"Rappin' Duke" is a

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

hip-hop

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

by Shawn Brown performing as the Rappin' Duke. It is the sixth track on Brown's 1985 album ''¿Que Pasa?''. The premise of the song is that actor, John Wayne, nicknamed The Duke, is rapping.

History

The track debuted on a

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

radio station in 1984, becoming widely played locally and eventually peaking at 73 on the 1985 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ''Billboard'' chart; and also charting on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales for 1985. The song's success led to Brown opening in 1985 and 1986 for such artists as

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

and Stevie Wonder. Brown signed with Tommy Boy Records after the album ''¿Que Pasa?'' ran its course on the charts.

Description and analysis

"Rappin' Duke"'s lyrics parody the hip hop bragging style popular at the time, wherein the rapper boasts of seniority, superior rhymes and flow in performance. The song uses the hip hop vernacular to make numerous pop cultural references from contemporary hip hop musicians such as

Kurtis Blow Kurtis Walker (born August 9, 1959), professionally known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record/film producer, b-boy, DJ, public speaker and minister. He is the first commercially successful rapper ...

and Run-DMC, to parodying the opening of Chaka Khan's 1984 hit " I Feel for You", replacing references to Khan with Aretha Franklin. The lyrics also reference ''

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family f ...

'' TV theme song "

The Ballad of Jed Clampett "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" is the theme song for the television series ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' and the later movie of that name, providing the introductory story for the series. The song was composed by Paul Henning, and recorded first by ...

", while also alluding to the

presidency of Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over ...

. The song's constant refrain is "duh-ha, duh-ha", a parody of Wayne's distinctive laughter, sung to the music's slow beat. The video opens with an African-American cowboy alternately walking and back-sliding onscreen with a boombox propped on his shoulder, obscuring his face. He is replaced by various images from old cowboy movies: gun battles, rope tricks, and the like, as well as other assorted images vaguely connected with the song lyrics. Halfway through the song, the cowboy — his facial features always hidden — reappears poolside, together with a trio of swimsuit-clad women. He shows them a few tricks, including moonwalking in his cowboy boots, and then ends up in the pool with the girls. The video fades out with the cowboy staggering into the sunset.

References in media

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

references "Rappin' Duke" in his 1994 hit single, " Juicy," rapping, "Remember Rappin' Duke? Duh-ha, duh-ha / You never thought that hip hop would take it this far."

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1984 singles American hip hop songs Novelty songs 1984 songs Songs about actors Songs about hip hop Satirical songs Comedy rap songs Cultural depictions of John Wayne Songs about cowboys and cowgirls