I Got a Man

"I Got a Man" is a song by American hip hop rapper Positive K. It was released in December 1992 as the first single from his debut album The Skills Dat Pay Da Bills.

"I Got a Man"
Single by Positive K
from the album The Skills Dat Pay da Bills
ReleasedDecember 1, 1992
Recorded1992
GenreHip hop
Length3:52
LabelIsland
Songwriter(s)Byron Lee Miller, Roland Bautista, Darryl Gibson, Janice Marie Johnson
Producer(s)Shawn Thomas
Positive K singles chronology
"Nightshift"
(1991)		 "I Got a Man"
(1992)		 "Ain't No Crime"
(1993)

Creation of the song

The song features spoken word dialog between a man and woman character, in which the man repeatedly asks the woman out and she continually rebuffs his advances by pointing out she is already in a relationship.

In creating the song, Positive K provided not only the man's dialogue but also the woman's dialogue[1] by raising the pitch of his voice using studio technology.[2]

Release

The single peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the chart week of March 20, 1993, making it the rapper's only Top 40 hit. It sold over 500,000 copies and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.[3][4]

Music video

There were two music videos for "I Got a Man". The first version was directed by Hype Williams,[5] while the second version was directed by Jeff Byrd.[6]

Samples

The music samples the following:

  • the 1980 disco single "Rescue Me" by A Taste of Honey
  • the song "Spread Love" by the a cappella group Take 6
  • the song "High Power Rap" by the rap group Crash Crew
  • the electric guitar riff from "Mama Used To Say" by Junior
  • the horn from "Get Up and Dance" by Freedom
  • The spoken intro of the song ("How can the same shit happen to the same guy twice?") is sampled from the 1990 film Die Hard 2 in which John McClane (played by Bruce Willis) complains about his bad luck.
  • the song "Kuff" by dancehall artist Shelly Thunder

Tributes to the song

In 1999, Chanté Moore and Jermaine Dupri used an interpolation of the song on their remix of "Chanté's Got a Man".

Charts

Weekly charts
Weekly chart performance for "I Got a Man"
Chart (1992–1993) Peak
position
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[7] 12
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8] 41
UK Singles (OCC)[9] 43
US Billboard Hot 100 14
US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay 19
US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales 14
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 10
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales 4
US Billboard Hot Rap Singles 1
US Billboard Hot Singles Sales 5
US Billboard Hot Singles Recurrents 2
US Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 12

Year-end charts
Year-end chart performance for "I Got a Man"
Chart (1993) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[10] 63

References
  1. Willman, Chris (1993-05-16). "Rap and Feminism Do Mix - Surprise! Videos by Positive K and Paris put a positive spin on respect for women". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
  2. Bierman, Bryan (December 3, 2014). "Positive K Says His 1992 Hit 'I Got a Man' Isn't Street Harassment". The Village Voice.
  3. "Best-Selling Records of 1993". Billboard. BPI Communications. 106 (3): 73. January 15, 1994. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  4. "American certifications – Positive K – I Got a Man". Recording Industry Association of America.
  5. Positive K. "I Got A Man (Version 1)". mvdbase.com. Music Video Database. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
  6. Positive K. "I Got A Man (Version 2)". mvdbase.com. Music Video Database. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
  7. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Positive K" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  8. "Positive K – I Got a Man". Top 40 Singles.
  9. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  10. "Billboard Top 100 - 1993". Archived from the original on 2006-11-10. Retrieved 2010-08-27.


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