"Dance (Ass)", often stylized "Dance (A$$)", is a song by American rapper

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. Anderson began his music career in 2007 and gained popularity in 2010 with his third mixtape '' Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big''. He then s ...

, released as the third single from his debut studio album, '' Finally Famous'' (2011). It was added to urban radio formats on September 20, 2011 as the album's third official single. The official remix of the song features

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...

. It samples

MC Hammer Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper, dancer, record producer and entrepreneur. He is known for hit songs such as "U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit" ...

's "

U Can't Touch This "U Can't Touch This" is a song co-written, produced, and performed by American rapper MC Hammer. It was released as the third single from his third album, ''Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em'' (1990), and has been considered his signature song. Along ...

", which in turn samples

Rick James James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in ...

's single "

Super Freak "Super Freak" is a 1981 single produced and performed by American singer Rick James. The song, co-written by James and Alonzo Miller, was first released on James' fifth album, '' Street Songs'' (1981) and became one of James' signature songs. "F ...

Critical reception

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' commented on the track by saying it is a "stale stripper anthem out of synch with what surrounds it. The production is heavy on vocal hooks, synths, and chattering beats, but the focus is Sean’s wit and insistent flow." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' complimented the song's use of MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" and further went on to say that the song "basically cribs its chorus (uncredited) from the oeuvre of DJ Assault, the Detroit ghettotech innovator. Nowhere does Big Sean sound more confident or hilarious." ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' gave a positive review of the track and called it freewheeling, fast-footed, and full of swagger. ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' complimented Sean's performance on the track and said "he took his microphone and turned it into an extension of his phallus, waving it down there like a gleeful toddler as the track imbued new meaning to MC Hammer's signature phrase 'Hammer Time', released in 1990 to the artist Hammer Time." Ology commented on the song by calling it a positive minority in the album and complimented the "flow-flip" and "low bass tones" in the song. HipHopDX commented on the song and said that it "narrowly escapes formulaic territory by injecting enough personality, comedy and verbal gymnastics to ably complement Da Internz' pounding, dance-ready bassline." ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' did not favor the track and called it repetitive and minimalist compared to most of the other tracks on the album.

Music video

The music video of the song's remix version premiered on

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

on November 1, 2011.Big Sean – Dance (A$$) Remix ft. Nicki Minaj
since then it has received over 42 million views. YouTube (November 1, 2011). Retrieved on February 6, 2012.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

, +Certifications and sales for "Dance (Ass)"

Radio and release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dance (ASS) 2011 singles Big Sean songs Nicki Minaj songs GOOD Music singles Def Jam Recordings singles Songs written by Nicki Minaj Songs about dancing Song recordings produced by Da Internz 2011 songs Songs written by Big Sean Songs written by Rick James