Things I've Seen

"Things I've Seen" is a song by American hip hop group Spooks from their first studio album, S.I.O.S.O.S. Volume One (2000). The song was written by Spooks and Rick Dahrouge, who also produced the track, and was released as the second single from S.I.O.S.O.S. Volume One in the United States; in Europe, it was Spooks' debut single. The European maxi-CD single includes two snippets from songs by Roscoe (brother of Kurupt) and Schoolly D.

"Things I've Seen"
Single by Spooks
from the album S.I.O.S.O.S. Volume One
B-side
  • "Young Thugs-Ballad of Youth" (snippet)
  1. "Yes Yes Y'all" (snippet)
ReleasedFebruary 29, 2000 (2000-02-29)
StudioThe Rug Room
Length4:34
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Booker T. Tucker
  • Joseph M. Davis
  • Chenjurai Kumayika
  • Jerel Spruill
  • Irina M. Perez
  • Rick Dahrouge
Producer(s)Rick Dahrouge
Spooks singles chronology
"Sweet Revenge"
(2000)		 "Things I've Seen"
(2000)		 "Karma Hotel"
(2001)
Audio
"Things I've Seen" on YouTube

Antra Records released "Things I've Seen" in the US on February 29, 2000, but the song did not make a major impact. In Europe, the song became a hit across the continent after receiving substantial airplay in France, reaching the top 10 in eight countries, including France and the United Kingdom. Music critics gave the song mixed reviews, praising Ming-Xia's vocal performance but criticizing the instrumental track. American actor Laurence Fishburne appears in the song's music video.[1]

Critical reception

British trade paper Music Week called the track "infectious" and noted its similarities to works by Fugees.[2] Cristian Ward of British website NME criticized the song's instrumental, describing it as "uninspired", but praised Ming-Xia's "beautiful" and "fragile" vocals.[3] Reviewing the album on AllMusic, Steve Kurutz also complimented Ming-Xia's vocals while mentioning that the song "take[s] on too much and suffers for it."[4]

Release and chart performance

"Things I've Seen" was sent to US rhythmic contemporary radio stations on February 29, 2000, but did not make an impact, and the band soon faded into obscurity.[5][6] According to Spooks member Booka T., the commercial failure of the song was because their music sounded too "original" and "cerebral" for Americans.[7] In Europe, where "Things I've Seen" was released as the group's debut single, the song was immediately picked up by French radio stations, particularly Fun Radio. The song eventually peaked at number four on the French Singles Chart for two weeks, spending 22 weeks in the top 100 and selling 400,000 copies by January 2001.[7][8] In the wake of its French success, "Things I've Seen" was gradually issued across Europe. It first charted in Germany and Switzerland in November 2001, reaching number 24 in the former country and number 10 in the latter.[9][10] In Benelux, the single reached the top 10 in both the Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia).[11][12][13]

Throughout the first quarter of 2001, "Things I've Seen" charted in several more countries. On January 21, 2001, the song debuted and peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart, staying on the listing for 10 weeks, while in Ireland, it reached number 21 on February 1.[14][15][16] The song reached number four in Austria the following month.[17] In Scandinavia, the track entered the top 10 in Denmark and Sweden and peaked outside the top 10 in Norway, reaching number 11.[18][19][20] Elsewhere in Europe, the song peaked at number 12 in Finland and number 28 in Italy.[21][22] Overall, the song was Europe's 32nd-most-successful hit of 2001, reaching number five on the Eurochart Hot 100.[23][24] The record also charted within the top 40 in New Zealand, where it climbed to number 16 on the RIANZ Singles Chart in May 2001.[25]

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the European maxi-CD single liner notes.[31]

Studios

  • Recorded at The Rug Room
  • Pre-production recorded at Outback Recording (Neptune, New Jersey)
  • Mixed at Sigma Sound Studios (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Personnel

  • Booker T. Tucker – writing
  • Joseph M. Davis – writing
  • Chenjurai Kumayika – writing
  • Jerel Spruill – writing
  • Irina M. Perez – writing
  • Rick Dahrouge – writing, guitar, bass, keyboards, production
  • J "Rock" Kulikowski – drums
  • Daryl "D Man" Dahrouge – programming, engineering
  • Cheek – chief and mix engineering
  • Greg Frentzen – assistant engineering

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Belgium (BEA)[47] Gold 25,000*
France (SNEP)[48] Gold 400,000[7]
Sweden (GLF)[49] Gold 15,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States February 29, 2000 Rhythmic contemporary radio Antra [5]
March 28, 2000 CD [50]
United Kingdom January 15, 2001
  • CD
  • cassette
[51]

References
  1. "Spooks Pact" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 27. July 1, 2000. p. 21. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  2. "Reviews: Single Reviews" (PDF). Music Week. January 6, 2001. p. 11. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  3. Ward, Christian (September 12, 2005). "Spooks : Things I've Seen". NME. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  4. Kurutz, Steve. "AllMusic Review by Steve Kurutz". AllMusic. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  5. "CHR/Rhythmic Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1339. February 25, 2000. p. 77. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  6. Torreano, Bradley. "Spooks Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  7. Sexton, Paul (January 20, 2001). "Eurochart Could Be Gettin' Spooky" (PDF). Music & Media. p. 3, 29. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  8. "Spooks – Things I've Seen" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  9. "Spooks – Things I've Seen" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  10. "Spooks – Things I've Seen". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  11. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 8, 2001" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  12. "Spooks – Things I've Seen" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  13. "Spooks – Things I've Seen" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  14. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  15. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Things I've Seen". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  16. "Top 50 Singles, Week Ending 1 February 2001". Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  17. "Spooks – Things I've Seen" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  18. "Spooks – Things I've Seen". Tracklisten. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  19. "Spooks – Things I've Seen". Singles Top 100. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  20. "Spooks – Things I've Seen". VG-lista. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  21. "Spooks: Things I've Seen" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  22. "Spooks – Things I've Seen". Top Digital Download. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  23. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 18, no. 6. February 3, 2001. p. 8. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  24. "Year in Review: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 2001" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 19, no. 52. December 22, 2001. p. 14. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  25. "Spooks – Things I've Seen". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  26. Things I've Seen (US CD single liner notes). Spooks. Antra Records. 2000. ATM 669174 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  27. Things I've Seen (European CD single liner notes). Spooks. Antra Records, Epic Records. 2000. ATM 669174 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  28. Things I've Seen (US CD single liner notes). Spooks. Antra Records, Epic Records. 2000. 670672 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  29. Things I've Seen (US cassette single sleeve). Spooks. Antra Records, Epic Records. 2000. 670672.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  30. Things I've Seen (French CD single liner notes). Spooks. Antra Records, Epic Records. 2000. 669975 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  31. Things I've Seen (European maxi-CD single liner notes). Spooks. Antra Records, Epic Records. 2000. ATM 669174 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  32. Things I've Seen (Australian CD single liner notes). Spooks. Antra Records. 2001. 670829 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  33. "Spooks – Things I've Seen" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  34. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  35. "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  36. "R&B Singles A–Z" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 16. April 15, 2000. p. 29. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  37. "Hot Rap Singles" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 20. May 13, 2000. p. 32. Retrieved August 9, 2021. See Last Week column.
  38. "Tops de L'année | Top Singles 2000" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  39. "Jahreshitparade Singles 2000" (in German). Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  40. "Jaaroverzichten 2001" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  41. "Rapports annuels 2001" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  42. "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2001" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  43. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2001" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  44. "Årslista Singlar, 2001" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  45. "Swiss Year-End Charts 2001" (in German). Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  46. "The Official UK Singles Chart 2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  47. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2001". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  48. "French single certifications – Spooks" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved August 9, 2021. Select SPOOKS and click OK. 
  49. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2001" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 17, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  50. Kenon, Marci (June 3, 2000). "Spooks Making Debut Appearance" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 23. p. 33. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  51. "New Releases – For Week Starting January 15, 2001: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. January 13, 2001. p. 23. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
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