"Funky Cold Medina" is a hip hop song written by

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 ...

Matt Dike Matt Dike (December 2, 1961 – January 16, 2018) was an American music executive, record producer, and DJ. He co-founded the hip-hop record label Delicious Vinyl in 1987. In the 1980s, Dike was artist Jean-Michel Basquiat's studio assistant a ...

and Michael Ross, and first performed by American rapper, actor and producer

Tone Lōc Anthony Terrell Smith (born March 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Tone Lōc (), is an American rapper, actor, and producer. He is known for his raspy voice, his hit songs " Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina", for which he was nomin ...

. It was the second single from Lōc's debut album, ''

Lōc-ed After Dark ''Lōc-ed After Dark'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Tone Lōc. It was released on January 23, 1989 via Delicious Vinyl. Production was handled by Matt Dike, Michael Ross and The Dust Brothers. The album reached the number-one spot ...

'' (1989). The single was released on March 18, 1989, and rose to number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 the following month where it went platinum, selling over one million copies and becoming the second ever platinum-certified rap single (after '' Wild Thing'' from the same album being the first). It peaked on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

at number 13 in May of that year. According to

Flavor Flav William Jonathan Drayton Jr. (born March 16, 1959), known by his stage name Flavor Flav (), is an American rapper and hype man. Known for his yells of "''Yeah, boyeeeeee!''" when performing, he rose to prominence as a founding member of the rap ...

, who is heard using the phrase "cold medina" a year earlier on ''

It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back ''It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back'' is the second studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released on June 28, 1988, by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records. It was recorded from 1987 to 1988 in sessions at Chung Kin ...

'', "cold medina" was one of his assertive affirmations throughout the 1980s and was adopted by labelmates

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

as a nickname for the cocktail known as a "

fuzzy navel A fuzzy navel is a mixed drink made from peach schnapps and orange juice. Generally an equal amount of each component is used to concoct it, although quantities may vary. It can also be made with lemonade or a splash of vodka depending on the dr ...

"; Flav allegedly later advised Tone Loc to use the catchphrase in a song. The song contains several samples. The

drum break In popular music, a break is an instrumental or percussion section during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main parts of the song or piece. A break is usually interpolated between sections of a song, to ...

is from "

Get Off Your Ass and Jam "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" is a song by Funkadelic, track number 6 to their 1975 album '' Let's Take It to the Stage''. It was written by George Clinton, although the lyrics are made up entirely of repetitions of the phrase, " Shit! Goddamn! Get o ...

" by

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkadeli ...

, and the main

guitar riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accomp ...

is from "

Hot Blooded "Hot Blooded" is a song by the British-American rock band Foreigner, from their second studio album ''Double Vision''. It was released as a single in June 1978 and reached #3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart that September. The single was a ...

" by Foreigner. Other samples are taken from "

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, it features a guitar riff by Richards that opens and drives the song. The riff ...

" by

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

(when this song is mentioned in the lyrics), "

Christine Sixteen "Christine Sixteen" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss. It originally appeared on their 1977 album '' Love Gun''. Released as a single in the US in 1977, the song peaked at number 25 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart that year, and did we ...

" by

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

, "

All Right Now "All Right Now" is a song by English rock band Free. It originally appeared on the band's third album '' Fire and Water'' (1970), which Free recorded on the Island Records label, formed by Chris Blackwell. Released as the album's second sin ...

" by Free and " You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" by

Bachman–Turner Overdrive Bachman–Turner Overdrive, often abbreviated BTO, were a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, founded by Randy Bachman, Robbie Bachman and Fred Turner in 1973. Their 1970s catalogue included five top-40 albums and six US top-40 single ...

. After the song became popular, several different

cocktails A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely across ...

were introduced bearing the name "Funky Cold Medina".

Synopsis

The song tells the story of

's experiences with "Funky Cold Medina", a potent

aphrodisiac An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or cocain ...

in a beverage format. At the beginning of the song, Loc consults a fellow club-goer who appears to be having more success with women than Loc is. The unnamed stranger informs Loc that his success is the result of his use of the Funky Cold Medina, which makes anyone who drinks it irresistible to others (although this is later contradicted by lyrics that suggest that it makes those who drink it find ''others'' irresistible). Loc initially tests the formula on his dog who, upon drinking it, becomes uncharacteristically affectionate towards Loc and appears to attract the neighbourhood dogs to Loc's house. Loc then tries the formula on a potential love interest named Sheena, but upon returning to the apartment, Loc says the love interest turns out to be a man, whom he unceremoniously ejects from his apartment. His next effort involves him appearing on ''

Love Connection ''Love Connection'' is an American television dating game show in which singles attempt to connect with a compatible partner. Originally hosted by Chuck Woolery, the show debuted in syndication on September 19, 1983, and ended on July 1, 1994, a ...

'' and meeting a woman who immediately wants to marry him, which scares Loc away. Ultimately Loc concludes the formula is too much trouble, and resolves to stop using it.

Track listings

* US vinyl, 12", promo :A1. "Funky Cold Medina"

ocal Ocal or OCAL may refer to: * Öcal, Turkish surname * Öçal, Turkish surname * Open Clip Art Library Openclipart, also called Open Clip Art Library, is an online media repository of free-content vector clip art. The project hosts over 160,000 ...

– 4:11 :A2. "Funky Cold Medina" unky Beats– 2:46 :B1. "Funky Cold Medina" nstrumental– 4:08 :B2. "Funky Cold Medina" unky Acappella– 1:18 * US promo # "Funky Cold Medina" " version– 4:11

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1989 singles 1989 songs Songs written by Young MC Tone Lōc songs Delicious Vinyl singles