"Signs" is a song by American
West Coast hip hop
West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast region of the United States. West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the e ...
recording artist
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...
. It was released in United States and United Kingdom on April 25, 2005. The song is the third
single released from Snoop Dogg's seventh studio album, ''
R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece'' (2004). The song was
produced by
The Neptunes
The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music video ...
and features
guest appearances by
Charlie Wilson and
Justin Timberlake.
The edited version of the song is used for the
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...
film ''
Guess Who Guess Who may refer to:
* ''Guess Who'' (B.B. King album), 1972
* Guess Who (Slim Whitman album), 1971
* ''Guess Who'' (EP), a 2021 EP by South Korean girl group Itzy
* ''Guess Who'' (film), a 2005 romantic comedy starring Bernie Mac, Ashton Kutche ...
'' which stars
Ashton Kutcher and
Bernie Mac. The song is played once during the film and again during the end credits.
Themes
The song looks at the topic of romance from several points of view, and in doing so, touches on other subjects such as illegal drugs, the city of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
, the perceived glamour of
gang culture, and the lavish, hedonistic lifestyle led by many rappers and musicians.
The chorus, sung by Justin Timberlake, is about the moment when a man thinks a woman to whom he is sexually attracted may also be attracted to him. The man second-guesses what he thinks he has seen, expressing a wish that love (
personified
Personification occurs when a thing or abstraction is represented as a person, in literature or art, as a type of anthropomorphic metaphor. The type of personification discussed here excludes passing literary effects such as "Shadows hold their b ...
as
Cupid
In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...
in classical fashion) should not play around with his emotions. Meanwhile, another male observer (voiced by Snoop Dogg) opines that the Timberlake character is out of his element and should not bother attempting to further relations between himself and the object of his affection, since he lacks the necessary
gangster credentials.
The verses of the song, rapped by Snoop Dogg, mainly following Snoop Dogg's attempts to charm a woman or women. The first verse starts with a brief introduction boasting about the song's hit potential, due to the involvement of Snoop himself and producers
the Neptunes
The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music video ...
. Snoop then appears to become distracted by a passing woman, and attempts to charm her by offering to procure
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''. Alternative ...
for her and mentioning his gang, the
Crips. In the second verse, Snoop boasts about the glamorous side of his home city,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
. In the third verse (or bridging section), he redoubles his efforts at seduction by promising his interlocutor a flight on a
private jet to
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and the holiday resorts of
Ibiza
Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its la ...
and watching
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
and
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) fo ...
in the
Wimbledon tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...
championships.
Charlie Wilson then provides a more experienced point of view on love, advising all concerned not to be foolish, to appreciate what they have, and not to be distracted by "a pretty face". This implies that the Timberlake and Snoop characters may already be in relationships, and are considering
infidelity with the women mentioned in the song.
The song's three vocalists thus show three stages of a man's romantic life: Timberlake as the young ingenue; Snoop Dogg as the Casanova in his prime; and Wilson as the experienced older man dispensing advice to his younger companions.
Music video
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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...
was directed by
Paul Hunter and takes place in an underground boxing
gym and at a
casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live enterta ...
in
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...
. It was the most played video on the
UK version of
The Box in 2005.
Reception
The single reached number two on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in May 2005 and number 46 on the
U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. However, it was more popular in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
staying at No. 1 on the
Australian Singles Chart for two weeks.
It was performed by Snoop Dogg at the
Live 8 concert in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
on July 2, 2005, along with a few of his other hits.
The song
interpolates
In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points.
In engineering and science, one often has ...
some lyrics from
The Gap Band's 1982 "
Early in the Morning" and
Cheryl Lynn's 1978 "
Got to Be Real".
Critical reception
David Jeffries highlighted and praised: "The up-tempo "Signs" with Justin Timberlake is glittery disco fun, but it ain't gonna keep Snoop from being himself."
RapReviews described:
"look for him sharing the spotlight with Snoop and Justin Timberlake on "Signs," although the D-oh-double-G still steals the show:
"It's legit, you know it's a hit
When the Neptunes and the Doggy Dogg fin' to spit
You know he's in - tune with the season
Come here baby, tell me why you leavin?
Tell me if it's weed that you need
If you wanna breathe, I got the best weed minus seeds
Ain't nobody trippin, V.I.P. they can't get in
If somethin go wrong then you know we get to crippin"
Justin Timberlake does
crip-hop? Sounds wrong, but it comes out just right."
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
Rock on the NetMusic Video Database
External links
Music video on Dailymotion
{{DEFAULTSORT:Signs (Snoop Dogg Song)
2004 songs
2005 singles
Charlie Wilson (singer) songs
Justin Timberlake songs
Music videos directed by Paul Hunter (director)
Number-one singles in Australia
European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
Snoop Dogg songs
Songs written for films
Song recordings produced by the Neptunes
Songs written by Pharrell Williams
Songs written by Chad Hugo
Songs written by Snoop Dogg