vdoclipoldhiphopfunk, Aug 26, 2013
-snip-
This is a "clean" video of this 1996 Hip Hop record (meaning the curse words have been removed from the audio.)
****
Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest Update -Feb. 11, 2024
This is Part I of a four part pancocojams series on Busta Rhymes' 1996 Hip Hop record "Woo Hah! Got You All In Check".
This pancocojams post showcases a clean YouTube video of the original version of "Woo Hah Got You All In Check". This post also presents a link to the official (explicit) video of that record. The summary of that video presents the complete lyrics for that 1996 Hip Hop record.
This post also includes brief information about Busta Rhyme from his Wikipedia page.
This pancocojams post also provides information about the first use of that "Woo Ha Got You all in check" hook along with my general interpretations of the sayings "got you in check" and "got you all in check" and my interpretation of those sayings as they refer to Busta Rhyme's 1996 Hip Hop record with that title.
In addition, this post also presents quotes from several online sources about the meaning of the saying "got you all in check" as Busta Rhymes uses it.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2024/02/information-about-people-characters-and.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post presents information about real or fictitional people or characters mentioned in Busta Rhymes' 1996 record "Woo Hah!! Got You All In Check". That post also presents some explanations of certain things or terms that are included in that record.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2024/02/memories-of-hearing-busta-rhymes-1996.html for Part III of this pancocojams series. That post presents examples of memories that some people shared about first hearing and seeing Busta Rhymes' 1996 record "Woo Hah! Got You All In Check".
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2024/02/examples-of-bad-breath-you-need-winter.html for Part IV of this pancocojams series. That post presents several memories that commenters on two YouTube discussion threads shared about a 1990s children's insult rhyme that was inspired by Busta Rhyme's record "Woo Hah Got You All In Check".
The content of this post is presented for cultural, linguistic, and entertainment purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Busta Rhymes for his musical legacy. Thanks to all those who were associated with this record and its video and thanks to the publisher of this embedded video on YouTube. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFrl7rnCx4A for "Busta Rhymes ft. Ol' Dirty Bastard - Woo-Hah!! Got You All
In Check (The World Wide Remix)", published by Busta Rhymes, Sep 20, 2019-official music video [Explicit] (1996)
****
WARNING - Busta Rhymes' "Woo Hah!! Got You All In Check record and official video (as well as the official video of the remix of that song whose link is given above) includes profanity and a form of the "n word".
Because pancocojams is a family centered blog, I chose to embed a clean YouTube version of that record.
The official (explicit) YouTube video of that Busta Rhyme's song can be found by clicking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQzvQO2LcA4. published by Busta Rhymes, May 8, 2020
The summary to that video includes the complete lyrics of that rap (with the explicit words spelled as is).
****
INFORMATION ABOUT BUSTA RHYMES
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busta_Rhymes
"Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known
professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, songwriter, record
producer, and actor....
He has received 12 Grammy Award nominations for his work, making him one of the most-nominated artists without winning.
Busta Rhymes was an original member of Leaders of the New School, a group that attracted national attention when they opened on tour for Public Enemy.[5] He gained exposure for their guest appearance on A Tribe Called Quest's track "Scenario". Shortly thereafter, Leaders of the New School broke up, leading Rhymes to become a sought after solo artist, appearing on numerous tracks for other artists before his solo debut album, The Coming (1996). The album reached the top ten on the Billboard 200 album chart, was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and earned him a Grammy nomination.
[...]
In 1996, Busta Rhymes release on his solo debut album The
Coming.[28] His single "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check" was a
success, pushing the album into gold record status.
[...]
In 2021, Busta Rhymes released the 25th Anniversary Edition
of his debut studio album, The Coming. [58]
In late 2023, his eleventh studio album Blockbusta was released; with a long list of features. [59]"...
****
THE FIRST USE OF THE LINE "WOO HA GOT YOU ALL IN CHECK"
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QR-JKGz1fs "UNMATCHED ENERGY!!! Busta Rhymes - Woo-Hah!! Got You All In
Check (REACTION), published by KingAhmadTV, Jun
2, 2021
@jermainezinnerman7450,2021
"If you like that hook and know the history you'll know
hardly anything is new and original. Busta Rhymes got the "Woo-ha, got you
all in check" from Big Bank Hank(r.i.p) of Sugarhill Gang on the song 8th
wonder. Sugarhill Gang even sued Busta Rhymes for use of the line. Ironically
Hank is probably known as the original biter for taking Grandmaster Caz's
rhymes for Rapper's Delight."
-snip-
Click https://youtu.be/qB7O6c5Uycw for the YouTube video of Sugarhill Gang's record "8th Wonder"
****
From https://www.quora.com/Who-was-the-first-to-use-the-lyrics-Woo-hah-got-them-all-in-check
Mico Martinez, 2017
"Busta Rhyme’s more or less “sampled” the line of Sugarhill
Gang’s “8th Wonder” and they actually sued him for not crediting them as
inspiration for his usage of the line. Although in the orignal song it’s Big
Bank Hank who uses the line multiple times, and he’s known for completely
stealing his verses on “Rapper’s Delight” from Grandmaster Caz. As well as
never actually being a legitimately rapper who wrote his own lyrics or could
freestyle, so who knows who originally wrote the line haha, my guess would be
one of the actual two emcees in Sugarhill Gang, Wonder Mike of Master Gee."
****
From https://pagesix.com/2012/12/29/woo-hah-all-in-court/
"Rapper Busta Rhymes has been busted over the lyrics from his 1996 breakthrough hit single. A copyright infringement suit claims Rhymes’ platinum-selling (and quite awesome) “Woo Hah! Got You All in Check” is a rip-off of 1980’s “8th Wonder” by old-school rappers the Sugarhill Gang. The Post’s Bruce Golding reports that the Manhattan federal court filing claims 20 percent of the lyrics in Rhymes’ tune were lifted from “8th Wonder,” which featured Master Gee’s refrain “Dang diddy dang di-dang di-dang diggy diggy,” and Big Bank Hank’s rap, “Woo-HAH! Got them all in check” (which has been sampled by many, including the Beastie Boys)."...
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor: I don't know what the result of that law suit was.
****
WHAT DOES "IN CHECK" MEAN? & WHAT IS THE SOURCE OF THAT PHRASE?
"In check" is an adverbial phrase that means that people are in or are placed in situations where they are overpowered and can't win, or they are in situations where they must do what is expected of them (such as when students in school must listen to and follow their teacher's rules and classroom management expectations.
The phrase "in check" comes from the word "checkmate". Here's a quote from https://www.reddit.com/r/EnglishLearning/comments/l68xfm/what_does_checkmate_mean_on_the_internet/ "What does "checkmate mean on the internet?"
Synaps4, 2023
"It's used to mean "I won".
Usually on the internet it's winning an argument, but
checkmate can be used for winning other things as well. It originally comes
from the game of chess, where you announce "checkmate" to tell your
opponent that you have won and there are no more moves he can use to keep
playing."
-end of quote-
While "in check" initially meant and still can mean that a person has won a competition, that phrase can also be used in other ways. Here's an example of the phrase "in check" used regarding classroom management: A person might compliment a teacher for having her or his students "in check". That compliment means that the teacher has very good classroom management skills. Students listens to that teacher without any problem, follow their classroom's rules, behaving well in that classroom and elsewhere throughout that school.
****
MY INTERPRETATION OF THE SAYING "GOT YOU ALL IN CHECK" IN BUSTA RHYMES' HIP HOP RECORD
Busta Rhymes' 1996 Hip Hop record "Woo Ha!! (Got You All In Check" is a self-bragging, MC dissin' composition. Busta Rhymes compares himself to other some historically great or very creative people, and other great or very creative real or fictitious things.
In that record Busta Rhymes also brags that his MC skills are so great that he has overpowered (win any rap battle with) any other MCs who have competed against him and he will continue to overpower any other MC who is foolish enough to attempt to even think about competing against him.
I believe that the word "all" in Busta Rhymes' record "Got You All In Check" can simultaneously mean "everyone", "really, and "completely".
In my opinion, the words "Woo Hah!!" in the title of that Busta Rhymes' record mean something like "Oh Yeah!!". As such, in standard English "Woo Hah!! (Got You All In Check)" could be given as "Oh Yeah!! (I've overpowered all of you)" or "Oh Yeah!!(I've completely overpowered [all of] you."
What Busta Rhymes is saying by those words is "You all are sucker MCs. My MC skills are so great that you can't ever win against me in any MC battle."
Here's a definition of the term "sucker MC" from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sucker_M.C.%27s
"An
MC or M.C. is an abbreviation for Master of Ceremonies, a reference to rappers
who controlled the microphones. Sucker is a derogatory street term for someone
who believes he has skills, but who does not. It is derived from the common
slang term sucker, relating to one who is gullible
****
SOME ONLINE EXPLANATIONS OF THE SAYING "GOT YOU IN CHECK" OR "GOT YOU ALL IN CHECK"
The following quotes are some of the responses that I found online to the question "What "got you all in check" means as it is used in Busta Rhymes' record with that title.
These online sources are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.
Online Source #1
From https://www.dictionary.com/browse/in--check
"in check
Restrained from moving or acting; under control. For example, The first division held the enemy in check, or Mary kept her emotions in check. This term replaced at check and out of check, which date from the mid-1500s.
song-got you all in check
got all of you (everybody) in check
and/or
or got everything about you
in check"
****
Online Source #2
from https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=in%20check
"in check
1) Under control by someone else. Probably from a game of chess.
2) Under control, due to skills
"I got you all in check" -- Busta Rhymes
****
Online Source #3
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe_PqV-7bXE
1. @bodegabear_official, 2022
" "Got you in check" is equivalent to
putting someone in their place. Busta is saying he's putting all these wack
mc's in their place. Like "Stop fronting and check yourself before I put
you in check"...
**
2 @ClaytonMacleod, 2022
"Got you all in check” is literally a chess reference."
**
Reply
3. @ABoomerReacts, 2022
"Meaning "you're in peril"?"
**
Reply
4. @ClaytonMacleod, 2022
"A Boomer Reacts Basically.
Or I've got you right where I want you.
I'm in a better position than you.
Many different ways to describe or survey the situation of when you've
got the opponent's king piece in peril, or in check, yes. All that kinda stuff. Just a clever shorthand way of saying I'm
getting the better of you or will get the better of you. I've got you in check. Just a step away from checkmate," so watch
yourself."
**
Reply
5. @ABoomerReacts, 2022
"Clayton Macleod That makes so much sense. Thanks, Clayton!"
**
Reply
6. @SonDialer, 2022
"He’s got the crowd and the audience in check, under his
spell. Master of Ceremonies = MC, he’s from that school."
**
Reply
7. @ABoomerReacts, 2022
"Oh, so he's speaking to the audience. I thought he was
talking to other MCs. Thanks for the info!"
**
Reply
8. @SonDialer, 2022
"A Boomer Reacts speaking to both throughout, at different
times. But the all in check i would say that more general directed at Us."
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor's note: I disagree with SonDialer's opinion here as I think that Busta Rhymes is speaking to other MCs (rappers). What do you think?
**
Reply
9. @dtravisspins, 2022
"When you think of check think of chess. If you have someone
in check you hold control".
****
This concludes Part I of this four part pancocojams series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment