"Like Glue" is a song by Jamaican
dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...
artist
Sean Paul
Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques OD (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican rapper and singer who is regarded as one of dancehall's most prolific artists.
Paul's singles "Get Busy" and "Temperature" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the ...
, from his second album ''
Dutty Rock
''Dutty Rock'' (West Indian patois for "dirty rock") is the second studio album by Jamaican reggae/dancehall artist Sean Paul. Released on 12 November 2002, it features four top 15 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hits , "Gimme the Light", "Get Busy", "Li ...
'' (2002). The song was produced by Tony "CD" Kelly, and written by Kelly and Sean Paul. Lyrics from "Like Glue" were originally the intro to "
Gimme the Light
"Gimme the Light" is the first single from Jamaican dancehall musician Sean Paul's second studio album, ''Dutty Rock'' (2002). The song was originally released in Jamaica in 2001 as "Give Me the Light" and was issued internationally in 2002. ...
" until Sean Paul expanded it and made it into a full song. Lyrically, the song refers to how Sean Paul does not care what people say and that he has to stick to his girlfriends "like glue".
Following the successful chart performances of "Gimme the Light" and "
Get Busy
"Get Busy" is a dancehall song by Jamaican reggae toaster Sean Paul, from his album ''Dutty Rock''. The song was one of the many hits from the jumpy handclap riddim known as the Diwali Riddim, produced by then-newcomer Steven Marsden, and ...
", "Like Glue" was released worldwide on 27 May 2003 as the album's third
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
. It was distributed through K-Licious Music in Jamaica and through
VP and
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
internationally. The single peaked at number 13 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and achieved success worldwide, becoming a top ten hit in Switzerland, the UK, Canada and Ireland. The song was listed as the 325th best song of the 2000s by ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
''.
The single's accompanying
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
was directed by
Benny Boom
Benny Douglas (born July 22, 1971), professionally known as Benny Boom, is an American director who has worked in music, television, and film. His most commercially successful film was the 2017 Tupac Shakur biopic ''All Eyez on Me''.
Career
Do ...
. The video earned Paul a
Best International Artist Video award at the 2003
MuchMusic Video Awards
The iHeartRadio MMVAs were an annual awards show broadcast on Much to honour the year's best music videos that was last held in 2018.
Originally debuting in 1990 as the Canadian Music Video Awards, the awards were renamed in 1995 to the MuchMu ...
.
Background and video
When Sean Paul appeared on the music channel
Flava, he revealed that the song was originally going to be the intro of "
Gimme the Light
"Gimme the Light" is the first single from Jamaican dancehall musician Sean Paul's second studio album, ''Dutty Rock'' (2002). The song was originally released in Jamaica in 2001 as "Give Me the Light" and was issued internationally in 2002. ...
" until he expanded on the lyrics. The song was originally released in 2001 as part of the "Buy Out" riddim, but became a hit on the strength of Sean Paul's popularity from "Gimme the Light". The song samples
T.O.K.
T.O.K. were a dancehall reggae group from Kingston, Jamaica. The group consisted of Alistaire "Alex" McCalla, Roshaun "Bay-C" Clarke, Craig "Craigy T" Thompson, and Xavier "Flexx" Davidson.Kenner, Rob (2005)Boomshots, ''Vibe (magazine), Vibe' ...
's song "Money 2 Burn" from their album ''
My Crew, My Dawgs
''My Crew, My Dawgs'' is the debut album by T.O.K., released in 2001.
Track listing
: All songs by R. Clarke, Xavier Davidson, A. McCalla, and C. Thompson unless otherwise indicated.
# "Prophecy" ntro— 1:40
# "Man Ah Bad Man" — 2:53
# "C ...
''. According to
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
, the song is influenced by the song "
Louie Louie
"Louie Louie" is a rhythm and blues song written and composed by American musician Richard Berry in 1955, recorded in 1956, and released in 1957. It is best known for the 1963 hit version by the Kingsmen and has become a standard in pop and r ...
".
The song has two censored words in the edited version: "Trees" in the chorus, when he says "Need a lot of trees up in my head", and "chronic" in verse 2, when he says "After a chronic, we take a drag",'' both referring to
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...
.
The
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
was directed by
Benny Boom
Benny Douglas (born July 22, 1971), professionally known as Benny Boom, is an American director who has worked in music, television, and film. His most commercially successful film was the 2017 Tupac Shakur biopic ''All Eyez on Me''.
Career
Do ...
, and instead of Sean Paul singing verse 3, Paul's brother Jason shouts out dances, and the dancers in the video perform them accordingly. The fourth verse is the repeat of the first verse. Also, there's a verse in
Jamaican patois
Jamaican Patois (; locally rendered Patwah and called Jamaican Creole by linguists) is an English-based creole language with West African influences, spoken primarily in Jamaica and among the Jamaican diaspora. A majority of the non-English wo ...
. The song is also played at the end of the "
Get Busy
"Get Busy" is a dancehall song by Jamaican reggae toaster Sean Paul, from his album ''Dutty Rock''. The song was one of the many hits from the jumpy handclap riddim known as the Diwali Riddim, produced by then-newcomer Steven Marsden, and ...
" video.
This song is also featured on the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
of the video game ''
Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition''.
Ivy Queen
Martha Ivelisse Pesante Rodríguez (born March 4, 1972), known professionally as Ivy Queen, is a Puerto Rican singer, rapper, songwriter, and actress. She is considered one of the pioneers of the reggaeton genre, commonly referred to as the Qu ...
's single from 2004, "
Papi Te Quiero" samples "Like Glue" but blends a reggaeton beat produced by
Rafi Mercenario. The English version of "Papi Te Quiero", however, features the original beat of "Like Glue". Both can be found on the platinum edition of Queen's third studio album ''
Diva
Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is clo ...
'' (2003).
Reception
The song ranked 70th on
About.com
Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...
's list of the Top 100 Pop Songs of 2003.
It was also listed as the 325th best song of the 2000s by ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
''. The music video won the 2003
MuchMusic Video Awards
The iHeartRadio MMVAs were an annual awards show broadcast on Much to honour the year's best music videos that was last held in 2018.
Originally debuting in 1990 as the Canadian Music Video Awards, the awards were renamed in 1995 to the MuchMu ...
for
Best International Artist Video.
Track listings
CD single
# "Like Glue" (album version) – 3:53
# "Like Glue" (instrumental) – 4:01
CD maxi
# "Like Glue" (album version) – 3:53
# "Like Glue" (instrumental) – 4:01
# "Like Glue" (acapella) – 4:05
7-inch single
# "Like Glue" (album version) – 3:53
# "Like Glue" (instrumental) – 4:01
12-inch maxi
# "Like Glue" (video version) – 4:14
# "Like Glue" (instrumental) – 4:01
# "Get Busy" (Clap Your Hands Now Remix) (street club long version) – 4:18
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
2003 singles
Music videos directed by Benny Boom
Number-one singles in Hungary
Sean Paul songs
Songs written by Sean Paul