Posse on Broadway
"Posse on Broadway" is a hip hop song first recorded by Sir Mix-a-Lot on his 1988 debut album Swass. He also released a music video.
"Posse on Broadway" | ||||
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Single by Sir Mix-a-Lot | ||||
from the album Swass | ||||
B-side | "Sir-Money-By-Lot" | |||
Released | September 25, 1988 | |||
Recorded | March–August 1988 Lawson Studios (Seattle, Washington) | |||
Genre | Golden age hip hop | |||
Length | 2:38 (Album Version – 4:21) | |||
Label | Nastymix | |||
Songwriter(s) | Anthony Ray | |||
Producer(s) | Sir Mix-a-Lot | |||
Sir Mix-a-Lot singles chronology | ||||
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The Broadway in the song is a street in Seattle's Capitol Hill district, a street on which the Mix-a-Lot Posse got "lots of good grip from the 50 series tires".[1]
The geography of the song is quite specific, going north up Rainier Valley on Rainier Avenue S., then east to "23rd and Jackson" (23rd Avenue S. and S. Jackson Street), a major intersection in Seattle's traditionally black Central District or "CD," then cruising east to Martin Luther King Jr. Way S. where "the set looks kinda dead" so "we need a new street," then by "23rd and Union" (23rd Avenue and E. Union Street, still in the CD, but northeast), and then to Broadway. "The college" is Seattle Central Community College near the south end of the Broadway commercial strip, from which they drive to Taco Bell at the north end, which "was closed" (a local joke, as that particular restaurant had a never-lit and wholly inaccurate "Open 24 Hours" sign built into the wall) so they "go back the other way" to Dick's Drive-In, a local fast food institution and, according to the song, "the place where the cool hang out."[2]
There are multiple versions of the song: a "Radio Edit", which was played over the radio; the "Thunder Mix, which was included on the Mix-A-Lot compilation album Playlist: The Very Best of Sir Mix-a-Lot; and the "Godzilla Remix Edit", which features Godzilla's signature "roar" and a sample of the guitar riff from David Bowie's "Fame". The Godzilla Mix has slight lyrical differences, most notably Mix-a-Lot referencing the "Gatorback" tires instead of the "50-Series" tires of the original and a reference to vehicle as "the Bistro".
Charts
Chart (1988/1989) | Peak position |
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U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 70 |
U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles | 44 |
References
- "YouTube". youtube.com.
- "Sir Mix-a-Lot – Posse On Broadway Lyrics".