"Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)" is a song by American rapper

Pras Prakazrel Samuel Michel (; born October 19, 1972) is a Haitian-American rapper, producer, songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the hip hop group Fugees, alongside Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill. After the Fugees, he earned two ...

, featuring rapper

Ol' Dirty Bastard Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), better known by his stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard (often abbreviated as ODB), was an American rapper. He was one of the founding members of the Wu-Tang Clan, a rap group primarily fr ...

and R&B singer

Mýa Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), (stylized as Mýa), is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Born into a musical family, she studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Initially, Mýa began her career as a VJ ...

. It was released on June 6, 1998. The track samples

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...

and

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

's 1983 single " Islands in the Stream" and was produced by

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

and Jerry 'Wonda" Duplessis for Pras' debut solo studio album, ''

Ghetto Supastar ''Ghetto Supastar'' is the debut solo studio album by former Fugees member and American rapper Pras. The album was released on October 27, 1998, through Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records. Background The album was released by Ruffhouse Rec ...

''. It was also featured on the soundtrack for the 1998 film ''

Bulworth ''Bulworth'' is a 1998 American political satire black comedy film co-written, co-produced, directed by, and starring Warren Beatty. It co-stars Halle Berry, Oliver Platt, Don Cheadle, Paul Sorvino, Jack Warden, and Isaiah Washington. The film fo ...

''.

Background

The song's writers are Prakazrel Michel,

, Russell Jones,

Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popula ...

, Robin Gibb, and

Maurice Gibb Maurice Ernest Gibb (; 22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) was a British musician. He achieved fame as a member of the pop group Bee Gees. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb were the group's main lea ...

. The song was released on June 6, 1998 in the United States. The single was a commercial success; it peaked at number 15 for five consecutive weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number eight on '' Billboard''s

Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

. The single was

certified platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in the United States by Recording Industry Association of America. "Ghetto Supastar" was a critical and commercial success worldwide, peaking at number two in the UK, Sweden, and Australia, number four in Spain, number nine in Canada, as well as topping the charts in eight countries. In 1999, the song received a nomination for

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group was awarded between 1991 and 2011, alongside the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. The award was discontin ...

at the

41st Grammy Awards The 41st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1999, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1998. Lauryn Hill received the most nominations with 10, setting a record for the most no ...

. There was a non-album remix version of the song that was performed live many times with

Canibus Germaine Williams (born December 9, 1974), better known by his stage name Canibus, is an American rapper and actor. He initially gained fame in the 1990s for his ability to freestyle, and eventually released his debut album Can-I-Bus in 1998 ...

. According to Pras, the song was originally intended to be a collaboration only between himself and Mya. Ol' Dirty Bastard was in the same building, recording with Sunz of Man and mistakenly burst into the studio where Pras and Mya were setting up. Ol' Dirty Bastard heard the song and asked to be part of it, to which Pras agreed.

Music video

Francis Lawrence Francis Lawrence (born March 26, 1971) is an Austrian-born American filmmaker and producer. After establishing himself as a director of music videos and commercials, Lawrence made his feature-length directorial debut with the superhero thrille ...

directed the video, which features actress Halle Berry and actors

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...

Oliver Platt Oliver Platt (born January 12, 1960) is a Canadian-born American actor. He is known for his starring roles in many films such as ''Flatliners'' (1990), ''Beethoven'' (1992), '' Indecent Proposal'', ''The Three Musketeers'' (both 1993), '' Execut ...

, and

Joshua Malina Joshua Charles Malina (born January 17, 1966) is an American film and stage actor known for playing Will Bailey on the NBC drama ''The West Wing'', Jeremy Goodwin on '' Sports Night'', US Attorney General David Rosen on ''Scandal'', and Caltech P ...

. In a play on the theme of the film, which is a prominent white politician acting like a Black American, Bulworth in the music video begins to stretch his mouth, revealing himself to be Pras in a mask, who has just become the first African-American U.S. president. Shortly after Pras gets pushed in an elevator, he takes off his suit and performs.

also appears on the set playing the bass guitar riff at the end of the song. It was nominated for an

MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video was first given out in 1989, and it was one of the four original genre categories added at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards. This award was last given out in 2006, as MTV did not bring it back in 2008 like ...

and

Best Video from a Film The MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film was first awarded in 1987, recognizing the best videos whose songs were a part of a movie soundtrack or featured in a film. As time went on, though, music videos taken from movie soundtracks beca ...

. Another three nominations on the 1998 Billboard Video Music Awards for Best New Artist Clip (Pop), Best New Artist Clip (Rap), and Best New Artist Clip (R&B). It won an 8th Annual MVPA Award in 1999.

Bee Gees' recorded version

The Bee Gees recorded a version of "Islands in the Stream" with the chorus of "Ghetto Supastar" replacing the final chorus for their retrospective 2001 compilation '' Their Greatest Hits: The Record''. It also appeared on their 2004 '' Number Ones'' and on the 2010 ''

Mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...

'' box set.

Cover versions

"Weird Al" Yankovic included the song in his polka medley " Polka Power!" from his 1999 album '' Running with Scissors''. In August 2011,

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

covered "Ghetto Supastar" during the North American leg of her

Speak Now World Tour The Speak Now World Tour was the second concert tour by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, and it was launched in support of her third studio album '' Speak Now'' (2010). The Speak Now tour began on February 9, 2011 in Singapore and the to ...

. In each city, she chose to pay tribute to a homegrown artist. In

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, she performed an

acoustic version Acoustic music is music that solely or primarily uses instruments that produce sound through acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means. While all music was once acoustic, the retronym "acoustic music" appeared after the adve ...

of "Ghetto Supastar", given that Mýa is from Washington, D.C. Swift referred to the song as her "seventh grade anthem". In 2017, singer/actress

Vanessa Hudgens Vanessa Anne Hudgens (; born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer. After making her feature film debut in '' Thirteen'' (2003), Hudgens rose to fame portraying Gabriella Montez in the ''High School Musical'' film series (2006 ...

posted a video of herself singing "Ghetto Supastar" a capella on Instagram.

Track listing

* German CD single *# "Ghetto Supastar" (Main Version) - 4:26 *# "Ghetto Supastar" (Instrumental) - 4:26 *# "Ghetto Supastar" (Acapella) - 4:08 *# "Don't Be Afraid" (performed by

) - 4:48 * UK CD single *# "Ghetto Supastar" (Main Version) - 4:26 *# "Ghetto Supastar" (Instrumental) - 4:26 *# "Don't Be Afraid" (performed by

) - 4:48 * 12" vinyl *# "Ghetto Supastar" (Main Version) - 4:26 *# "Ghetto Supastar" (TV Mix) - 4:26 *# "Ghetto Supastar" (Instrumental) - 4:26 *# "Ghetto Supastar" (Acapella) - 4:08

Personnel

*Written by P. Michel, W. Jean, B. Gibb, M. Gibb, R. Gibb, J. Brown, B. Byrd, R. Lenhoff *Contains a sample from "Under the Influence of Love" by Love Unlimited *Contains an interpolation of "Islands In The Stream" by the Bee Gees and samples "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved" by James Brown *Taken from the soundtrack of Bulworth *Engineered by Chris Theis and Phil Blackman *Soundtrack executive producer: Karyn Rachtman *Original sound recordings owned by Interscope Records *Universal Music (UK) Ltd. are exclusive licensees for the United Kingdom *Distributed by BMG Records (UK) Ltd. *Pras appears courtesy of Refugee Camp Entertainment / RuffHouse / Columbia Records *ODB appears courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Group *Mýa appears courtesy of University Music Entertainment / Interscope

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Pras discography
* Allmusic charts {{authority control 1998 songs 1998 singles Pras songs Mýa songs Ol' Dirty Bastard songs Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Denmark European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Germany Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Switzerland Interscope Records singles Music videos directed by Francis Lawrence Songs written for films Songs written by Pras Songs written by Wyclef Jean Songs written by Barry Gibb Songs written by Maurice Gibb Songs written by Robin Gibb