"I Got It from My Mama" is a
hip hop song by 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 ...
will.i.am
William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas.
...
. The uncredited female vocals in the song are from singer
Kat Graham
Katerina Alexandre Hartford Graham (born September 5, 1989) is an American actress, singer and dancer (now distributing music under the stage name Toro Gato). She is widely known for her role as Bonnie Bennett on The CW supernatural drama seri ...
. It was released as the
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
from will.i.am's third solo album, ''
Songs About Girls
''Songs About Girls'' is the third studio album by American singer will.i.am, known from his work with The Black Eyed Peas. The original title of the album was ''Keep the Beeper''. The album was released on September 19, 2007. The first single re ...
''. It's primarily about the inheritance of sexual attractiveness of women through their mother's genetics. The song contains samples of "Don Quichotte" by
Magazine 60
Magazine 60 was a French synthpop band founded by music producer, Jean-Luc Drion. Other members are Dominique Régiacorte,
Pierre Mastro and Véronique Olivier. The group was best known for the 1984 song, "Don Quichotte", which hit the Top 10 ...
and "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" by
Bob James; Magazine 60 group members Jean-Luc Drion and Dominique Régiacorte are credited as co-writers on "I Got It from My Mama".
This song was #64 on ''
MTV Asia
MTV was a pan-Asian music pay-television channel which launched on 3 May 1995 as a standalone pay television channel. It was owned by Paramount Networks EMEAA.
History
MTV Asia was officially launched on 3 May 1995 as a 24-hour English-languag ...
''s list of Top 100 Hits of 2007.
will.i.am
William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas.
...
later released a remix of "I Got It from My Mama", which included a sample from
Daft Punk
Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...
's "
Around the World". Daft Punk denied will.i.am use of the sample. However, a music video was produced with the sample included and featuring the
Paradiso Girls
The Paradiso Girls were a girl group created by Robin Antin, and were a European spin-off of Antin's other girl group The Pussycat Dolls. The members come from a number of countries: Chelsea Korka from the United States, Aria Crescendo from Fra ...
. The opening scene for all of Daft Punk's ''
Human After All
''Human After All'' is the third studio album by French electronic music duo Daft Punk, first released on 14 March 2005 through Virgin Records. Unlike their previous studio album ''Discovery'' (2001), whose sound was inspired by disco and ga ...
'' videos is used for the video.
Chart performance
"I Got It from My Mama" debuted at number #93 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100. The next week, the song climbed 36 places to number #57. Ultimately, the song peaked at number #31. In Canada, it debuted at #41, the second-highest new entry on the chart that week.
Music video
The video for "I Got It from My Mama" was announced on
The Black Eyed Peas
Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hil ...
' official website on July 26, 2007, along with a preview of it. It was fully released on August 2, 2007. The video begins with will.i.am opening a magazine of girls and then the camera descends onto will.i.am sitting on a chair on a Brazilian beach. There are girls walking around and flaunting their bodies to the camera. The video then shows will.i.am singing with the girls while they dance all over him and him sitting on a chair singing.
In the middle of the video it shows will.i.am on a chair with the girls lying on towels facing him, with an over view on them singing to the camera. At the last verse it shows will.i.am and the same girls at a beach party at night. The video concludes with will.i.am singing at the beach again with the girls and ends with a picture of will.i.am in the magazine saying: "Brazil: Wish You Were Here!". After shooting the video, will.i.am shot the video for "She's a Star" on a Braziliian beach, at night with special effects reminiscent of
Duran Duran
Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...
's "
What Happens Tomorrow".
Usage in media
"I Got It from My Mama" was featured in several television programs including ''
CSI Miami
''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...
'' and ''
Gossip Girl
''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...
''. The hook of the song is sampled in
PSY
Park Jae-sang (, ; born December 31, 1977), known professionally as Psy (stylized in all caps as PSY) (; ; ), is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Psy is known domestically for his humorous videos and stage per ...
's song "
Daddy
A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...
".
Track listing
* Promotional CD single
# "I Got It from My Mama"
(Radio edit)—3:58
# "I Got It from My Mama"
(LP version)—4:05
# "I Got It from My Mama"
(Instrumental)—4:05
* UK CD single
# "I Got It from My Mama"
(Radio edit)—3:43
# "I Got It from My Mama"
(Busta Rhymes
Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...
remix)—4:12
* German CD single
# "I Got It from My Mama"
(LP version)—4:05
# "I Got It from My Mama"
(Busta Rhymes remix)—4:12
# "I Got It from My Mama"
(Instrumental)—4:05
# "I Got It from My Mama"
(Music video)—4:00
* Digital download
# "I Got It from My Mama"
(LP version)—4:05
* Digital single
# "I Got It from My Mama"
(Busta Rhymes remix)—4:12
* Digital video single
# "I Got It from My Mama"
(Radio edit)—3:58
# "I Got It from My Mama"
(Music video)—4:00
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Release history
References
{{authority control
2007 singles
Will.i.am songs
Song recordings produced by will.i.am
Songs written by will.i.am
2007 songs
A&M Records singles
Sampling controversies