"Wildside" is a song by American hip-hop group

Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch was an American hip-hop group formed in 1991 by Mark Wahlberg (alias Marky Mark), Scott Gee, Hector the Booty Inspector, DJ-T, and Ashey Ace. The group's best known song is " Good Vibrations", which made it to numbe ...

. It was released in October 1991 as the second single from their 1991 album '' Music for the People''. It heavily samples Lou Reed's 1972 " Walk on the Wild Side". All vocals on the track are performed by the group's leader

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, three ...

Content

Boston pioneer rapper M.C. Spice (Amir Quadeer Shakir) co-wrote & co-produced the song, which describes the effects of America's greed,

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened ...

, and

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use oft ...

on innocent, unsuspecting people. It referenced two notorious crimes that happened in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

; the murder-suicide of Charles Stuart and his wife and the murder of 12-year-old Tiffany Moore shot as she sat on a stoop during a

drive by shooting A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before ...

by a youth gang. The early portion of the video features a few seconds of the burning of an American flag. Originally recorded and performed by M.C. Spice, "Wildside" aired on Boston's W.I.L.D. Radio for nearly two years before Spice agreed to allow Wahlberg to record the song for the actor's debut album. However, Spice removed content which referenced his best friend, Wesley "DJ Wes" McDougald and Wesley's violent death. M.C. Spice still records under the name Quadeer Shakur and M.C. Spice, and is founder of the BlackBerry Soul Radio online music station.

Chart performance

"Wildside" followed the success of the group's previous single, "

Good Vibrations "Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. It was released as a single on October 10, 1966 and was an immediate critical and commercial hit, topping record ...

", and peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming the group's second and final top-40 single.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wildside (Marky Mark Song) 1991 singles Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch songs Songs written by Lou Reed Songs written by Mark Wahlberg 1991 songs