"Nobody" is a song by Welsh

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

band

Skindred Skindred are a Welsh reggae metal band formed in Newport in 1998. Their musical style mixes heavy metal, alternative rock and ragga. The band also integrate elements of punk rock, hardcore punk, reggae, dancehall, jungle, ska, hip hop, drum ...

. The song was released as the first single from the band's debut album '' Babylon''. "Nobody" peaked at number 14 on the ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number 23 on its Modern Rock Tracks chart in 2004.

Background

"Nobody" was one of the first Skindred songs written after the dissolution of

Dub War Dub War are a four-piece metal band from Newport, Wales. Formed in 1993, the band's musical style is a mix of metal, punk, and reggae. Biography Dub War formed in 1993 in Wales. The band released two albums, via the metal label Earache Record ...

, with bassist Daniel Pugsley coming up with the song's main idea. In an interview with ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

'', vocalist

Benji Webbe Clive John "Benji" Webbe (born 11 March 1967) is a Welsh singer, best known as the lead vocalist and synthesizer player for the reggae metal band Skindred. Aside from his main project, he is also active in Diamond Spider, Dub War, Mass Mental a ...

recalled: The song's inclusion on ''Babylon'' was a point of contention between Webbe and producer

Howard Benson Howard Benson is an American music producer and multi-instrumentalist. He was nominated for the Producer of the Year Grammy Award in 2007 and 2008. Early life and education Benson was born and raised in a middle-class family in greater Philad ...

, with Benson wanting to delete the song entirely after a recording session.

Music video

The music video shows the band playing with a crowd around them. The people in the crowd are dancing in different styles. As the song goes on the crowd gets closer and closer to the band until there is a

moshpit Moshing (also known as slam dancing or simply slamming) is an extreme style of dancing in which participants push or slam into each other, typically performed to "aggressive" live music such as heavy metal and punk rock. Moshing usually happen ...

while the band plays in the pit.

Legacy

The song saw a resurgence in popularity in early 2023 when it became part of a dance trend on

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version o ...

. Benji Webbe tried the dance, saying "that shit ain't easy."

Track listing

In popular culture

*The song was featured on the soundtrack for '' Need for Speed: Underground 2''

Personnel

;Skindred *

– vocals * Daniel Pugsley – bass * Mikey Demus – guitar * Jeff Rose – guitar * Martyn Ford – drums ;Additional *Brandon Abeln — assistant *

— keyboards, producer *Aaron Bieler — A&R *Jason Bieler — producer, mixing, A&R *Christina Dittmar — art direction *Martyn Ford — digital editing *Mike Fuller — mastering *Gersh — drum technician *Andrew Goldman — engineer, mixing *David Holdrege — pro-tools *Ted Jensen — mastering *Andrew Karp — A&R *Per Kviman — A&R *Jason Lader — digital editing *Eric Miller — engineer, digital editing *Martie Muhoberac — production coordination *Keith Nelson — guitar technician *Johnny O. — digital editing *Mark Obriski — design *Mike Plotnikoff — engineer, digital editing *F. Scott Schafer — photography *Rick "Soldier" Will — mixing

Charts

References

2002 singles 2004 singles Skindred songs 2002 songs Song recordings produced by Howard Benson {{metal-song-stub