"I Need a Freak" is an influential

rap 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 ...

/ electro song, originally released in 1983 by the musical act Sexual Harassment. It has been recorded and sampled many times, most notably by the hip hop group Black Eyed Peas for their 2005 hit song "

My Humps "My Humps" is a song recorded by American group the Black Eyed Peas for their fourth studio album '' Monkey Business'' (2005). It was written and produced by group member will.i.am. Musically, it's a hip hop and dance song structured as a due ...

". The song itself quotes from Antonín Dvořák's "

New World Symphony New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

." In 2011, the song's composer, Lynn Tolliver, won a $1.2 million lawsuit against former collaborator, James McCants, who licensed use of the song without Tolliver's authorization. Tolliver, a popular, long-time DJ from WZAK in Cleveland, Ohio told the Cleveland ''Plain Dealer'', "I don't get all that money, and I don't have any of it yet, but this couldn't have happened at a better time... I've been unemployed the last few years and was near bankruptcy, so this is a blessing." Tolliver was well-known in Cleveland for his on-air stunts and was once attacked by a gunman at the station in 1985. Tolliver is listed under his pseudonym David Payton on the album credits. The song was also released on the 1996 compilation album, ''Old School: Volume 6'', as well as the 2000 compilation, ''In Da Beginning...There Was Rap''. A dispute over royalties for the song were heard in an Ohio court in 2014. Other artists who have covered the song include: *

Egyptian Lover Gregory James Broussard (born August 31, 1963), better known by his stage name Egyptian Lover, is an American musician, vocalist, producer and DJ, and was a part of the L.A. dance music, electro, and rap scene in the early 1980s. History Th ...

- "I Need a Freak" from ''

Back from the Tomb ''Back From the Tomb'' is the fourth studio album and fifth overall by rapper/DJ, Egyptian Lover. The album was released in 1994 for Egyptian Empire Records and was produced by Egyptian Lover. The album was Egyptian Lover's first since 1988's ...

'' (1994) *

Esham Esham is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. Esham released his debut studio album, '' Boomin' Words from Hell'', in 1989. Since then, he has gone on to release 15 studio albums in total and is best known as a representative of the hip ...

- "Lowlafalana" from '' Bruce Wayne: Gothom City 1987'' (1997) *

Too $hort Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28, 1966), better known by the stage name Too Short (stylized as Too $hort), is an American rapper and record producer. He became famous in the West Coast hip hop scene in the late 1980s, with lyrics often based on ...

- "I Need a Freak" from '' In tha Beginning...There Was Rap'' (1997) * Insane Clown Posse - "Cherry Pie (I Need a Freak)" from ''

Bizzar ''Bizzar'' is the seventh studio album by the American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse. Released on October 31, 2000 by Island Records (in association with Psychopathic Records), it is the second half of the ''Bizzar Bizaar'' double album, rele ...

'' (2000) * Electocute - "I Need a Freak" from ''A Tribute to Your Taste'' (2003) *

Tyga Michael Ray Nguyen-StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson ...

- "Freak" (2020) The Sexual Harassment band consisted of Dale Jackson, Lourdes Figueroa, Kelly Albright, Alicia Starr, Charlie Inez and Lynne Poole.

References

External links

Sexual Harassment page at Discogs

Lyrics of this song
at MusixMatch {{authority control 1983 songs Electro songs Hip hop songs Sampling controversies Too Short songs Music licensing