What You Know

"What You Know"
Single by T.I.
from the album King
Released	January 28, 2006
Format	CD single, Digital download
Recorded	2005
Genre	Hip hop, trap
Length	4:34 (album version) 4:08 (radio version)
Label	Grand Hustle, Atlantic
Writer(s)	Gabriel W. Arillo Billy Roberts Clifford Harris Aldrin Davis Curtis Mayfield Donny Hathaway Leroy Hutson
Producer(s)	DJ Toomp
Certification	2x Platinum (RIAA) [1]
T.I. singles chronology
"Front Back" (2005) "What You Know" (2006) "Why You Wanna" (2006)

"What You Know" is a Grammy Award-winning multi platinum hip hop song by Southern hip hop recording artist T.I., released as the lead single from his fourth studio album King (2006). The song also serves as the theme song to the 2006 film ATL in which T.I. stars in. The song is also played during the end credits of the film and the music video is included as a bonus feature on the DVD. The song peaked at number three in the US and was certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA following shipment in excess of 2,000,000 copies.

Background

The critically acclaimed song is produced by T.I.'s frequent collaborator DJ Toomp, from Zone Boy Productions, with additional keys by Wonder Arillo. It utilizes an interpolation of Roberta Flack's version of The Impressions's "Gone Away" and of the song "Hey Joe", written by Billy Roberts but popularized by Jimi Hendrix.

Composition

The song is in E♭ minor. The melody line is G♭, B♭, E♭, B♭-D♭-B♭-A♭-G♭-E♭-A♭-G♭-E♭-D♭-D♭-E♭-B♭-D♭-A♭-B♭-G♭-A♭, E♭.

Music video

The video took place in California. The beginning starts where comedian Mike Epps calls T.I. on his cellphone asking T.I. to come and hang out with him. He jokes that he "got a midget pregnant". T.I. said he will be there because he has a movie premiere (for the film ATL) to attend that night. The next scene shows him in a Bentley Continental driving through the neighborhood with Young Dro in slow motion and T.I. rapping in front of a white background. After that scene is showing him walking with a Louis Vuitton backpack in slow motion.

Next scene he stops by Mike Epps' house. After that scene is showing him rapping in different clothes in front of a black and white screen. Then the video showing T.I. gambling with Mike and his crew. The video showing a bunch of women in rollerskates with spinning rims. After that scene it shows him playing chess with his friend. After that scene, he chooses a suit to wear to the premiere with the assistance of three women.

Finally a bunch of black Cadillac Escalades pull up for the premiere. T.I. and his co-star Lauren London, along with the rest of the cast, Jason Weaver, Evan Ross, and Jackie Long walking on the red carpet along with a cameo by Travis Barker. Next scene is where they show scenes to the movie. The party scene, T.I. shakes the champagne and squirts it out everywhere. T.I.'s group P$C, Lauren London and co-stars makes a cameo appearance at the party. At the end, T.I. cleans his glasses and shows him dancing at the party.

Remixes

American rappers Juelz Santana and J.R Writer, of Dipset, recorded a remix of this song entitled "What You Know (About That Crack)". American rapper Papoose recorded a freestyle over the song entitled "What You Know (About Pap)". American rapper Lil Wayne also recorded a remix of "What You Know", which can be found on his mixtape Dedication 2.

In popular culture

• The song has also been used in promotion of the film ATL, in which T.I. stars. The song was a major smash during the spring of 2006.
• Japanese professional wrestler KENTA used an instrumental of the song as his entrance theme.
• The song is played at Target Field whenever All-Star Joe Mauer comes to bat. Mauer has won three batting titles and an 2009 MVP Award while having "What You Know" as his music. The year he changed the song, 2007, he failed to win a batting title and switched back in 2008 to "What You Know" and has won back-to-back titles since.
• The song was used as the entrance song for Kendall Grove at UFC 101.
• The song was used at Turner Field whenever Edgar Rentería came up to bat during the 2006 season.
• The song is used at the beginning of Rich Turpin's "Whatcha Know?" segment on BT Sports Radio.

Chart positions

Chart (2006)	Peak position
scope="row"	US Billboard Hot 100[2]	3
scope="row"	US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[3]	1
scope="row"	US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[4]	1
scope="row"	US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[5]	10

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
United States (RIAA)[6]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^*
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Awards and accolades

• "What You Know" won for "Best Rap Solo Performance" and was nominated for "Best Rap Song" at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards.
• "What You Know" was performed at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, where its music video was nominated for two awards.
• VIBE named T.I.'s "What You Know" as the Top Song of 2006. It was also ranked fourth on a similar list by Rolling Stone , and was #1 in Muchmusic's Top HipHop 2006 List.^[7]
• Pitchfork Media ranked "What You Know" #3 on their "Top Tracks of 2006" list, while T.I.'s collaboration on Justin Timberlake's song "My Love" was ranked #1.^[8]
• The song is one of the most critically acclaimed of 2006 (arguably T.I.'s most critically acclaimed song), and is one of T.I.'s most successful. It has garnered a 5-star rating from Pitchfork Media.^[9] The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, and it also topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It is ranked the 338th best song of all time, 8th of 2006, and 42nd of the 2000s decade by Acclaimedmusic.net.^[10]
• In 2008, it was ranked number 68 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.
• In 2007, "What You Know" was named the second-best single of 2006 on The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop annual critics' poll, after Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy".

References

1. RIAA T.I. gold & platinum dataRIAA. Accessed October 11.
2. "T.I. – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for T.I.. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
3. "T.I. – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for T.I.. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
4. "T.I. – Chart history" Billboard Hot Rap Songs for T.I.. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
5. "T.I. – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for T.I.. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
6. "American single certifications – T.I. – What You Know". Recording Industry Association of America. December 12, 2006. Retrieved June 12, 2013. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
7. MuchMusic.com | Holiday Wrap 2006
8. The Top 100 Tracks of 2006 | Pitchfork
9. What You Know | Pitchfork
10. Acclaimed Music

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics