Ante Up (song)

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"Ante Up (Robbin-Hoodz Theory)"
Ante Up remix.jpg
Single by M.O.P.
from the album Warriorz
ReleasedSeptember 9, 2000 (2000-09-09)
GenreEast Coast hip hop, hardcore hip hop
Length3:52
LabelLoud/Relativity
1778 (U.S.)
Loud/Epic
EK 91445 (Canada)
498277 (international)
Songwriter(s)Eric Murray, Jamal Grinnage, Darryl Pittman
Producer(s)DR Period
M.O.P. singles chronology
"G Building"
(2000) 		"Ante Up (Robbin-Hoodz Theory)"
(2000) 		"Cold as Ice"
(2001)

"Ante Up (Robbin-Hoodz Theory)" is a song by American hip hop duo M.O.P. from their fourth studio album Warriorz (2000). Seen as their breakthrough single, it was released in 2000 and reached number 7 on the UK Singles Chart. A remix of the song features Busta Rhymes, Remy Martin and Teflon.[1] The remix CD includes an additional version which features Funkmaster Flex.[2]

Background and composition[]

In an interview with Zilla Rocca at Passion of Weiss, "It's a saying that we got from my mother, every time someone comes through the door she’s like, 'Where it's at? Ante up.' Just the fact that we took it from the street corner—there was two meaning to the record. It was ante up, we've been in this game too long you guys see how we demolish the stage, how we make short work of the main major artists when we get on their records and you still won't give us the props and the recognition that we deserve."[3]

The song is based around a sample from the Sam & Dave song "Soul Sister, Brown Sugar".[4]

Music video[]

The music video for the song features M.O.P. performing the song on stage. It features cameo appearances from Gang Starr, Method Man, Buckshot of Black Moon, Steele of Smif-N-Wessun, Afu-Ra, and Tony Touch.

Usage in media[]

"Ante Up" was featured in several films within years of its release, such as The Last Castle, Brown Sugar, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, the dance film You Got Served, 30 Minutes or Less and A Simple Favor. The song was also featured in an episode of the short lived television series Robbery Homicide Division,[5] as well as an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine ("The Chopper") and an episode of The Mindy Project ("In the Club") and Superstore in the fourth episode ("mannequin")

In 2003, the song was sampled by Javine Hylton for her debut single "Real Things".[6] However, it gained mainstream attention after being sampled by John Cena in the song "The Time Is Now". M.O.P. eventually sued, but later dropped legal proceedings for the alleged unlawful sampling.

The guitar version of the song can be heard in the video game Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition.

In 2014, it was used for an advert for O2 Bundles in the UK,[7] and is used in British TV show Soccer AM in a segment entitled "that's obscene, that it".

In 2017, YouTuber and member of the Sidemen, W2S, sampled the song for his diss track KSI Sucks, which, as of February 2021, has over 63 million views on YouTube.[8]In 2018, W2S sampled the song again for another diss track, entitled Ricegum Sucks. This has, as of February 2021, over 25 million views on YouTube.[9]

In 2017, the song was featured in the trailer of the game Tekken 7.

In 2017, the song is also heard in the movie Bodied.

In the 2018 movie A Simple Favor, Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) is seen rapping this song in her car.

In 2021, KFC used the song in a UK advertisement for their Big Deal.

Charts[]

References[]

  1. ^ "M.O.P. - Ante Up Remix ft. Busta Rhymes, Teflon, Remy Martin". YouTube. October 25, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  2. ^ "MOP Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz-Theory) feat. Funkmaster Flex". YouTube. April 2, 2011. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  3. ^ Rocca, Zilla (October 26, 2016). ""It Takes two Different Beings to Make the Baby Right": An Interview with Billy Danze". Passion Weiss. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  4. ^ Smith, Troy L. (April 13, 2021). "200 greatest hip-hop songs of all time". Cleveland.com. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  5. ^ "M.O.P." IMDb.
  6. ^ "Javine's 'Real Things' sample of M.O.P.'s 'Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory)'". WhoSampled. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  7. ^ Swift, James (July 16, 2014). "O2 dog turns hip hop for Big Bundles". Campaign. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  8. ^ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pmcfL_qLhMo/
  9. ^ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AMYhP4H9m1I/
  10. ^ "Austriancharts.at – M.O.P. – Ante Up (Remix) / Cold As Ice" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  11. ^ "Ultratop.be – M.O.P. – Ante Up (Remix) / Cold As Ice" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
  12. ^ "Ultratop.be – M.O.P. – Ante Up (Remix) / Cold As Ice" (in French). Ultratip.
  13. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – M.O.P. – Ante Up (Remix) / Cold As Ice" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
  14. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography M.O.P.". Irish Singles Chart.
  15. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – M.O.P. – Ante Up (Remix) / Cold As Ice" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  16. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company.
  17. ^ "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  18. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  19. ^ "MOP Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  20. ^ "MOP Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard.
  21. ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
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