"You Played Yourself" is a song performed by American recording artist
Ice-T. It was released on April 5, 1990, as a
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
from the rapper's third studio album ''
The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech...Just Watch What You Say'' through
Sire Records
Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records.
History Beginnings
The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer ...
. The song was written and produced by Ice-T and
Afrika Islam
Charles Andre Glenn (born 1967), professionally known by his stage name Afrika Islam, is an American hip hop DJ and producer. He was one of the pioneers of hip hop culture and the hip hop radio station.
He began his musical career in 1977 as a ...
, who sampled
James Brown
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...
's "The Boss", which was written by James Brown, Charles Bobbit and
Fred Wesley
Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s.
Biography
Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band lead ...
.
The single peaked at number 64 in the
UK.
Background
The song tells details several failures through hubris. One goes uneducated thinking he is a gangster when really he is nothing. Another is a rapper who offends his fans because he thinks he is above them but they turn on him - he is left unemployed with no one because he has offended them all. Another is a drug addict, paranoid and doesn't eat. He rips off his family for drug money and they disown him. He then tries to do an armed robbery to get money but accidentally kills someone and ends up on death row.
Track listing
Personnel
*
Tracy Lauren Marrow – lyrics, vocals, producer, arranging
*
Eric Reed Boucher – guest vocals
on "Freedom Of Speech"
*
Eric Garcia Eric Garcia may refer to:
* Eric Garcia (writer) (born 1972), American writer
* Eric García (footballer, born 1993), Spanish football midfielder
* Eric Garcia (basketball) (born 1994), American basketball player
*Eric García (footballer, born 2001 ...
– scratches
*
Charles Andre Glenn – producer, programming
*
Alphonso Henderson – additional producer (re-mixing)
*
Roger McBride – additional producer (re-mixing)
* Tom Baker – mastering
*
Glen E. Friedman
Glen Ellis Friedman (born March 3, 1962) is an American photographer and artist. He became known for his activities within rebellious skateboarding and music cultures. Photographing artists Fugazi, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, Minor ...
– photography
* Frank Mike Jones – photography
Chart positions
References
External links
*
{{Ice-T
Ice-T songs
1989 songs
1990 singles
Sire Records singles
Songs written by Ice-T
Songs written by Afrika Islam
Songs written by Fred Wesley
Songs written by James Brown