My first string of posts will be on VH1's -100 Greatest One Hit Wonders, presenting only the Top 20 Countdown. Eh... it'll be fun,... just check back daily and enjoy.
12. "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot (1994)
[click "play" below to hear - right click title above and "save as" to download]
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Anthony Ray (born August 12, 1963), known as Sir Mix-a-Lot, is a rapper and producer, originally from Seattle, Washington, USA. He created his own brand of hip hop — influenced by Electro, Kraftwerk and Gary Numan, and funk — but was mostly known for his West Coast take on Miami bass. His raps often deal with sex, yet politics are also important to Mix-a-Lot.
He worked together with Miami bass icon DJ Magic Mike, Mudhoney, Metal Church (on a cover of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man") and discovered Kid Sensation. He first was signed by Nastymix Records, then left, established Rhyme Cartel Records and was signed by American Recordings. A big fall-out with American Recordings in the run-up to the release of "Return of the Bumpasauras" and general disillusionment with the direction rap music was taking led to a three year break before a return with a new record label for the release of Daddy's Home. During the three year break, Sir Mix-a-Lot worked closely with another group, The Presidents of the United States of America under the group name "Subset" with a combination of rock and rap music, however nothing was ever officially released.
Sir Mix-a-Lot had an important voice in the West Coast hip hop scene of the late 1980s. Part of what distinguished him from the others is a tendency to avoid glamorizing violence popular in gangsta rap. His hits have tended to focus on a humorous take on the popular topics of girls and cars, though one song ("One Time's Got No Case") focuses on the serious topic of police brutality as a response and reaction to the Rodney King incident in 1991.
Sir Mix-a-Lot's first hit, released on Nastymix Records in 1988, was the single "Posse on Broadway", giving some the impression that he was a New Yorker. The reference was actually to the street of the same name on Seattle's Capitol Hill. The song contains a sample from David Bowie's 1975 hit "Fame".
Other popular hits include "Buttermilk Biscuits" (1988), "Square Dance Rap" (1988), "Beepers" (1989), and "My Hooptie" (1990) — a song about a car in disrepair. Sir Mix-a-Lot has tended to write, arrange, program, perform, and produce his own music.
Undoubtedly Sir Mix-a-Lot's biggest hit is the Miami Bass styled song "Baby Got Back" (1991), a number one hit that won him fame and the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. The single has since been parodied many times and is usually played in irony, celebrated for its over-the-top nature. A hook from the title song of his 1988 release Swass is finding a new audience with the success of The Pussycat Dolls' "Don't Cha".
In 1995, Sir Mix-a-Lot starred as the titular character of the short-lived TV series The Watcher. The show was one of the first dramas aired on the fledgling broadcast network, UPN. Reminiscent of series such as The Twilight Zone, Sir-Mix-a-Lot functioned as an omnicient narrator who introduced each episode, which would feature a new tale set in the seemy underbelly of Las Vegas.
Published 1/12/07 by
Allie Is Wired
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