" and "Temperature" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the ...

DJ Kayslay Keith Grayson (August 14, 1966 – April 17, 2022), professionally known as DJ Kay Slay, was an American disc jockey (DJ) from New York City. He is referred to by '' The New York Times'' as "Hip Hop's One-Man Ministry of Insults". He released f ...

Deelishis Chandra Davis (born January 2, 1978 in Detroit, Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and ...

, producer

Winky Wright Ronald Lamont "Winky" Wright (born November 26, 1971) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2012. He is a two-time light middleweight world champion and was the last to hold the undisputed title at that weight until ...

Félix Trinidad Félix Juan Trinidad García (born January 10, 1973), popularly known as "Tito" Trinidad, is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes and is said to b ...

Black Rob Robert Ross (June 8, 1968 – April 17, 2021), known professionally as Black Rob, was an American rapper who was signed to Bad Boy Records. He was best known for his 1999 single " Whoa!", which peaked at number 43 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. ...

and Spliff Star. At the 2006

BET Awards The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...

, Busta performed the Video Remix live on stage, along with

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas. ...

, Elliott, Banks, Blige, Papoose, and Rah Digga. DMX was absent for the performance, but his part was played on the screens onstage. The performance also featured a surprise final verse by

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

, who began with some of Busta's lines from

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

's "

Scenario In the performing arts, a scenario (, ; ; ) is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the ''commedia dell'arte'', it was an outline of entrances, exits, and action describing the plot of a play, and was literally p ...

Official remixes and versions

*Touch It (Remix Version) eaturing Mary J Blige, Missy Elliott, Rah Digga(Dirty) - 3:57 *Touch It (Remix Version) eaturing Mary J Blige, Missy Elliott, Rah Digga(Clean)- 3:57 *Touch It (Remix Version) eaturing Lloyd Banks, Papoose(Dirty) - 3:57 *Touch It (Remix Version) eaturing Lloyd Banks, Papoose(Clean) - 3:57 *Touch It (Remix) eaturing DMX(Dirty) – 3:55 *Touch It (Remix) eaturing DMX(Clean) – 3:55 *Touch It (The Remix) eaturing Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, Rah Digga, Lloyd Banks, Papoose and DMX(Dirty) - 4:00 *Touch It (The Remix) eaturing Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, Rah Digga, Lloyd Banks, Papoose and DMX(Clean) - 4:00

Dedication

Busta Rhymes'

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers ...

and entourage member, Israel Ramirez, was fatally shot outside the set of this song's

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 ...

during filming in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

on February 5, 2006. The police have still not found a suspect. In the remix version video, the cheerleader scene is preceded by a slideshow of Israel "Izzy" Ramirez with a message from Busta Rhymes to the deceased telling him how much he meant to him and how he would not be forgotten.

Nominations and success

Along with the video for the original version of the song, a new video was created, featuring abridged versions of all six guest artists' verses. The video also includes cameos from

Brooke Valentine Kanesha Nichole Brookes (born October 5, 1984), better known by her stage name Brooke Valentine, is an American singer, actress, and model. Her single " Girlfight" peaked on U.S. music charts in 2005, paving the way for her debut album '' Chain ...

DJ Kay Slay Keith Grayson (August 14, 1966 – April 17, 2022), professionally known as DJ Kay Slay, was an American disc jockey (DJ) from New York City. He is referred to by ''The New York Times'' as "Hip Hop's One-Man Ministry of Insults". He released fou ...

, and

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

champions

and

, who had fought in May 2005. It was nominated for Best Male Video, and Best Rap Video at the

2006 MTV Video Music Awards The 2006 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 31, 2006, honoring the best music videos from June 11, 2005, to June 26, 2006. The show was hosted by Jack Black at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The 2006 Video Music Awards marked th ...

. Busta Rhymes himself placed it # 1 on his BET Top 25 countdown. It debuted on ''BET 106 & Park'' in the

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a h ...

and received major airplay. It also spun the career of

. The remix was also nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 2007 Grammy Awards.

References

External links

Touch It Remix Lyrics
* * * {{Authority control 2005 songs 2005 singles Busta Rhymes songs DMX (rapper) songs Lloyd Banks songs Mary J. Blige songs Missy Elliott songs Music videos directed by Benny Boom Number-one singles in New Zealand Song recordings produced by Swizz Beatz Songs written by Swizz Beatz Aftermath Entertainment singles Interscope Records singles Songs written by Thomas Bangalter Songs written by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo Songs written by Busta Rhymes