Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang

"Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang"
Single by Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg
from the album The Chronic
Released	November 19, 1992[1]
Recorded	June 1992 (1992-06)
Genre	G-funk[2][3][4][5] West Coast hip hop[6]
Length	3:58
Label	Death Row Interscope
Songwriter(s)	Tracy Curry Calvin Broadus
Producer(s)	Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre singles chronology
"Deep Cover" (1992) "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" (1992) "Fuck wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')" (1993)
Snoop Doggy Dogg singles chronology
"Deep Cover" (1992) "Nuthin' But a "G" Thang" (1993) "Fuck wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')" (1993)
Audio sample
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Music video
"Nuthin' But A G Thang (Dirty)" on YouTube

"Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" is a song by American rapper Dr. Dre, featuring fellow American rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg, on Dre's debut solo album, The Chronic (1992). The album's first single, "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang," reaching number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 on March 20, 1993, behind "Informer" by Snow,^[7] outperformed The Chronic's other singles, "Fuck wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')", which peaked at number 8, and "Let Me Ride", which peaked at number 34. The single also reached number 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, and was a hit in the UK, where it reached number 31.

The song was selected by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll.^[8] XXL magazine named it the top hip-hop song of the decade. The song samples "I Want'a Do Something Freaky to You" by Leon Haywood. In June 1994, it was reissued in certain European countries.

Music video[]

The music video, directed by Dr. Dre,^[9] depicts Dre coming into Long Beach, California to pick up Snoop and go to a block party. Mingling at the party, they perform the first verses with a barbecue cookout and a game of volleyball nearby. A female player's (Mercedes Ashley)^[10] bikini top is pulled down by "T-Dubb", an original member of the Long Beach rap group Foesum, exposing her breasts. For the next verses they go inside the house. A small sequence of events shows a snobbish female party-goer humiliated by being sprayed with shaken-up malt liquor. The video ends with Dre dropping Snoop off back at his house, with Snoop staggering up the driveway. The MTV edit censors nudity, drug paraphernalia, Warren G with a blunt, copyrighted logos, a Chicago White Sox ball cap, and screen text.

In popular culture[]

• Kris Kross heavily sampled "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" on their 1993 single "I'm Real". The song "Get It Up" by Silkk the Shocker uses the chorus in a reworked form. Ja Rule's track "Livin' It Up" contains a sample of the song.^[11] It was nominated for a Grammy Award.^[12] Mariah Carey's song "You Had Your Chance" samples this song as well. The song was parodied by The Fringemunks to recap Fringe episode 2.04 "Momentum Deferred".^[13] The song was featured in the 2003 film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.

• In January 2011, the humor website Funny or Die posted a parody called "Nuthin' But a Glee Thang" about the television series Glee, co-written by Glee cast member Heather Morris and co-starring Sofia Vergara, Riki Lindhome and Ashley Lendzion. The video features Glee cast members Matthew Morrison, Cory Monteith, Harry Shum Jr. and Naya Rivera.^[14]

• In 2006 Rapper Young Dro Sampled the Music Video for Shoulder Lean. Also Taylor Gang member Chevy Woods Sampled for his music video 30 Deep.

• In the 2015 biopic Straight Outta Compton, the song is shown being improvised by Snoop Dogg (Lakeith Stanfield) and Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins).^[15]

• Meg Griffin and Ruth Cochamer perform a parody of the song about genetically modified food in the Family Guy episode "The Finer Strings".

• The song was used near the end of the Fresh Off The Boat episode, "Boy II Man".

• The song appears on the radio station Radio Los Santos in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.^[16]

Accolades[]

"Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" is listed in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It is Dre's only song on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, ranked number 419, not counting two other songs that feature Dre as producer and on vocals, N.W.A's "Fuck tha Police" and 2Pac's "California Love". Q magazine listed it as the 24th greatest hip hop song of all time.^[17] In September 2010 Pitchfork Media included it at number 3 on their Top 200 Tracks of the 90s.^[18]

Criticism[]

In 1998, CBS reported that Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), who sought hearings in the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee, "said he was concerned that the music industry is marketing its most violent and misogynist music to teens." The report added, "While industry executives assert that children are protected from this music, much evidence suggests that most hyper-violent albums are bought by children." Advisory labels was an outcome of the hearings.^[19]

Musically, the funk orientation in hip-hop is often linked to "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" but its roots were laid by another rap group, Above the Law. "Nuthin' But a G Thang echoes Above the Law's Never Missin' a Beat" [sic], according to a 2016 article in The Guardian.^[20] Both groups interpolated the signature funk grooves of Parliament-Funkadelic.

Track listing[]

Charts[]

Certifications[]

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[38] Sales Since 2005	Silver	200,000
United States (RIAA)[40]	Platinum	1,300,000[39]
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also[]

• List of number-one R&B singles of 1993 (U.S.)

References[]

External links[]

• Music video on YouTube