Poor Georgie

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"Poor Georgie"
Poor Georgie MC Lyte Single.webp
Cover of the single in cassette format
Single by MC Lyte
from the album Act Like You Know
B-side"Search 4 The Lyte"
ReleasedDecember 12, 1991[1]
GenreGolden age hip hop
Length4:30
LabelFirst Priority, Atlantic Records
Songwriter(s)Lana Moorer, Ivan Antonio Rodriguez, David Paich[2]
Producer(s)DJ Doc
MC Lyte singles chronology
"When in Love"
(1991) 		"Poor Georgie"
(1991) 		"Eyes Are the Soul"
(1992)
Music video
"Poor Georgie" on YouTube

Poor Georgie is the second single from MC Lyte's third album Act Like You Know. Produced by Ivan 'Doc' Rodriguez, it was released on December 12, 1991.[1]

The song, which seeks to convey an anti-addiction message, tells about a dysfunctional relationship with a person with self-destructive behaviors.[3][4]

Poor Georgie became her first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 83 in March 1992.[5] Also peaking at No. 11 on the Billboard's Hot R&B Singles[6] and it became her second song at No. 1 on the Hot Rap Singles.[7]

Conception and composition[]

During an interview with Vibe in 2011 Lyte stated on the composition of the song:

“‘Poor Georgie’ was straight up storytelling. I just put every possible bad thing that could happen to someone in one song [laughs]. That was in itself humorous. With that song, I just wanted to paint a picture and have it hit people on all fronts. So if you don’t drink, well what about if you smoke? You don’t smoke, what about if you drink? This is what you stand to face if you do harmful things to your body.”[8]

During another interview in 2013 she says:

“So there are times with songs like “Poor Georgie” that when I heard it, it made me feel like oh my god this is a story about a man who has some deep problems and deep issues(...) To a large degree I knew I needed to talk about drugs and the effect it had on people. In Brooklyn there were weed smokers, dope dealers and people dying. In Harlem, where I would spend my weekends, there was heroin and you’d see people nodding out in the middle of the damn street. You would see people with holes in their arms or their legs because they couldn’t find anymore veins to put something into. In Queens there was crack and in Harlem as well. I just knew my mission would be to try to educate my generation about the usage of drugs, selling it or being the drug dealer’s girlfriend and you wind up shot or in jail because of it. So I did make a conscious effort of that at a very young age.”[9]

The song was produced by Ivan 'Doc' Rodríguez, who had previously worked on remixing other songs such as Cappucino.[10]

The music video was released in September 1991 and features an appearance by a then unknown Lauryn Hill.[11]

Samples[]

The song contains multi-element samples from Toto's Georgy Porgy, the vocals of The Supremes' My World Is Empty Without You and Michael Jackson's I Wanna Be Where You Are, Jimmy Spicer's "The Bubble Bunch" hook and Eric B. & Rakim's Eric B. Is President drums. Also Lyte does an interpolation of Just Be Good to Me from The S.O.S. Band, in which in the second verse he sings "I don't care about the other girls, just be good to me!".

Appearances[]

"Poor Georgie" was included in his compilation albums The Very Best of MC Lyte (2001), The Shit I Never Dropped (2003),[12] Rhyme Masters (2005),[13] Rhino Hi-Five: MC Lyte (2007),[14] and Cold Rock a Party - Best Of MC Lyte (2019).[15]

In February 1992 Lyte performed the song on the dance and music show Soul Train. In May 1992 she performed it in In Living Color.[16]

Reception and influence[]

Gil Griffin of The Washington Post highlighted the song in his album review, commenting that it "brilliantly incorporates an old Toto sample."[17]

In 1999, Ego Trip's editors ranked "Poor Georgie" at No. 22 in their list of Hip Hop's 40 Greatest Singles by Year 1991 in Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists.[18]

In April 2015 the song was ranked No. 3 on VH1's list "The 25 Dopest Female Rap Tracks Of The Last 25 Years", commenting "Lyte’s cautionary tale of drunk driving once again proved that you could make folks dance and think at the same damn time."[19]

Grammy-nominated rapper Rapsody mentioned Poor Georgie as "the first song that made me wanna be a part of it"[20]

Single track listing[]

7" 1992 Vinyl[]

A-Side[]

  1. "Poor Georgie" (4:10)
    • Music By – DJ Doc

B-Side[]

  1. "Search 4 The Lyte" (3:21)
    • Music By – King Of Chill

12" Vinyl[]

A-Side[]

  1. "Poor Georgie (LP Version)" (4:30)
  2. "Poor Georgie (Instrumental)" (4:30)

B-Side[]

  1. "Search 4 The Lyte (LP Version)" (3:21)
  2. "Search 4 The Lyte (Instrumental)" (3:21)

Cassette[]

A-1[]

  1. "Poor Georgie (Edit)" (4:05)

A-2[]

  1. "Search 4 The Lyte (LP Version)" (3:21)

Personnel[]

Credits are taken from the liner notes.[21]

  • Engineer – Ivan "Doc" Rodriguez (tracks: A1, A2), Yorum Vazan (tracks: B1, B2)
  • Lyrics By – MC Lyte
  • Producer – King Of Chill (tracks: B1, B2)
  • Producer, Mixed By – Dee Jay Doc (tracks: A1, A2)

Charts[]

Chart (1991–92) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[22] 83
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[23] 11
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[24] 1

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "MC Lyte- Poor Georgie [Vinyl Single] (12 inch Vinyl Single - Atlantic #96230)". AllMusic.
  2. ^ "ASCAP Repertory entry for this song". ASCAP. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  3. ^ "MC Lyte has words for a new generation". Chicago Tribune (website). May 6, 2003. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  4. ^ Mickey Hess (November 2009). Hip Hop in America: A Regional Guide: Volume 1: East Coast and West Coast. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313343216. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
  5. ^ "MC Lyte Album & Song Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  6. ^ "MC Lyte Album & Song Chart History: R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  7. ^ "MC Lyte - US Hot Rap Songs". billboard.com. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  8. ^ MC Lyte (January 7, 2011). "Full Clip: MC Lyte Breaks Down Her Entire Catalogue (Brandy, Janet Jackson, LL Cool J & More)". Vibe.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  9. ^ "MC Lyte - The Classic Hip Hop Interview Archives". halftimeonline.net. January 14, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  10. ^ "iDoc , the Story of Ivan 'Doc' Rodriguez". Impose (magazine). Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  11. ^ "MC Lyte". IMVDb. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  12. ^ "MC Lyte - The Shit I Never Dropped". AllMusic. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  13. ^ "MC Lyte - Rhyme Masters". AllMusic. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  14. ^ "Rhino Hi-Five: MC Lyte EP - MC Lyte - Release Info". Apple Music.
  15. ^ "Cold Rock a Party Best Of - MC Lyte - Release Info". Apple Music.
  16. ^ "In Living Color - Season 3 Episode 29 - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
  17. ^ Griffin, Gil (September 27, 1991). "RAPPING NOT ONLY ABOUT OPPOSITE SEX" – via The Washington Post (website).
  18. ^ "Hip-Hop's Greatest Singles By Year (Ego Trip Magazine)". Genius (website). Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  19. ^ "The 25 Dopest Female Rap Tracks Of The Last 25 Years". VH1 (website). April 30, 2015. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  20. ^ "Rapsody On How Queen Latifah, MC Lyte Influenced Her Music Career". O4L Online Network. February 22, 2020. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  21. ^ Poor Georgie / Search 4 The Lyte (track listing). M C Lyte. First Priority Music, Atlantic Street. 1991. 0-96230.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ^ "MC Lyte Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  23. ^ "MC Lyte Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  24. ^ "MC Lyte Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 16, 2021.

External links[]

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