"Shook Ones (Part II)" is 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

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American hip hop duo from New York City. The duo consisted of rappers Prodigy and Havoc. They are considered to be among the principal progenitors of hardcore East Coast hip hopEdwards, Paul, 2009, ''How to Rap: The Art & Scien ...

's 1995 album '' The Infamous...''. The song is a sequel to the group's 1994

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

" Shook Ones", with similar lyrics, but less profanity. The original song is featured on the

b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of some releases of "Shook Ones, Part II" and was also included on the international version of the group's album '' Hell on Earth''. The narrative is told from the perspective of inner-city youths engaged in territorial warfare and struggling for financial gains. The phrase "shook one" refers to someone who acts tough and hardcore but when faced with murder and crime, they are scared and run away. The song contains a pitched down sample of "Jessica" by

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

and "Kitty with the Bent Frame" by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

. The drum break is sampled from "Dirty Feet" by

Daly-Wilson Big Band Daly-Wilson Big Band was an Australian jazz group formed in 1968 by Warren Daly on drums and Ed Wilson on trombone. The business manager and silent partner was Don Raverty. The line-up, at times, was an eighteen-piece ensemble, that played popu ...

. The Herbie Hancock sample was slowed down and the pitch was altered to create the beat in the song. In 1997, the song was sampled by

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

in her single " The Roof (Back in Time)". For its single remix, Mobb Deep recorded additional raps and also appeared in the music video. In 2010

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

included the song at number 25 on their ''Top 200 Tracks of the 90s''. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine placed the song on its list of ''The 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time'' and their list of the "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time" at No. 215. while ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' ranked "Shook Ones (Part II)" at #23 on their list of the 25 most violent rap songs of all time. The song appears in the 2005 video games Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories in the in-game radio station

The Liberty Jam ''Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories'' is an action-adventure game developed in a collaboration between Rockstar Leeds and Rockstar North, and published by Rockstar Games. The ninth installment in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, it was ...

and in True Crime: New York City. It also appears in ''

NBA 2K13 ''NBA 2K13'' is a 2012 basketball video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. It was released on September 19, 2012 for the Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360. A version ...

'' and ''

NBA 2K18 ''NBA 2K18'' is a 2017 basketball simulation video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. It is the 19th installment in the ''NBA 2K'' franchise, the successor to ''NBA 2K17'', and the predecessor to ''NBA 2K19''. It was r ...

''.

Track listing

#"Shook Ones (Part II)" (LP version) — 5:26 #"Shook Ones (Part II)" (instrumental) — 4:41 #"Shook Ones (Part II)" (A Cappella) — 3:49 #"Shook Ones (Part I)" (original Version) — 4:13 #"Shook Ones (Part I)" (instrumental) — 4:13

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1995 songs Mobb Deep songs Sequel songs Hardcore hip hop songs RCA Records singles Loud Records singles Song recordings produced by Havoc (musician) Songs written by Havoc (musician) Songs written by Prodigy (rapper)