Big Pimpin'

"Big Pimpin'" is the third and final single from rapper Jay-Z's fourth album Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter. Iconic Southern hip hop group UGK is featured. Timbaland produced the song.

"Big Pimpin'"
Single by Jay-Z featuring UGK
from the album Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter
ReleasedApril 11, 2000
Format
  • 12-inch single
  • CD
Recorded1999
GenreHip hop
Length4:44
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Timbaland
Jay-Z singles chronology
"Hey Papi"
(2000)		 "Big Pimpin'"
(2000)		 "Best of Me, Part 2"
(2000)
UGK singles chronology
"Take It Off"
(1999)		 "Big Pimpin'"
(2000)		 "Let Me See It"
(2001)
Music video
"Big Pimpin' ft. UGK" on YouTube

"Big Pimpin'" was the most successful single from this album, as it reached #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart. In Rolling Stone's updated 2010 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", the song ranked at #467. Despite the song's performance, Jay-Z later revealed he regretted the song's lyrics, claiming that, "Some [lyrics] become really profound when you see them in writing. Not "Big Pimpin." That's the exception. It was like, I can't believe I said that. And kept saying it. What kind of animal would say this sort of thing? Reading it is really harsh."[1]

Controversy

Timbaland samples "Khosara Khosara", composed by Baligh Hamdi of Egypt in the mid-20th century and originally recorded by the famous Egyptian vocalist Abdel Halim Hafez. The sampled version of "Khosara Khosara" was arranged and performed by Hossam Ramzy, and can be heard on a CD compilation entitled, "The Best of Bellydance from Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey", an album that also contains another song that Timbaland sampled for the Petey Pablo track, "Raise Up". In 2007, the song sparked controversy when copyright co-owner Osama Ahmed Fahmy filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Federal Court, alleging that Timbaland illegally replayed portions of "Khosara Khosara" note-for-note. Jay-Z, Timbaland, Linkin Park and EMI Music Inc. were among the defendants named in the lawsuit. (Linkin Park was included because the track was also mashed up with their song "Papercut" on the collaborative EP Collision Course in 2004).[2] The Linkin Park mash-up was entitled "Big Pimpin/Papercut".

This latest lawsuit follows an August (2007) decision by a California judge to dismiss another lawsuit by Ahab Joseph Nafal, who claimed "Big Pimpin'" infringed the copyright on Khosara Khosara. Lawyers for EMI Records argued the 50-year-old track was governed by the 1909 Copyright Act, AllHipHop.com reports.[3] On May 31, 2018, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgement in favor of Jay-Z, et al.[4]

Music video

The music video was shot in Trinidad during its Carnival and features Jay-Z and UGK on a music truck dispensing money into the crowd and partying on a lavish yacht. The last scenes at the beachfront mansion were shot in Miami Beach, Florida, on exclusive Golden Beach. The music video features cameo appearance from Too Short. It was directed by Hype Williams. The music video for Lonely Island's "I'm on a Boat" is largely a parody of this video.[5]

Formats and track listings

CD
  1. "Big Pimpin' (Radio Edit)"
  2. "Watch Me (LP Version)"
  3. "Big Pimpin' (Instrumental)"
  4. "Big Pimpin' (Video)"

Vinyl

A-side
  1. "Big Pimpin' (Album Version)" (4:05)
  2. "Big Pimpin' (song about Ian) (5:43)

B-side
  1. "Watch Me (LP Version)" (4:34)
  2. "Big Pimpin' (Instrumental)" (4:57)

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (2000) Peak
position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[6] 23
US Billboard Hot 100[7] 18
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[8] 6
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[9] 9
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[10] 1

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[11] Silver 200,000*

See also

References
  1. Jurgensen, John (October 21, 2010). "Just Asking – Decoding Jay-Z". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
  2. "Gyp the System". Wayneandwax.com. September 12, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  3. Nolan Strong (September 4, 2007). "Rappers Jay-Z, Timbaland Sued Over 'Big Pimpin' Melody". Allhiphop.com. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  4. "FAHMY V. JAY-Z" (PDF).
  5. "Music Video Clichés No.3 – Boats N' Hoes – NME Video Blog – NME.COM – The world's fastest music news service, music videos, interviews, photos and free stuff to win". Nme.Com. Archived from the original on May 6, 2010. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
  6. "Jay-Z – Big Pimpin'". Official Charts Company. June 24, 2000. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  7. "Jay-Z Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  8. "Jay-Z Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  9. "Jay-Z Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard.
  10. "Jay-Z Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard.
  11. "British single certifications – Jay-Z – Big Pimpin'". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Big Pimpin' in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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