| "Let Your Backbone Slide" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byMaestro Fresh-Wes | ||||
| from the albumSymphony in Effect | ||||
| Released | 1989 | |||
| Recorded | 1989 | |||
| Genre | Canadian hip hop | |||
| Length | 4:58 | |||
| Label | Attic/LMR | |||
| Songwriter(s) | W. Williams | |||
| Producer(s) | Peter & Anthony Davis | |||
| Maestro Fresh-Wes singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Let Your Backbone Slide" is the debut single byMaestro Fresh-Wes, released in 1989 from his first album,Symphony in Effect. In Canada, over 50,000 copies of the single were sold, making Maestro the first Canadian rapper to have agold single.[1] It also reached #1 onThe Record Singles Chart, in April 1990.[2] In the United States, 25,000 copies were sold in its first few weeks of release.[3] It remained the best-sellingCanadian hip hop single of all time until 2008,[4] when it was eclipsed byKardinal Offishall's "Dangerous".
In a 2000 poll conducted by the music magazineChart, "Let Your Backbone Slide" was voted the 11th greatest Canadian song of all time.[5]
The song contains samples of "The Champ" byThe Mohawks, "Funky Drummer" byJames Brown, "Set It Off" byStrafe, "La Di Da Di" byDoug E. Fresh andSlick Rick, "One, Two, Three" by The B-Boys and "Rebel Without a Pause" byPublic Enemy.
Themusic video, directed by Joel Goldberg was shot inToronto, with most of it taking place in a club. In the video's first few seconds, presenterDwight Drummond plays the role of a cameraman. It received rotation onMTV andBET.[3]
A-side
B-side
| Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| CanadianRPM Singles Chart[6] | 10 |
| CanadianRPM Canadian Content Chart[7] | 1 |
| CanadianThe Record Singles Chart[8] | 1 |
| U.S.Billboard Hot Rap Singles[9] | 14 |
| Chart (1990s) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[10] | 100 |
