"Ching-a-Ling" is a song by American rapper

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group 4 All the Sistas Arou ...

. It was written by Elliott along with frequent collaborator Cainon Lamb as well as Shawn Campbell and Marshall Leathers from production duo The Arkitects for what was supposed to be Elliott's seventh studio album ''Block Party'', while production was helmed by Lamb, Campbell, and Leathers. In the song, sound elements of the 1981 arcade game ''

Donkey Kong is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo. It follows the adventures of Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong, a large, powerful gorilla, and other members of the List of Don ...

'' are heard throughout the song. Serving as the lead single for the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

of the dance drama film '' Step Up 2 the Streets'' (2008), the song premiered on both Elliott's

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and official website on January 10, 2008 before being released digitally by The Goldmind Inc. and

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

on January 22, 2008. Within a week, it had debuted on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

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 ...

chart. Released to positive reviews, "Ching-a-Ling" was ranked 69th on ''

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

''s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008.

Critical reception

Blues & Soul ''Blues & Soul'' is a British music magazine, established in 1967 by John Abbey. ''The Independent'' has noted ''Blues & Soul'' as being the equal of magazines such as ''NME'' and '' Q''. ''Billboard'' magazine has called ''Blues & Soul'' "a r ...

'' found that "the tune packs a powerful punch and is instantly catchy. It just sounds like one that will burn very brightly for a short while and then be forgotten. It's a club-friendly bubbler that would sit nicely alongside the likes of

Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...

's "

Tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

," with several winning elements in place – a nonsensical infectious hook, bass-heavy buzzing beat, and a feisty vocal edge." In a retrospective review of the song, Steven J. Horowitz fom ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...

'' remarked: "There was something repetitive about "Ching-a-Ling" that closely followed the blueprints Elliott had set before it: the reversed vocal lines, the whistles, the incessantly chanted chorus. It felt almost too familiar, and yet, still welcome as one of the liveliest of her post-''

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'' cuts." ''

'' ranked the song 69th on its 100 Best Songs of 2008 listing.The 100 Best Songs of 2008
. ''Rolling Stone'' (December 25, 2008). Retrieved 2009-01-12

Music video

Elliott reteamed with director Dave Meyers to film a

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Ching-a-Ling", which features portions from her other ''Step Up 2 the Streets'' single " Shake Your Pom Pom" (2008). Filmed in 3D, the video guest-stars the famous Japanese hip hop dance group, U-Min, known for their slow motion dancing and

popping Popping is a street dance adapted out of the earlier Boogaloo (funk dance), boogaloo cultural movement in Oakland, California. As boogaloo spread, it would be referred to as "robottin'" in Richmond, California; strutting movements in San Francis ...

. Shot in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in January 2008, stylist

Misa Hylton Misa Hylton (previously known as Misa Hylton-Brim; born January 6, 1974) is an American stylist and fashion designer. Known as a pioneer in the fashion industry, she has styled many hip-hop and R&B artists since the 1990s, most notably Lil' Kim and ...

worked on the set. The video premiered on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's '' TRL'' and BET's ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

'' on February 4, 2008. The "Ching-a-Ling" portion of the music video is set primarily with a white backdrop featuring Elliott and various background dancers, such as U-Min. Other shots are interspersed throughout the video which relates to the lyrics, such as Elliott swinging on a rope swing in an Autumn setting, and playing a DDR-esque game which uses the letters of Ching-A-Ling instead of arrows. The "Shake Your Pom Pom" portion of the music video is set in what appears to be a house party, with Elliott and others dancing before ending with Elliott and others blowing noisemakers at the camera.

Remixes

The official remix of "Ching-a-Ling" features rappers

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

and singer

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. She was discovered by record producer Jazze Pha in the early 2000s, and rose to prominence with her debut studio album, ''Goodies ...

. Other additional remixes featuring

Kid Capri David Anthony Love Jr. (better known as Kid Capri; born February 7, 1967) is an American DJ and rapper. Early life Kid Capri was born in New York City, in Brooklyn. He spent most of his youth in the Bronx. As an 8-year-old, Capri would atte ...

, Precious Latoye and

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were released via mixtapes and radio airplay.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2008 singles 2008 songs Missy Elliott songs Music videos directed by Dave Meyers (director) Songs written by Missy Elliott Songs written for films