Too Many Rappers
{{short description|2009 single by Nas and Beastie Boys}}
{{infobox song
| name = Too Many Rappers
| cover = Beastie Boys Too Many Rappers.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Beastie Boys featuring Nas
| album = Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
| released = July 21, 2009
| recorded = 2008
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = {{flatlist|
- Hip hop
- industrial rock{{Cite web|first=Kristi|last=Alexandra|url=https://www.straight.com/article-394596/vancouver/beastie-boys|title=Beastie Boys venture into uncharted waters on Hot Sauce Committee Part Two|date=May 25, 2011|website=The Georgia Straight}}}}
| length = {{ubl|4:51 (New Reactionaries/Album version)|4:24 (Single version)}}
| label = Capitol
| writer = Michael Diamond, Adam Horovitz, Adam Yauch, Nasir Jones
| producer = Beastie Boys
| chronology = Beastie Boys
| prev_title = Lee Majors Come Again
| prev_year = 2009
| next_title = Make Some Noise
| next_year = 2011
| misc = {{Extra chronology
| artist = Nas
| type = single
| prev_title = My President
| prev_year = 2008
| title = Too Many Rappers
| year = 2009
| next_title = As We Enter
| next_year = 2010
}}
{{External music video|{{YouTube|mczmFWlWPOI|"Too Many Rappers"}}}}
}}
"Too Many Rappers" is a song by American hip hop group the Beastie Boys, released as the second single from their eighth studio album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two. It features fellow American rapper Nas. The song was nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 52nd Grammy Awards.
The song was released digitally to iTunes and Amazon, as well as on 12" vinyl, on July 21, 2009, about two years prior to the release of the album. The version featured on Hot Sauce Committee Part Two is an alternate version, known as the "New Reactionaries" version.
Music video
The four-and-a-half-minute video for "Too Many Rappers" was directed by Roman Coppola but, for undisclosed reasons, never got an official premiere. The clip intercuts seemingly raw footage of Ad-Rock, Mike D, MCA and Nas rolling through various vignettes—Nashville's Centennial Park, a bridge, a store—with live and studio footage.
In January 2015, a contributor to the BeastieBoys.com message board discovered and posted the clip, which had been hosted on the website of film editor Neal Usatin. News of the discovery made headlines internationally; the Beastie Boys' official YouTube account would begin to host the videoclip a short time later.{{cite magazine|first=Jeremy|last=Gordon|date=January 12, 2015|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/58037-beastie-boys-unreleased-too-many-rappers-video-featuring-nas-surfaces/|title=Beastie Boys' Unreleased "Too Many Rappers" Video Featuring Nas Surfaces|magazine=Pitchfork}}{{cite magazine|first=Cady|last=Drell|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/see-beastie-boys-long-lost-too-many-rappers-video-featuring-nas-83068/|title=See Beastie Boys and Nas' Long Lost 'Too Many Rappers' Video|date=12 January 2015|magazine=Rolling Stone}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/13/unreleased-beastie-boys-nas-video-surfaces|title=Unreleased Beastie Boys/Nas Video Surfaces|first=Alex|last=Chancey|date=13 January 2015|website=The Daily Beast}}
Track listing
=12" single=
{{Track listing
|headline=Side one
| title1 = Too Many Rappers
| length1 = 4:21
| note1 =
}}
{{Track listing
|headline=Side two
| title1 = Too Many Rappers
| length1 = 4:21
| note1 = Instrumental
| title2 = Too Many Rappers
| length2 = 4:20
| note2 = A Capella
}}
Charts
| class="wikitable"
!Chart (2009) !Peak |
| Canadian Hot 100
|align="center"|70 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100{{cite magazine |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=beastie boys|chart=Hot 100}}|title=Beastie Boys Album & Song Chart History|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|accessdate=2011-05-11}}
|align="center"|93 |
References
{{reflist}}
{{Beastie Boys singles}}
{{Nas singles}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Capitol Records singles
Category:Songs written by Ad-Rock
Category:Songs written by Mike D
Category:Songs written by Adam Yauch
Category:Music videos directed by Roman Coppola
{{2000s-hiphop-song-stub}}