"Signs" is a song by American

West Coast hip hop West Coast hip-hop is a regional genre of Hip-hop, hip-hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip-hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during th ...

recording artist

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

. 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 were an American record production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provided backing vocals and music video appearances on the duo's productions, while H ...

and features

guest appearance The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

s by Charlie Wilson and

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

. The edited version of the song is used for the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

film '' Guess Who'' 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, 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, ...

, 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 as

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid ( , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the god of war Mars. He is also known as Amor (Latin: ...

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 A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...

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 were an American record production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provided backing vocals and music video appearances on the duo's productions, while H ...

. 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 that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

for her and mentioning his gang, the

Crips The Crips are a primarily African-American alliance of street gangs that are based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips ...

. In the second verse, Snoop boasts about the glamorous side of his home city,

. In the third verse (or bridging section), he redoubles his efforts at seduction by promising his interlocutor a flight on a

private jet A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people, typically business executives and high-ranking associates. Business jets are generally designed for faster air travel and more personal ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and the holiday resorts of

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

and watching

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

and

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WT ...

in the

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

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 Infidelity (synonyms include non-consensual non-monogamy, cheating, straying, adultery, being unfaithful, two-timing, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's emotional or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, se ...

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 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 ...

was directed by

Paul Hunter Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 – 9 October 2006) was an English professional snooker player. He was a three-time Masters (snooker), Masters champion, winning the event in 2001 Masters (snooker), 2001, 2002 Masters (snooker), 2002, a ...

and takes place in an underground boxing

gym A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...

and at a

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. 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 in May 2005 and number 46 on the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. However, it was more popular in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

staying at No. 1 on the

Australian Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

for two weeks. It was performed by Snoop Dogg at the Live 8 concert in

on July 2, 2005, along with a few of his other hits. The song interpolates some lyrics from

The Gap Band The Gap Band was an American Contemporary R&B, R&B and funk band that rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. The band consisted of three brothers: Charlie Wilson (musician), Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson, along with other members; it wa ...

'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 Net

Music 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 Song recordings produced by the Neptunes Songs written by Pharrell Williams Songs written by Chad Hugo Songs written by Snoop Dogg