"Bust a Move" is a song by British-American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Young MC Marvin Young (born May 10, 1967), better known by his stage name Young M.C., is a British-born American rapper, singer and actor. He is best known for his 1989 hit " Bust a Move". His debut album ''Stone Cold Rhymin found international accla ...

from his 1989 debut album, ''

Stone Cold Rhymin' ''Stone Cold Rhymin is the debut album by the American rapper Young MC. It was released in 1989 on Delicious Vinyl and was later re-issued by Rhino Records. The album reached No. 9 on the ''Billboard'' Top Pop Albums chart. The third track, " Bu ...

''. The song is built on a sample of "Found a Child" by the group

Ballin' Jack Ballin' Jack (stylised as Ballin'jack) was an American horn rock group formed in Seattle, Washington in 1969 by Luther Rabb (bass and vocals) and Ronnie Hammon (drums). They had a minor hit in 1970 with "Super Highway", which hit #93 on the Billb ...

. The drums, produced by a

LinnDrum The LinnDrum, also referred to as the LM-2, is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics between 1982 and 1985. About 5,000 units were sold. Its high-quality samples, flexibility and affordability made the LinnDrum popular; it sold far mo ...

, are sampled from the song "Radio-Activity" by RoyalCash. The breakdown segment contains a combination of beats sampled from the songs " Scorpio" by

Dennis Coffey Dennis James Coffey (born November 11, 1940) is an American guitarist. He was a studio musician for many soul and R&B recordings, and is well known for his 1971 Top 10 hit single " Scorpio". Biography Coffey learned to play guitar at the ...

and the Detroit Guitar Band, and "Daytime Hustler" by

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

. "Bust a Move" also featured guest vocals by Crystal Blake and

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...

bassist

Flea Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...

, who both appear in the music video. Released as a single on May 22, 1989, "Bust a Move" is Young MC's biggest hit, reaching number seven on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topping the charts in Australia in 1990. The song stayed on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for 39 weeks and 20 weeks in the top 40, winning the 1990

Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance is an honor presented to recording artists for quality rap performances. It was first presented at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1989 and again at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1990, after which p ...

. In 2008, the song was ranked number 47 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop". The single was certified platinum in the United States by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) in January 1990.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

In popular culture

The song is featured in the 1989 film ''

Uncle Buck ''Uncle Buck'' is a 1989 American comedy film written and directed by John Hughes, and starring John Candy and Amy Madigan with supporting roles by Jean Louisa Kelly (in her film debut), Macaulay Culkin, Gaby Hoffmann, Garrett M. Brown and Ela ...

'', and appears in both the 2000 film ''

Dude, Where's My Car? ''Dude, Where's My Car?'' is a 2000 American stoner comedy film directed by Danny Leiner. The film stars Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott as two best friends who find themselves unable to remember where they parked their vehicle after a nig ...

'' and its accompanying soundtrack. The song is also featured in the 2009 films '' The Blind Side'', '' 17 Again'', and '' Up in the Air'' (in which Young MC has a cameo performing the song), the 2012 film ''

The Perks of Being a Wallflower ''The Perks of Being a Wallflower'' is a coming-of-age epistolary novel by American writer Stephen Chbosky, which was first published on February 1, 1999, by Pocket Books. Set in the early 1990s, the novel follows Charlie, an introverted and obs ...

'', the 2001 film ''

See Spot Run ''See Spot Run'' is a 2001 American comedy film about a mailman who takes in a stray bullmastiff, the titular Spot, only to learn that he is a trained FBI dog that has escaped from a witness protection program and is targeted for attacking a ...

'', and the 2017 film '' It''.

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest ...

sampled the song's music and hook for his song "Big Moves" on the soundtrack of the 2001 film ''

Max Keeble's Big Move ''Max Keeble's Big Move'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Tim Hill, written by David L. Watts, James Greer, Jonathan Bernstein and Mark Blackwell and starring Alex D. Linz, Larry Miller, Jamie Kennedy, Nora Dunn, and Robert Carradin ...

''. The song was performed by

Will Schuester William Michael Schuester, often referred to as Mr. Schue, is a fictional teacher character and one of the two main protagonists from the Fox musical comedy-drama series ''Glee'', alongside his student Rachel Berry. He has appeared in ''Glee'' ...

in the ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'' episode " Mash-Up" and is regularly used in the television show

My Name Is Earl ''My Name Is Earl'' is an American television sitcom created by Greg Garcia that aired on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States. It was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and starred Jaso ...

as Randy's favorite party song. It was also featured as a playable song in the rhythm game

Dance Central ''Dance Central'' is a music rhythm game series developed by Harmonix, creators of the ''Guitar Hero'' and ''Rock Band'' franchises. Series Dance Central (2010) ''Dance Central'' was released exclusively for the Xbox 360 and was a launch title ...

. The song appears on the soundtrack of the 2016 video game ''

Forza Horizon 3 ''Forza Horizon 3'' is a 2016 racing video game developed by Playground Games and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox One and Windows. It is the ninth instalment in the ''Forza'' series and the third instalment in its spinoff ''Forza ...

'', and is played in the ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years a ...

'' episode "

Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV "Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV" (also known as "Bender Should Not Be Allowed on Television") is the sixth episode in the fourth season of the American animated television series '' Futurama''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the Un ...

". It also makes an appearance in ''

The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on CBS ...

'' season 9 episode "The Positive Negative Reaction", where Leonard and Raj sing the song at a bar during karaoke.

References

External links

Entry at Discogs.com
* Review at Allmusic.com {{Authority control 1989 singles 1989 songs Number-one singles in Australia Songs written by Young MC Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance Music videos directed by Tamra Davis 4th & B'way Records singles Delicious Vinyl singles Island Records singles Ariola Records singles Songs about dancing