Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)
| "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Wham! | ||||
| from the album Fantastic | ||||
| Released | June 16, 1982 | |||
| Format | 12", 7" | |||
| Recorded | 1982 | |||
| Genre | Post-disco, dance-pop, pop rap | |||
| Length |
3:35 (single) 6:41 (extended) | |||
| Label | CBS | |||
| Writer(s) | George Michael, Andrew Ridgeley | |||
| Producer(s) | Steve Brown, George Michael | |||
| Wham! singles chronology | ||||
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"Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" is a 1982 song by British pop duo Wham! on Innervision Records. It was written by Wham! members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.
Although rap was still an underground and almost exclusively American phenomenon in the early 1980s, as the title implies, Michael rapped a number of verses about the joys of living every day to the fullest, reveling in unemployment and celebrating government assistance from the Department of Health and Social Security (the initials "DHSS" are repeatedly chanted during the song). The explicitly political song flew in the face of the conventional British left-wing who were talking about the 'Right to work' at the time. The chorus asked the question "Do you enjoy what you do?", which brought about the bracketed section of the title. The video depicted Michael and Ridgeley in their leather jackets, combining their moody image with a bright, effervescent choreography.[1]
The song, which had been tentatively released in June 1982 when Wham! were unknowns and failed to make any impact, was re-issued in January 1983 after the duo had achieved their breakthrough with "Young Guns (Go for It!)". It subsequently reached #8 in the UK Singles Chart, the second of four hits from Wham!'s debut album Fantastic.
Uncharacteristically for Wham!, the Unsocial Mix of the song contains multiple repetitions of the swear words bullshit and shit. All versions include 'don't need this crap'. These lines were included to illustrate the band's then rebellious image, and future songs by Wham! would mostly refrain from using this type of language (although "Battlestations" does include an instance of 'bullshit'). Both the Social Mix and the Fantastic album version have different verses to the Unsocial Mix, thus there are three different sets of verse lyrics altogether. However, only the album version has appeared on CD.
A new remix of the song was made in 1986, combining some of the Unsocial Mix with the album version. This version, entitled "Wham! Rap '86", was released on their US/Canada/Japanese album Music from the Edge of Heaven, and as the B-Side to "The Edge Of Heaven" in the UK and Europe.
The original version of the song was used for the 1985 film drama Perfect, from James Bridges, with John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Track listing
1982 release
All songs written and composed by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.
| 7": Innervision (UK) | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Wham Rap! (7" version)" | 3:30 |
| 2. | "Wham Rap! (Club Mix)" | 4:02 |
| 12": Innervision (UK) | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Wham Rap! (Unsocial Mix)" | 6:36 |
| 2. | "Wham Rap!" (Social Mix)" | 6:46 |
- Note: Due to an error in labelling, the "Unsocial Mix" is listed as the single's A-side[2] despite Michael specifically referring to it as the B-side in the song's lyrics: "Hey, everybody, now listen to me/Cut the radio bullshit, this is side B."
1983 reissue
All songs written and composed by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.
| 7": Innervision (UK) | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) (Special U.S. Remix Part 1)" (aka 'Special US Re-Mix') | 3:30 |
| 2. | "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) (Special U.S. Re-Mix Part 2)" (aka 'Special Club Re-Mix') | 3:03 |
| 12": Innervision (UK) | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) (Special US Re-Mix)" | 6:43 |
| 2. | "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) (Special Club Re-Mix)" | 3:34 |
Chart performance
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia | 9 |
| Belgium[3] | 12 |
| Germany[4] | 17 |
| Ireland[5] | 13 |
| Netherlands[6] | 9 |
| New Zealand[7] | 18 |
| United Kingdom[8] | 8 |
References
- ↑ Steele, Robert Careless Whispers: The Life & Career of George Michael Omnibus Press, 2011 Retrieved January 8, 2016.
- ↑ "Wham Rap!". Retrieved 2011-07-31.
- ↑ Belgium Charts ultratop.be Retrieved January 8, 2016
- ↑ German Charts offiziellecharts.de Retrieved January 8, 2016.
- ↑ Irish Charts irishcharts.ie Retrieved January 8, 2016.
- ↑ Netherland Charts www.top40.nl Retrieved January 8, 2016
- ↑ New Zeland Charts charts.org.nz Retrieved January 8, 2016
- ↑ - The Official Charts (Wham!) Retrieved January 8, 2016
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