"I Got The..." is a song by British musician Labi Siffre, originally released in 1975 as the opening track on his album Remember My Song.
The song gained a resurgence in popularity in 1999 when it was sampled by American rapper Eminem on his breakthrough hit "My Name Is". This newfound interest led to "I Got The..." being released as a single in 2003.
Composition and recording
As with the other tracks on Remember My Song, "I Got The..." was written by Siffre and produced by Big Jim Sullivan and Derek Lawrence.[1] The recording featured session musicians Chas Hodges on guitar and Dave Peacock on bass guitar, who would later become notable in their own right as Chas & Dave.[2][3]
Legacy
Sampling
In 1999, a guitar and bass riff from "I Got The..." was sampled by the American rappers Eminem and Dr. Dre for Eminem's song "My Name Is", which became his breakthrough hit.[2][3]
Siffre, who is openly gay, said in an interview that he refused permission for the sample until the sexist and homophobic lyrics were removed from "My Name Is":
"Dissing the victims of bigotry – women as bitches, homosexuals as faggots – is lazy writing. Diss the bigots not their victims."[4]
He eventually allowed the sample when he was sent a censored "clean" version, though the "dirty" version continues to use the lyrics that he objected to.[5]