| "White & Nerdy" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by"Weird Al" Yankovic | ||||
| from the albumStraight Outta Lynwood | ||||
| B-side | "Don't Download This Song" | |||
| Released | 2006 | |||
| Recorded | 2006 | |||
| Studio | Westlake Recording[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:50 | |||
| Label | Volcano | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | "Weird Al" Yankovic | |||
| "Weird Al" Yankovic singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Straight Outta Lynwood track listing | ||||
12 tracks
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "White & Nerdy" onYouTube | ||||
"White & Nerdy" is the second single from"Weird Al" Yankovic's albumStraight Outta Lynwood, which was released in 2006. It parodies the song "Ridin'" byChamillionaire andKrayzie Bone. The song both satirizes and celebratesnerd culture, as recited by the subject, who cannot "roll with thegangstas" because he is "just toowhite andnerdy". It includes many references to activities stereotypically associated with nerds and/or white people, such as collectingcomic books andaction figures, being fluent inJavaScript andKlingon, editingWikipedia, and playingDungeons & Dragons.
The song was Yankovic's only USBillboard Hot 100 top 10 song, peaking at No. 9, and his second to reach the top 20 in America after "Eat It" peaked at No. 12 in 1984. "White & Nerdy" was certified platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA), becoming Yankovic's first single to achieve this feat.
Although Yankovic usually records his songs with his band, the backing tracks for "White and Nerdy" were recorded by guitaristJim West—who handled the synthesizer production—andJon "Bermuda" Schwartz—who recorded the drums. The backing musicians recorded their respective tracks at their home studios. Yankovic added his rap vocals later at Westlake Studio in Los Angeles, California.[1]
The single has an accompanying music video, which was recorded inhigh definition. The video, loosely parodying the video forChamillionaire's "Ridin'" and following the song's lyrics, shows Yankovic, dressed as a stereotypical nerd with a buttoned-uppolo shirt, dress slacks, andhorn-rimmed glasses attempting to fit in with the "gangsters" (the first ones beingKeegan-Michael Key andJordan Peele),[2] in a blue 1967 Chevy Impala convertible but instead either scaring them away, causing them toflip him the bird, or to direct him away from their group and instead towards a herd of other "nerds". These scenes include shots that directly parody the "Ridin'" video, including similar outfits by both artists. Yankovic is seen at night dancing in front of a set of road flares arranged in the form ofPac-Man, similar to the shot of Chamillionaire in front of the figure of a lizard, his personal logo. Another repeated scene shows Yankovic along withDonny Osmond—the "whitest guy I could think of", according to Yankovic[3]—dancing in front of theSchrödinger equation, mimicking shots of Chamillionaire andKrayzie Bone from the "Ridin'" video. Yankovic had found Osmond to be eager to be in the video, having memorized the song before recording as well as having his various moves already figured out before filming.[2]
Further interspersed among these shots are additional shots of Yankovic demonstrating his "white and nerdy" life. One scene shows Yankovicvandalizing theWikipedia page forAtlantic Records, replacing it with the words (in a large font size) "YOU SUCK!", referencing his then-recent trouble with the company in getting permission to release "You're Pitiful", a parody ofJames Blunt's song "You're Beautiful".[4] Fans of the video have replicated the action depicted in the video several times. The video shows a fictionalTrivial Pursuit card, with questions that include the location of the largest ball of twine (a reference to his song "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota)", on what pageHarry Potter would die inthe next book, and the number of Wicket men there are on a43-Man Squamish team (there are five).[5]
The video includes other cameos. The Impala's "OG4LIFE" license plate refers toIce-T's 1991 albumOriginal Gangster.Seth Green, whom Yankovic had known for some time, appears in front of a wall display of action figures. Green also provided a number of the props for the video.[2]Judy Tenuta, a regular onThe Weird Al Show who also previously appeared in "Headline News", plays the woman who receives asurge protector as a present. Other actors were recruited by Yankovic through hisMySpace page, from which he received extras who said they would appear for free. The video's comic book store isGolden Apple Comics inLos Angeles,California.[6]
The video was leaked ontoYouTube on September 17, 2006, one day before the planned official release date onAOL. Due to the leak, the premiere was canceled, and AOL silently slipped the video onto their website.[7][citation needed]VH1 started airing the video in "large rotation" on September 20, 2006; the video debuted at #5 on their Top 20 countdown.[8]
Yahoo! Music solicited online members to make afans-only video for "White & Nerdy". The video was released in late 2006.[9]
On November 2, 2006, Yankovic performed "White & Nerdy" live onThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno. (He rode aSegway as he came on stage.) It was his first public live performance of the song; various background vocals from the original recording are played to allow him time to breathe during the fast-paced lyrics. Since then, however, his band has provided live background vocals. On December 3, he performed the song live at theVH1 "Big In '06" Awards. Since 2007, Yankovic has performed the song on each one of his tours,[10] entering the stage on a Segway and wearing his hoodie and bandana from the video rather than using his "nerd" look. His band members maintain the "nerdy" outfits.[11]
The song became Yankovic's first career Top 10 hit on theBillboard Hot 100, a record 23 years after his first appearance on the Hot 100 chart with "Ricky" in 1983. It debuted at #28 on the Hot 100 (that week's "Hot Shot Debut"), and peaked at #9 the following week, beating his previous #12 peak for 1984's "Eat It". It spent a total of 20 weeks on the Hot 100, including 5 weeks in the Top 20 and 10 weeks in the Top 40.[12] This was also his first Top 40 single since 1992's "Smells Like Nirvana".[13] It peaked on theHot Digital Songs chart at #5. Both the song and the music video reached #1 at the U.S. and AustralianiTunes Store, and peaked at #1 onVH1's top 20 video countdown. Both "White & Nerdy" andStraight Outta Lynwood werecertified gold, and laterplatinum, by theRIAA.[8] This marks the first time any one of Yankovic's singles has been certified platinum.[14]
Chamillionaire placed "White & Nerdy" on hisMySpace page, commenting that he enjoyed the parody.[15] In an interview, Chamillionaire complimented Yankovic'srapping ability, saying, "He's actually rapping pretty good on it, it's crazy ... I didn't know he could rap like that."[15] Yankovic stated that Chamillionaire approached and thanked him on the red carpet after "Ridin'" won the Grammy award forBest Rap Song at the49th Annual Grammy Awards and said that the parody "made it undeniable that ["Ridin'"] was the rap song of the year".[16]
Weekly[edit]
| Year-end[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[24] Digital | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
| United States (RIAA)[25] Mastertone | Gold | 500,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
"White & Nerdy" erupted on the Billboard singles charts at #28 (as the "Hot Shot Debut") and then rocketed to #9 the next week, making it Al's very first Top 10 single! Thanks, everybody, for giving Al his highest-charting album and single of all time!
