"Watch for the Hook" is a

posse cut A posse cut is a popular form of song in hip hop music that involves successive verses by four or more rappers.Edwards, Paul, 2009, ''How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC'', Chicago Review Press, p. 221. Tracks described as posse cuts ...

song by American

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

-based

Southern hip hop Southern hip hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, Memph ...

collective

Dungeon Family The Dungeon Family is a musical collective, based in Atlanta, Georgia that specializes in Southern hip hop with heavy funk and soul influences. The group derives its name from "The Dungeon", the name given to record producer Rico Wade's studio, ...

. It was released on December 1, 1998, via Organized Noize/

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

as a

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 member Cool Breeze debut studio album ''

East Point's Greatest Hit ''East Point's Greatest Hit'' is the only solo studio album by American rapper Cool Breeze. It was released on March 23, 1999 via Organized Noize/A&M Records. Recording sessions took place at the Dungeon Recording Studio, the Chamber Recording St ...

''. It was written by

André 3000 André Lauren Benjamin (born May 27, 1975), better known as André 3000, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for being a part of southern hip hop duo Outkast alongside fellow rapper Big Boi. B ...

Witchdoctor A witch doctor (also spelled witch-doctor) was originally a type of healer who treated ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft. The term is now more commonly used to refer to healers, particularly in regions which use traditional healing ...

CeeLo Green Thomas DeCarlo Callaway - Burton (born May 30, 1975), known professionally as CeeLo Green (or Cee Lo Green), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. He is known for his work in hip hop and R&B, including the Gnarls ...

Khujo Willie Edward Knighton Jr. (born March 13, 1972), better known as Khujo, is an American rapper. He is one-fourth of Goodie Mob (along with T-Mo, Cee-Lo, and Big Gipp), and one-half of The Lumberjacks (with T-Mo). Life and career Khujo was bo ...

Big Gipp Cameron Gipp (born April 28, 1973), better known by his stage name Big Gipp, is an American rapper from Atlanta. He is best known for his work as a founding member of Goodie Mob, which he has gone on to release six studio albums. Aside from Go ...

Big Boi Antwan André Patton (born February 1, 1975), better known by his stage name Big Boi, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for being a member of the southern hip hop duo Outkast alongside André 3000. ...

T-Mo Robert Terrance Barnett (born February 2, 1972, in Fairburn, Georgia), professionally known by his stage name T-Mo Goodie (or simply T-Mo), is an American rapper from Atlanta. He is best known for being a member of Southern hip hop quartet Goodie ...

, Cool Breeze,

Big Rube Ruben Bailey (born September 27, 1969, Atlanta, Georgia), professionally known by his stage name Big Rube, is an American spoken word artist, rapper and hip hop producer. He is a first-generation member of the Dungeon Family and of Society of ...

, and

Organized Noize Organized Noize is an American production team from Atlanta, Georgia composed of Rico Wade, Ray Murray and Sleepy Brown. History Among the hit records they have worked on include TLC's "Waterfalls", En Vogue's "Don't Let Go (Love)", and Luda ...

, who produced the song using samples from

Merry Clayton Merry Clayton (born December 25, 1948) is an American soul and gospel singer. She provided a number of backing vocal tracks for major performing artists in the 1960s, most notably in her duet with Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stones song "Gimme Sh ...

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

's "

Southern Man In New Zealand, the southern man is a stereotypical male from the more rural South Island, well used to the solitude and conditions of open mountain or hill country, and completely out of his depth in the city. He is usually depicted as wearing a ...

". The single peaked at number 73 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number 18 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

, number 48 on the

R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (previously known as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay) is a chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the top R&B and hip hop songs in the United States, based on audience impressions from a panel of radio stations monitored ...

and topped the

Hot Rap Songs Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by '' Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...

chart in the United States.

Critical reception

Nathan Rabin Nathan Rabin (; born April 24, 1976) is an American film and music critic. Rabin was the first head writer for ''The A.V. Club'', a position he held until he left the ''Onion'' organization in 2013.

of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' called "Watch for the Hook" "the best song on the album". Matthew Ismael Ruiz of ''

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 ...

'' wrote: "André 3000 only has six bars, but opens the track like a shotgun blast; Cee-Lo and Khjuo try to outpace each other as they trade rapid-fire blows; and T-Mo breaks down the door, Kramer-style, with a barely decipherable verse that nonetheless reveals its complexity on a lyrics sheet. T-Mo might have the best verse, but Witchdoctor, Big Gipp, Big Boi… each comes correct with unique verses, varying pitch, cadence, and flow. Right up until the final verse, from the man whose name is on the song. The big mistake here was the conceit that Cool Breeze was on the same level as the Dungeon Family. With a plodding pace, basic AABB

rhyme scheme A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other. An example of the ABAB rh ...

, and bland imagery, he manages to say the least with the most airtime. It's almost as if he knows it, choosing to repeat the last four bars four times to close out the track".

Track listing

Personnel

;"Watch For The Hook" *Andre "André 3000" Benjamin – songwriter, first verse *Erin "Witchdoctor" Johnson – songwriter, second verse *Thomas "CeeLo Green" Callaway – songwriter, third verse *Willie "Khujo" Knighton – songwriter, third verse *Cameron "Big Gipp" Gipp – songwriter, fourth verse *Antwan "Big Boi" Patton – songwriter, fifth verse *Robert "T-Mo" Barnett – songwriter, sixth verse *Frederick "Cool Breeze" Bell – songwriter, seventh verse, outro *Organized Noize – songwriters, keyboard programming, producers *Ruben "Big Rube" Bailey – songwriter *Neil Young – songwriter *John "Bernasky" Wall – engineering *Brian Smith – engineering *Alvin Speights – mixing *JR Rodriguez – mixing assistant ;"Hit Man" *Erin "Witchdoctor" Johnson – songwriter, intro, second verse, backing vocals, outro *Frederick "Cool Breeze" Bell – songwriter, first verse *Jamahr "Backbone" Williams – songwriter, chorus, third verse *Organized Noize – songwriters, programming, producers *Richard Muscadin – trombone *Antoine Hollins – tuba *Skinny Miracles – backing vocals *John "Bernasky" Wall – engineering *Alvin Speights – mixing *JR Rodriguez – mixing assistant

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1998 songs Posse cuts 1998 singles Outkast songs Goodie Mob songs Songs written by Big Boi Interscope Records singles Songs written by André 3000 Songs written by Neil Young Songs written by CeeLo Green Songs written by Sleepy Brown Song recordings produced by Organized Noize Dungeon Family songs