Smack My Bitch Up

"Smack My Bitch Up" is a song by English rave group the Prodigy. It was released in November 1997 as the third and final single from the album The Fat of the Land. The song was voted by Mixmag readers as the third greatest dance track of all time.[3] Although the song was not as big a commercial success as their previous singles, it gained a cult following.

For the album by Ultramagnetic MCs, see Smack My Bitch Up (album).
"Smack My Bitch Up"
Single by The Prodigy
from the album The Fat of the Land
Released17 November 1997
Format
Genre
Length
  • 4:45 (edit)
  • 5:43 (album version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Liam Howlett
The Prodigy singles chronology
"Breathe"
(1996)		 "Smack My Bitch Up"
(1997)		 "Baby's Got a Temper"
(2002)
Music video
Smack My Bitch Up (DVD edit) on Vimeo

The song caused considerable controversy because of its suggestive title and explicit music video, which depicted scenes of drunken and drug-fuelled sexual excess and violence. The refrain, which consists only of the line "Change my pitch up / Smack my bitch up", was sampled from the song "Give the Drummer Some" by the Ultramagnetic MCs. In 2010, the song was voted as the most controversial of all-time in a survey conducted by PRS for Music.[4]

Prior to the release of the single, Liam Howlett was presented with three remixes of the title song, one by Jonny L, one by DJ Hype and one by Slacker. Howlett chose the DJ Hype remix to be released on the single. The Jonny L remix was released through a free CD that came along with an issue of Muzik magazine, while the Slacker remix was never officially released, although it surfaced on a rare and limited set of white labels.

Composition

The lyrics "Change my pitch up / Smack my bitch up" are repeated through the whole song. The vocals are sampled and altered from the Ultramagnetic MCs song "Give the Drummer Some"; the original lyrics, performed by rapper Kool Keith, are: "Switch up change my pitch up" / "Smack my bitch up, like a pimp".[5] Kool Keith had previously been sampled by the Prodigy in the track "Out of Space". The female vocals in "Smack My Bitch Up" were performed by Shahin Badar. Badar's vocals and harmonies are based on "Nana (The Dreaming)" performed by Sheila Chandra. Initially Liam Howlett used a direct sample of Chandra's song, but later had the vocal resung after sample clearance issues. The track also contains samples from "Funky Man" by Kool & the Gang, "In Memory Of" by Randy Weston, "Bulls on Parade" by Rage Against the Machine and "House of Rising Funk" by Afrique.[6]

Music video

Director Jonas Åkerlund's video for "Smack My Bitch Up" depicts a night out in London, filmed from a first-person perspective, graphically portraying drinking and driving, snorting cocaine, violence, vomiting, vandalism, nudity and sex.[7] The unedited version also includes a scene of heroin use, a hit and run incident, fights with men, abuse of women, and a full sex scene. The protagonist takes a stripper home and has sex with her. As the stripper leaves with her things, the protagonist glances in the mirror, is revealed to be a woman, and collapses on the bed. Liam Howlett noted:

"There's a realness to that video. Most people have had nights out like that, off their head on coke and drink… It's not to everyone's taste, but not everything we do is. No radio station was gonna play the song, so we thought we'd make a video that no one would play either."[8]

Controversy

Lyrical controversy

The song's lyrics, often held as misogynistic, were defended by the band, saying that the lyrics were being misinterpreted and the song actually meant "...doing anything intensely..."[9]

"Smack My Bitch Up" was banned by the BBC and only a lyric-free version was played on Radio 1. On the chart rundown, other tracks from the single release were played, and the title "Smack My Bitch Up" was not mentioned. On BBC World Service radio chart run down it was mentioned as "Smack" and was not played. Yet on the first episode of Top of the Pops in which it charted, the DJ Hype remix was played over the top 10 countdown, including the offending lyric of "Change my pitch up, smack my bitch up."

ITV Chart Show refused to display the name of the song when the video was played during one of their episodes. Usually aired at 11.30 am, the show displayed the on-screen graphic as simply "The Prodigy"; the title of the song would usually appear underneath. This also meant they avoided playing a part of the song that used the offending lyric when playing the customary music video clip.

Video

The video drew criticism for misogyny, particularly from feminist groups such as the US National Organization for Women (NOW), accusing it of encouraging violence against women.[10][11]

MTV initially restricted the video to late-night rotation, starting with a midnight debut on 120 Minutes on December 7, 1997.[12] On December 22, MTV removed the video from rotation; a statement was posted on the network's official website the same day, which stated that protests from feminist organizations had nothing to do with the decision.[10] In mid-2002, MTV2 played the full unedited version as part of its special Most Controversial Videos.[13] Despite the controversy, the video was nominated for four awards in the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards, and eventually won Best Dance Video and Breakthrough Video.

Track listing

XL Recordings

12" vinyl record
  1. "Smack My Bitch Up" (LP version) – 5:42
  2. "No Man Army" (featuring Tom Morello) – 4:44
  3. "Smack My Bitch Up" (DJ Hype remix) – 7:17
  4. "Mindfields" – 4:34

CD single
  1. "Smack My Bitch Up" (edit) – 4:45
  2. "No Man Army" – 4:44
  3. "Mindfields" (Headrock dub) – 4:34
  4. "Smack My Bitch Up" (DJ Hype remix) – 7:17

Maverick Records

12" vinyl record "Black sleeve"
A1. "Smack My Bitch Up" (album version) – 5:43
A2. "Mindfields" (Headrock dub) – 4:35
B1. "Smack My Bitch Up" (DJ Hype remix) – 7:17

12" vinyl record
A1. "Smack My Bitch Up" (LP version) – 5:42
A2. "No Man Army" (featuring Tom Morello) – 4:44
B1. "Mindfields" – 4:34
B2. "This is the day " – 7:17

Digipak
  1. "Smack My Bitch Up" (edit) – 4:45
  2. "No Man Army" (featuring Tom Morello) – 4:44
  3. "Mindfields" (Headrock dub) – 4:34
  4. "Smack My Bitch Up" (DJ Hype remix) – 7:17

The digipak was released in cooperation with Sire.

Chart performance

The song reached the top 15 in several countries, for example Canada, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden. The song performed best in Finland, securing The Prodigy their third Finnish number-one hit alongside "Firestarter" and "Breathe". Although not reaching the top 20 in those countries, "Smack My Bitch Up" was a hit in the Netherlands peaking at No. 22, in Australia reaching No. 41,[14] and in the United States reaching No. 89.[15] The single also returned to the Billboard charts after Flint's death, entering number 23 on its Dance/Electronic Digital Songs Sales chart in its 16 March 2019 issue.[16]

Charts
Chart (1997–2019) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[17] 41
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[18] 7
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[19] 12
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[20] 1
Germany (Official German Charts)[21] 51
Hungary (Mahasz)[22] 5
Ireland (IRMA)[23] 6
Italy (FIMI)[24] 16
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[25] 19
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[26] 8
Norway (VG-lista)[27] 8
Spain (AFYVE)[28] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[29] 13
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[30] 8
UK Dance (Official Charts Company)[31] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[32] 89
US Dance/Electronic Digital Songs (Billboard)[33] 23

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[34] Gold 5,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[35] Gold 400,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Notes
  1. "The Prodigy, "Smack My Bitch Up" SPIN". Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  2. "This Is Techno, Vol. 3 - Various Artists - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  3. What is the Greatest Dance Track of All Time? Mixmag (15 February 2013)
  4. "Smack My Bitch Up voted most controversial pop song". Mirror.co.uk. 24 November 2010. Archived from the original on 24 August 2018.
  5. Darby, Derrick; Shelby, Tommie; Irwin, William (21 August 2013). Hip-Hop and Philosophy: Rhyme 2 Reason. Open Court. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-8126-9779-7.
  6. jimpavloff (15 December 2009). "Making of "The Prodigy - Smack My Bitch Up" in Ableton by Jim Pavloff" – via YouTube.
  7. Giffney, Ms Noreen; O'Rourke, Mr Michael (28 December 2012). The Ashgate Research Companion to Queer Theory. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 435. ISBN 978-1-4094-9206-1.
  8. Elliott, Paul (February 1998). "Their year: The Prodigy". Q. No. 137. p. 95.
  9. "Major Lazer Remix The Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up"". The FADER. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  10. Staff, MTV News (December 22, 1997). "MTV Explains Decision To Pull Prodigy". MTV News. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  11. "'Bitch' banned from MTV". Yahoo Music. December 23, 1997. Archived from the original on August 29, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  12. "Prodigy Video To Air On MTV As Controversy Continues". MTV News. 1997-12-04. Archived from the original on August 22, 2001. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  13. "MTV's Most Controversial Videos". MTV. Archived from the original on August 14, 2003.
  14. Hung, Steffen. "australian-charts.com - The Prodigy - Smack My Bitch Up".
  15. US and Canadian Charts - Allmusic.com
  16. "The Prodigy Return to Billboard's Charts After Keith Flint's Death" from Billboard (13 March 2019)
  17. "Australian-charts.com – The Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  18. "Ultratop.be – The Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  19. The Prodigy | Awards | Allmusic Allmusic.com
  20. "The Prodigy: Smack My Bitch Up" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  21. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  22. "Top 10 Hungary" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  23. "The Irish Charts – All there is to Know" (enter search parameter The Prodigy into Search by Artist box, then select Go). Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  24. "Hit Parade Italia – Indice per Interprete: P". Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  25. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 50, 1997" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  26. "Charts.nz – The Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  27. "Norwegiancharts.com – The Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up". VG-lista. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  28. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  29. "Swedishcharts.com – The Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up". Singles Top 100. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  30. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  31. "Official UK Dance Singles Chart (23 November 1997 - 29 November 1997)". Officialcharts.com.
  32. "The Prodigy Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  33. "2019 Archive: Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales (March 16, 2019)". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  34. "New Zealand single certifications – The Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  35. "British single certifications – Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 August 2019. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Smack My Bitch Up in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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