Grindin'
{{For|other songs|Grind (disambiguation)}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Grindin'
| cover = Clipse Grindin.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Clipse
| album = Lord Willin'
| released = {{Start date|2002|5|14}}
| recorded = 2001
| studio =
| genre = {{hlist|Hip-hop|progressive rap|East Coast hip-hop}}
| length = 4:24
| label = * Arista
| writer = * Gene Thornton
| producer = * The Neptunes
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = When the Last Time
| next_year = 2002
}}
"Grindin'" is the debut single by the American hip-hop duo Clipse. The song was produced by the Neptunes, and was issued as the lead single for Clipse's debut studio album, Lord Willin' (2002) on May 14, 2002. The song became a summer top 40 hit, peaking at number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated August 10, 2002.
The song's beat was far more sparse in its percussive drum and woodblock arrangement than most popular hip-hop tracks at the time, predating later sparse Neptunes productions such as Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot", that would further capitalize and expand on this style.
In 2024, the song appeared on the Neptunes member Pharrell Williams' soundtrack album Piece by Piece (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack).
Background
In 2020, Pusha T stated that Pharrell nearly gave the beat to Jay-Z following a quarrel with the duo.{{cite web | url=https://genius.com/amp/a/pharrell-threatened-to-give-the-beat-to-clipse-s-grindin-to-jay-z | title=Knowledge Drop: Pharrell Threatened to Give the Beat to Clipse's "Grindin'' to Jay-Z }}
The song's instrumental was sampled in Chris Brown's 2019 song "Sorry Enough", and later in the ensemble track "Friday Night Cypher" by Big Sean, as one of the seven beats used (this sample was used twice in the track).
Remix
There were two official remixes released: one featuring new verses by Pusha T and Malice featuring Noreaga, Birdman and Lil Wayne, and the other, a selector remix featuring dancehall artists Sean Paul, Bless and Kardinal Offishall. Both remixes feature the same instrumental but a different verse performed by Pusha T.
Trivia
The song is featured in the popular video games Saints Row, NBA 2K15 and NBA 2K25. The intro was also used in the 2003 comedy film Malibu's Most Wanted. Pharrell added the song on his soundtrack album Piece by Piece (Original Motion Pictures Soundtrack).
Reception
Pitchfork ranked the song at number 27 in "The Top 500 of the Tracks of the 2000s".[http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7692-the-top-500-tracks-of-the-2000s-50-21/3/ The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303180724/http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7692-the-top-500-tracks-of-the-2000s-50-21/3/ |date=2016-03-03 }}. Pitchfork. Accessed October 23, 2015. The song was also listed at number 84 in Rolling Stone's best songs of the 2000s and at number 281 on their top 500 best songs of all time.[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-songs-of-the-aughts-20110617/the-clipse-grindin-20110616 100 Best Songs of 2000s] Rolling Stone. Accessed October 24, 2015.{{Cite magazine |date=2021-09-15 |title=The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/ |access-date=2022-07-18 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}} Hip-hop writer Shea Serrano listed the song as the most important rap song of 2002 in his book The Rap Yearbook.{{cite book |last=Serrano |first=Shea |date=October 24, 2015 |title=The Rap Yearbook}}
Charts
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |
| scope="col"| Chart (2002)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| {{single chart|Billboardhot100|30|artist=Clipse|rowheader=true|accessdate=October 23, 2015|ref name="US"}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardrandbhiphop|10|artist=Clipse|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 2, 2021}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardrapsongs|8|artist=Clipse|rowheader=true|accessdate=October 23, 2015}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardrhythmic|37|artist=Clipse|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 2, 2021}} |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (2002)
! scope="col"| Position |
|---|
| scope="row"| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2002/hot-r-and-and-b-hip-hop-songs|title=Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2002|magazine=Billboard|accessdate=March 2, 2021}}
| 46 |
{{col-end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Clipse}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Song recordings produced by the Neptunes
Category:Songs written by Pusha T
Category:Songs written by Pharrell Williams
Category:Songs written by Chad Hugo
{{2000s-hiphop-single-stub}}