| "Jump Around" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byHouse of Pain | ||||
| from the albumHouse of Pain | ||||
| B-side | "House of Pain Anthem" | |||
| Released | May 5, 1992 (1992-05-05)[1] | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 3:37 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | DJ Muggs | |||
| House of Pain singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Jump Around" onYouTube | ||||
"Jump Around" is a song by Americanhip hop groupHouse of Pain, produced byDJ Muggs ofCypress Hill, who has also covered the song, and was released in May 1992 byTommy Boy andXL as the first single from their debut album,House of Pain (1992). The song is popular amongdancehallDJs and is widely regarded in the United Kingdom as a club classic. Its music video was filmed inNew York City, featuring footage from the 1992Saint Patrick's Dayparade.
The song became a hit, reaching number three in the United States. A 1993 re-release of the song in the United Kingdom, where the initial release had been a minor hit, peaked at number eight. "Jump Around" was ranked at position 580 onQ Magazine's "1001 Best Songs Ever",[2] number 24 onVH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 90s",[3] number 66 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop", number 325 onBlender's "500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born" and number 47 onNME's "100 Best Songs of the 1990s".
DJ Muggs has stated that he originally produced the beat for Cypress Hill, but rapper B-Real couldn’t come up with the lyrics. It was subsequently offered toIce Cube, who refused it, before finally being taken and used by House of Pain.[4] The lyric "if your girl steps up, I'm smackin the ho'" brought accusations of misogyny in 2014.[5]
The song features a distinctivehornfanfare intro, sampled fromBob & Earl's 1963 track "Harlem Shuffle". The song also samples "Popeye the Hitchhiker" byChubby Checker, but it is best known for a high-pitched squealing sound that appears at the beginning of almost every bar—66 times in the course of the recording.
The origin of the squeal has been the subject of debate. In a 2006 interview withSeattle Weekly,Divine Styler's article mentions sampling the same squeal 'Jump Around' used for his single "Ain't Sayin' Nothin",[6]Complex also noted this potential connection with "Ain't Sayin' Nothin" in 2012.[7]
American bloggerAnil Dash and musicianQuestlove of hip-hop bandThe Roots have insisted onPrince's "Gett Off" as the source, whileWhoSampled had listedJunior Walker and the All Stars' "Shoot Your Shot" as the source.[8] In 2016, aNewsweek reader performed aspectrogram analysis, which revealed that the sample more closely matched "Shoot Your Shot", and House of Pain memberEverlast himself told Questlove that it was a horn making the squeal and not Prince. However, Anil Dash claimed the band denied that the sample was Prince to avoid paying royalties to the singer.[8] Prince never commented on the matter.[9] The Prince connection was also noted in a performance by Bruno Mars using 'Gett Off' and 'Jump Around' together for a dance routine with his single "Finesse" at the2018 Grammy Awards.[10]
For his part, DJ Muggs said the sample came from neither Prince nor Junior Walker,[11] likely as a way to avoid licensing fees.[12] In 2020, Everlast stated that the sample came from Divine Styler's "Ain't Sayin' Nothin", which samples "Shoot Your Shot".[13]
The accompanying music video for "Jump Around" was filmed during the 1992New York CitySaint Patrick's Dayparade. Portions were shot on the parade route as well as inCentral Park andOld Town Bar and Restaurant.New York Yankees super fan andYankee Stadium regularFreddy Schuman can be seen in the parade crowd, ringing his signatureshamrock pan near the end of the video.[citation needed] The video ends with a dedication to the memory of Matt Champy, a friend of the band who died in 1992.[14]
In the United States, "Jump Around" peaked at number three on both theBillboard Hot 100 andCash Box Top 100, while reaching number five on theBillboardHot Rap Songs chart and number 17 on theBillboardDance Club Songs chart. In Canada, the single hit number seven on theRPM Dance/Urban chart and number 45 on theRPM Top Singles chart. In Europe, it entered the top 10 in Ireland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In the latter, "Jump Around" peaked at number eight in its second run on theUK Singles Chart, on May 23, 1993.[3] Additionally, it was a top 30 hit in Belgium and Sweden, as well as on theEurochart Hot 100, where it peaked at number 30 in June 1993. In Oceania, the single peaked at number 15 in Australia and number 31 in New Zealand. "Jump Around" earned agold record in Australia and double platinum in the UK, with a sale of 35,000 and 1,200,000 singles, respectively. In the US, it earned a platinum record, when 1 million units were sold there.
J. D. Considine forSchenectady, New York'sThe Daily Gazette described the song as "springy"[15] and Scott Sterling fromThe Michigan Daily called it the "most happening track" on theHouse of Pain album.[16] Bill Wyman fromEntertainment Weekly said, "It's a charging dance number based on a sampled snatch of bagpipe."[17] AnotherEW editor, Leah Greenblatt, wrote that "the first and only members of hip-hop's Irish-American Thug Life Hall of Fame earned their spot in that (imaginary) pantheon with this killer blast ofrapid-fire rap bravado."[18] Brian A. Samson from theGavin Report commented that "this uptempo single provides listeners with what H.O.P. calls "fine malt lyrics." Laced with squeaky buzzes that sounds like of a clarinet played by a novice, the beats should provide for some head-noddin' action."[19]
Across the Atlantic,Dublin-basedEvening Herald declared it as a "compelling single",[20] while theIrish Independent said the group had "made a fairly groovy record."[21] Stephen Trousse fromMelody Maker wrote that it "has already achieved a frightening ubiquity, becoming 1992's evil twin hip hop hit toArrested Development's 'People Everyday'".[22]Music Week'sRM Dance Update complimented it as an "excellent debut", noting that "built on a chugging Caribbean rhythm, 'Jump Around' features a strongHeavy D-like rap and its popularity is ensured by a chanted chorus with the buzz word 'Jump'. With a sleeve festooned with shamrock leaves and an Irish flag, it seemsTommy Boy may have beatenTalkin' Loud in the race to give us Irish rap."[23] An editor, Andy Beevers, called it "an infectious bouncy track", adding that lyrically, "their invitation to jump is as aggressive asKris Kross's was cute."[24] Johnny Dee fromNME remarked its "fresh perkiness", praising the song as "the crispest rap biscuit of the season". Upon the 1993 re-release, he stated that it "still makes your body feel as if it was possessed by a jumping bean".[25] Rupert Howe fromSelect magazine described it as a "Kris-Kross-with testosterone smash" and added that it is "an impossibly simplefreestyleskank that stormed the USbillboard big-time."[26]
In 2019,About.com's Bill Lamb called "Jump Around" one of the "Top 10 Pop Songs of 1992", saying, "After one time of hearing this riveting blend of rap and rock, you will likely never forget the sampled saxophone squeal fromJr. Walker and the All Stars that leads off every bar."[27] He also wrote, "For a brief period of time in the 1990s, it seemed that the marriage of edgy rock and hip-hop could actually become a thing. 'Jump Around' is proof that the union could either be incredibly infectious or annoying, depending on one's tolerance for the incessant siren that accompanies the pounding beats."[28][unreliable source?]AllMusic editor Rob Theakston named the song a "dynamite classic".[29] He also stated that the "anthem" that got the Irish boys rolling in the first place "still sounds as timeless and energetic nearly a decade along".[30]
NME ranked it number six in their list of "Singles of the Year" in December 1992.[31] In 2003,Q Magazine included it in their list of "1001 Best Songs Ever".[2] In 2012,NME featured it in their list of "100 Best Songs of the 1990s", describing the song as "irresistible, the ultimate easy floorfiller, and floor-destroyer."[32]Time Out ranked it number 68 in their "The 100 Best Party Songs Ever Made" in July 2023.[33] In October 2023,Billboard ranked "Jump Around" number 442 in their "Best Pop Songs of All Time", saying, "That head-nodder of a rap song with the catchy squeal that gets everyone to literally 'jump around' for the home team at sporting events, causing stadiums to shake to their foundations."[34] In February 2024, the magazine ranked it number eight in their "The 100 Greatest Jock Jams of All Time".[35]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[70] | Gold | 35,000^ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[71] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
| Germany (BVMI)[72] | Gold | 250,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[73] | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[1] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | May 5, 1992 |
| Tommy Boy | [1] |
| Australia | September 14, 1992 |
|
| [74] |
| United Kingdom | September 28, 1992 |
| XL | [75] |
| Australia | October 5, 1992 | 12-inch vinyl |
| [76] |
| United Kingdom (re-release) | May 10, 1993 |
| XL | [77] |
On September 16, 2016, British YouTuber and rapperKSI released hisown version of "Jump Around", featuring American rapperWaka Flocka Flame.[78] In 2019, Americannu metal band Coming for Blood released a cover version of "Jump Around", featuringDJ Lethal on turntables.[79]
Athomefootball games at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison, students "Jump Around" to the song between the third and fourth quarters. It stirred up fans and players and eventually became a tradition.[80] The song's title is displayed on unofficialWisconsin Badgers clothing and apparel, along with the credit/debit cards of the university'semployee/student/alumni credit union.
Professional wrestlersJ. C. Ice andWolfie D, collectively known asPG-13, used a censored version of the song as their entrance to the rings.
The song appears in the 1996 golf filmHappy Gilmore during a highlights sequence.
Two time Darts World ChampionGary Anderson from Scotland uses this song as his walk on music.[81]
Media related toJump Around at Wikimedia Commons
