I Got The...
{{short description|1975 song by Labi Siffre}}
{{Infobox song
| name = I Got The...
| cover = I Got The...png
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Labi Siffre
| album = Remember My Song
| B-side = The Vulture
| released = 1975 (as album track)
2003 (as single)
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| length = *{{Duration|m=6|s=36}} (full version)
- {{Duration|m=3|s=51}} (radio edit)
| label = Pye (album release)
Stateside (single release)
| writer = Labi Siffre
| producer = {{hlist|Big Jim Sullivan|Derek Lawrence}}
| prev_title = City of Dreams
| prev_year = 1991
| next_title = Love Is Love Is Love
| next_year = 2020
}}
"I Got The..." is a song by British musician Labi Siffre, originally released in 1975 as the opening track on his album Remember My Song. The song resurged in popularity in 1999 when it was sampled by American rapper Eminem on his breakthrough hit "My Name Is", leading to its release as a single in 2003.
Composition and recording
As with the other tracks on Remember My Song, "I Got The..." was written by Siffre and produced by Big Jim Sullivan and Derek Lawrence. The recording featured session musicians Chas Hodges on guitar and Dave Peacock on bass guitar, who later became notable in their own right as Chas & Dave.{{cite news |last1=Wilson |first1=Chris |title=Gertcha! Top ten things you never knew about Chas & Dave |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/gertcha-top-ten-things-you-420349 |work=Daily Mirror |access-date=2024-03-26 |archive-date=2021-08-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824155311/https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/gertcha-top-ten-things-you-420349 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Lucy |title=When Sampling Goes Wrong |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/when-sampling-goes-wrong-761965 |work=NME |date=27 September 2012 |access-date=26 March 2024 |archive-date=4 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204214704/https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/when-sampling-goes-wrong-761965 |url-status=live }}
Legacy
=Sampling=
In 1999, a bass and electric piano riff from "I Got The..." was sampled by the American rappers Eminem and Dr. Dre for Eminem's song "My Name Is", which became his breakthrough hit.
Siffre, who is openly gay, said in an interview that he refused permission for the sample until the sexist and homophobic lyrics were removed from "My Name Is": {{blockquote|"Dissing the victims of bigotry – women as bitches, homosexuals as faggots – is lazy writing. Diss the bigots not their victims."{{cite news |title=Q&A: Labi Siffre |url=https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/2915/qa-labi-siffre |access-date=September 25, 2018 |work=The New Humanist |date=December 14, 2012 |archive-date=December 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219011304/https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/2915/qa-labi-siffre |url-status=live }}}} He eventually allowed the sample when he was sent a censored "clean" version, though the "dirty" version continues to use the lyrics that he objected to.{{cite news |last1=Jonze |first1=Tim |title=‘I had the perfect life – then both my husbands died’: singer Labi Siffre on love, loss – and happiness |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jan/31/i-had-the-perfect-life-then-both-my-husbands-died-singer-labi-siffre-on-love-loss-and-happiness |date=31 Jan 2022 |access-date=26 March 2024 |archive-date=30 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130221435/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jan/31/i-had-the-perfect-life-then-both-my-husbands-died-singer-labi-siffre-on-love-loss-and-happiness |url-status=live }}
"I Got The..." was also sampled on Jay-Z's "Streets Is Watching" from his 1997 album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1.{{cite web |title=Crying Laughing Loving Lying - Labi Siffre |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/labi-siffre-crying-laughing-loving-lying/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=1 May 2024}}{{cite web |title=JAY-Z - Streets Is Watching |url=https://genius.com/Jay-z-streets-is-watching-lyrics |website=Genius |access-date=23 April 2025}}
=In popular culture=
"I Got The..." appeared in the 2020 Better Call Saul episode "Bagman".{{Cite web |last=Fogarty |first=Paul |date=2020-04-08 |title=Better Call Saul: Bagman's use of Labi Siffre's 'I Got The...' wins praise from surprised fans |url=https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2020/04/08/better-call-saul-labi-siffre-eminem-i-got-the-bagman-season-5-tv/ |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=HITC |language=en-GB |archive-date=2023-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109184959/https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2020/04/08/better-call-saul-labi-siffre-eminem-i-got-the-bagman-season-5-tv/ |url-status=live }}
Personnel
- Labi Siffre – electric piano, lead and backing vocals, songwriter
- Chas Hodges – electric guitar, backing vocals
- Dave Peacock – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Ian Wallace – drums
- Big Jim Sullivan – lead guitar, arranger, producer
- Derek Lawrence – producer
- Alan Branscombe – percussion
- The Dean Street Brass – horns
- The Rock And Roll Gypsies – strings
- Gordon Neville – backing vocals
- Jacqui Sullivan – backing vocals
References
{{reflist}}
External links
[https://www.discogs.com/master/273525-Labi-Siffre-I-Got-The Discogs]
{{Authority control}}
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