"What I Got" is a song from American band Sublime's self-titled third album (1996). It was released to

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...

and

college radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

on July 23, 1996. The song's chorus is a lift from "Loving" by reggae artist

Half Pint Lindon Andrew Roberts (born 11 November 1961),Josephs, Karla (2012)Big deal for Half Pint", ''Jamaica Observer'', 7 June 2012, retrieved 8 June 2012 professionally known as Half Pint, is a Jamaican dancehall, ragga, and reggae singer. Biograp ...

, who is credited as a co-writer. The melody and pacing of the verses is identical to

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' "

Lady Madonna "Lady Madonna" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. In March 1968 it was released as a mono non-album single, backed with " The Inner Light". The song was recor ...

". It was released after singer Bradley Nowell's death in 1996 from a

heroin overdose An opioid overdose is toxicity due to excessive consumption of opioids, such as morphine, codeine, heroin, fentanyl, tramadol, and methadone. This preventable pathology can be fatal if it leads to Hypoventilation, respiratory depression, a let ...

and became the band's biggest radio hit. "What I Got" reached the number-one spot on the US ''

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 ...

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart and was also a mainstream radio hit, peaking at number 29 on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until July 1993) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States ...

chart. In New Zealand, "What I Got" peaked at number 34 on the

RIANZ Singles Chart Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...

; ''What I Got: The Seven Song EP'' charted higher, reaching number 33 on the same chart. Elsewhere, the single reached number two on the Canadian ''RPM'' Alternative 30 chart and number 19 in Iceland. It is ranked on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine's "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time" at number 83.

Music video

The video for "What I Got", shot after Bradley Nowell's death, mainly contains a collage of archive videos and photos of him, as a tribute to the singer. The video includes images of

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, where Sublime met their success, as well as live footage from a Sublime show at The Capitol Ballroom in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Track listings

Australian and European CD single # "What I Got" – 2:51 # "Saw Red" – 1:57 # "Jailhouse" (live) – 4:40 # "What I Got" (demo version) – 2:39 UK CD single # "What I Got" (Super No Mofo edit) – 2:51 # "

Rivers of Babylon "Rivers of Babylon" is a Rastafari movement, Rastafari song written and recorded by Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton of the Jamaican reggae group the Melodians in 1970. The lyrics are adapted from the texts of Psalms Psalm 19, 19 and Psalm 137, ...

" – 2:29 # "All You Need" – 2:45 # "What I Got" (reprise) – 3:02 UK 7-inch single :A. "What I Got" (Super No Mofo edit) – 2:51 :B. "Rivers of Babylon" – 2:29 ''What I Got: The Seven Song EP'' # "What I Got" (Kahne radio edit) – 2:48 # "40 oz. to Freedom" – 3:18 # "D.J.s" – 3:05 # "All You Need" – 2:45 # "Same in the End" – 2:38 # "Work That We Do" – 2:37 # " Doin' Time" (Marshall Arts Remix featuring

The Pharcyde The Pharcyde is an American hip hop group, formed in South Los Angeles, South Central Los Angeles in 1989. The original four members of the group are Imani (rapper), Imani (Emandu Wilcox), Slimkid3 (Trevant Hardson), Bootie Brown (Romye Robinson ...

) – 4:12

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1996 singles 1996 songs Bret Michaels songs MCA Records singles Song recordings produced by David Kahne Songs written by Bradley Nowell Sublime (band) songs