You Know How We Do It

"You Know How We Do It"
Single by Ice Cube
from the album Lethal Injection
Released1994
Recorded1993
GenreG-funk
Length3:52
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)QDIII
Ice Cube singles chronology
"Really Doe"
(1993) 		"You Know How We Do It"
(1994) 		"Bop Gun (One Nation)"
(1994)
Music video
"You Know How We Do It" on YouTube

"You Know How We Do It" is a song by American rapper, actor and filmmaker Ice Cube, released as the second single from his fourth studio album, Lethal Injection (1993). The song was released in 1994 by Lench Mob and Priority, and was a No. 30 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100. Musically, it is in the G-funk genre,[1][2][3][4][5][6] and has the same kind of mood and feeling as "It Was a Good Day".[7] The song samples "The Show Is Over" by Evelyn "Champagne" King, "Summer Madness" by Kool & the Gang, and "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson.[8]

Critical reception

Everett True from Melody Maker wrote, "This is more of that gorgeously smooth East Side/West Side funk that surely even the most staid of you are spending all your waking hours with by now, with sequenced vocals, gentle scratchin', a mutha of a rhythm track and a vocal as drop-dead-and-f***-me-as-you-fall cool as you'd ever want."[9] Paul Moody from NME named it Big Funky Single of the Week, adding, "A deep, oven-baked rhythm, a sample stolen from the wonderful "The Show is Over" by Evelyn Champagne King and then Ice himself, grumbling about how ...They wanna have me in stripes, like Dennis the Menace and mumbling incoherently about the 'West Side'. [...] A funk record for people scared to funk and a rap record for people who... yeah, yeah, you know. A monster hit."[10]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "You Know How We Do It" was directed by American film and music video director Marcus Raboy and filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada. It features Ice Cube and his crew taking a trip to Las Vegas in a convertible Jaguar XJS and gambling in several Vegas Casinos

The song first appeared on the soundtrack of the 1993 film Surf Ninjas. Mariah Carey sampled "You Know How We Do It" in her song "Irresistible (West Side Connection)" from her 2002 album Charmbracelet; it features Ice Cube as part of the hip hop supergroup the Westside Connection, which also included Mack 10 and WC. The song was also featured in the film Sonic The Hedgehog 2 and Grand Theft Auto V.

Track listing

  1. "You Know How We Do It"
  2. "You Know How We Do It (Instrumental)"
  3. "2 n the Morning"
  4. "2 n the Morning (Instrumental)"

Charts

Chart (1994) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[11] 41
UK Dance (Music Week)[12] 11
UK Club Chart (Music Week)[13] 48
US Billboard Hot 100[14] 30
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[15] 21
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[16] 5

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[17] Gold 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Juon, Steve 'Flash'. "Ice Cube :: Lethal Injection". RapReviews. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  2. ^ "Ice Cube Bell Stage, Quebec City QC, July 9". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
  3. ^ "The top 5 G-funk songs of all time, according to Buddy". The FADER. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
  4. ^ "Ice Cube, IndigO2, LondonFriendly Fires, Roundhouse, London". The Independent. 2011-10-23. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
  5. ^ Fitzgerald, Trent (February 21, 2016). "Kendrick Lamar & Ice Cube Appear on Funkadelic's 'Ain't That Funkin' Kinda Hard On You?' (Remix)". The Boombox. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
  6. ^ "The 9 Best DJ Mixes of June 2021". Pitchfork. July 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
  7. ^ "Lethal Injection - Ice Cube | Songs, Reviews, Credits", AllMusic, retrieved 2021-07-06
  8. ^ "55 Hip-Hop Songs That Sample Michael Jackson". XXL Mag. August 29, 2013. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
  9. ^ True, Everett (1994-12-17). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 31. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  10. ^ Moody, Paul (1994-03-19). "Singles". NME. p. 35. Retrieved 2023-08-17.
  11. ^ "officialcharts.com". officialcharts.com. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  12. ^ "Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 26 March 1994. p. 24. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  13. ^ "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 19 March 1994. p. 4. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Ice Cube Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  15. ^ "Ice Cube Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  16. ^ "Ice Cube Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard.
  17. ^ "British single certifications – Ice Cube – You Know How We Do It". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 10, 2024.