Get Ur Freak On

"Get Ur Freak On"
Single by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott
from the album Miss E... So Addictive
Released March 6, 2001 (2001-03-06)
Format
Recorded 2000; Westlake Recording Studios
(Los Angeles, California)
Genre
Length 3:56
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Timbaland
Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott singles chronology
"Is That Yo Chick"
(2000)		 "Get Ur Freak On"
(2001)		 "Lick Shots"
(2001)

"Get Ur Freak On" is a song by American recording artist Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott. It was written and produced by Elliott and Timbaland for her third studio album Miss E... So Addictive (2001). Based on heavy bhangra elements, a popular music and dance form from the Punjab state of India,[1] the song features a six-note base that is a Punjabi melody played on a tumbi, a stringed Indian instrument.

Released as the album's first single in 2001, the track reached number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Internationally, "Get Ur Freak On" became a top ten success in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, where it became her first solo top ten hit, peaking at number four. A remix of the song featuring Nelly Furtado was a dance club hit during this period, and was used both in the soundtrack and in the background of the movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) starring Angelina Jolie. The song is also heard in The Rundown (2003) starring Dwayne Johnson (remixed with AC/DC's "Back in Black") and The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) starring Steve Carell.

In December, the song was listed 14th on Rolling Stone's Best Songs of the Decade ranking, and later at number 466 on their The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time updated list of 2010.[2] In 2002, "Get Ur Freak On" was named the best single released in the year 2001 by The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop annual year-end critics' poll. The song also lists at number seven on Pitchfork Media's Top 500 Songs of the 2000s and number 16 on VH1's Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop. In 2011, NME placed it at number 17 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[3] In April 2014, the song was remixed with The Black Keys' song "Keep Me" for the original soundtrack to Neighbors (2014).[4]

On the Billboard magazine issue dated February 21, 2015, "Get Ur Freak On" re-entered at #40, more than a decade after its original chart run. This re-entry was spawned by Missy Elliott's performance at the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show that occurred earlier in the month.

Background

At the beginning of the song, a man says in Japanese: "Kore kara minna de mechakucha odotte. Sawagou, sawagou". Translated into English, it means: "Everyone start dancing together wildly now. Let's make some noise, let's make some noise." Before the second chorus (after Missy says "Let me show you some") another man is heard saying in Hindi: "maut mujhko." "Maut" means "death" and "mujhko" means "me" or "to me", so it translates to "death to me." The outro of the song features the man who speaks Japanese saying "Ichi ni san shi", translating to "One, two, three, four." This last lyric might be a reference to the Kraftwerk song "Numbers" from their 1981 album Computer World.

The music video was directed by Dave Meyers. Rappers Ludacris, LL Cool J, Timbaland, Ja Rule, Busta Rhymes, Master P, Sliff Star, Lil' Romeo, Eve, Nate Dogg and singer Nicole Wray make cameo appearances in the video.

This tune was also utilized in Bubba Sparxxx's debut single "Ugly", in which Elliott makes a cameo in the video.

Cover versions

In 2005, Scottish acoustic rocker KT Tunstall released her version of "Get Ur Freak On" performed for BBC Radio Live Lounge on certain versions of the single for "Suddenly I See".

Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra released a surf rock rendition on the 2007 album "Hits the Hits."

American rock band Eels also released a version of "Get Ur Freak On" on Meet the Eels: Essential Eels Vol. I, having frequently performed it live during the Shootenanny! tour several years previously.

On the comedy show Fonejacker, the track was parodied by Kayvan Novak as he tried to get a record shop owner to identify the track by singing the tune with nonsensical lyrics.[5]

In Britney Spears' Britney: Piece of Me revamped Vegas residency show, Get Ur Freak On is performed as a medley along with other Missy Elliot songs.

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single-releases of "Get Ur Freak On."

US single

12" single[6]

Side A

  1. "Get Ur Freak On" (album version) – 3:57
  2. "Get Ur Freak On" (amended version) – 3:57

Side B

  1. "Get Ur Freak On" (instrumental) – 3:53
  2. "Get Ur Freak On" (a cappella) – 3:10
  3. "Get Ur Freak On" (TV track) – 3:58
CD promo[7]
  1. "Get Ur Freak On" (amended version)
  2. "Get Ur Freak On" (edit)
  3. "Get Ur Freak On" (album version)
  4. "Get Ur Freak On" (instrumental)
  5. "Get Ur Freak On" (TV track)
  6. "Get Ur Freak On" (amended a cappella)

European single

CD promo[8]
  1. "Get Ur Freak On" Swagger (edit) – 3:31

UK single

12" special edition[9]
  1. "Get Ur Freak On" (Superchumbo's Superfreakon Remix) – 8:53
CD maxi-single[10]
  1. "Get Ur Freak On" (edit) – 3:31
  2. "Get Ur Freak On" (amended version) – 3:57
  3. "Get Ur Freak On" (instrumental) – 3:53

German single

12" single[11]

Side A

  1. "Get Ur Freak On" (edit) – 3:31
  2. "Get Ur Freak On" (album version) – 3:57

Side B

  1. "Get Ur Freak On" (instrumental) – 3:53
  2. "Get Ur Freak On" (a cappella) – 3:11
  3. "Get Ur Freak On" (TV track) – 3:50

Charts

Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[12] 44
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[13] 44
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[14] 17
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[15] 21
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan) 12
France (SNEP)[16] 39
Germany (Official German Charts)[17] 19
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[18] 9
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[19] 24
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 22
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 16
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[22] 4
US Billboard Hot 100[23] 7
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[24] 3
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[25] 7

References

  1. ↑ Archived April 4, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ Archived June 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ "150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years". NME.COM. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Neighbors (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Various Artists". iTunes. Apple.com. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  5. ↑ "YouTube". Youtube.com. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott* - Get Ur Freak On". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "Missy Elliott - Get Ur Freak On". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  8. ↑ "Missy Elliott - Get Ur Freak On". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  9. ↑ "Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott* - Get Ur Freak On". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott* - Get Ur Freak On". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  11. ↑ "Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott* - Get Ur Freak On". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  12. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Missy Elliott – Get Ur Freak On". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  13. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Missy Elliott – Get Ur Freak On" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  14. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Missy Elliott – Get Ur Freak On" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  15. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Missy Elliott – Get Ur Freak On" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  16. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Missy Elliott – Get Ur Freak On" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  17. ↑ "Musicline.de – Missy Elliott Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  18. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Missy Elliott search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  19. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Missy Elliott – Get Ur Freak On". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  20. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Missy Elliott – Get Ur Freak On". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  21. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Missy Elliott – Get Ur Freak On". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  22. ↑ "Missy Elliott: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
  23. ↑ "Missy Elliott – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Missy Elliott. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
  24. ↑ "Missy Elliott – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Missy Elliott. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
  25. ↑ "Missy Elliott – Chart history" Billboard Hot Rap Songs for Missy Elliott. Retrieved 2011-05-23.

External links

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