(Not Just) Knee Deep

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"(Not Just) Knee Deep"
Single by Funkadelic
from the album Uncle Jam Wants You
A-side"(Not Just) Knee Deep - Pt. 1"
B-side"(Not Just) Knee Deep - Pt. 2"
ReleasedAugust 21, 1979
GenreFunk
Length15:21 (album version)
4:25 (7" edit)
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)George Clinton
Producer(s)George Clinton
Funkadelic singles chronology
"Who Says A Funk Band Can't Play Rock?"
(1978)
"(Not Just) Knee Deep"
(1979)
"Uncle Jam"
(1979)

"(Not Just) Knee Deep" is a funk song, with a running time of 15 minutes, 21 seconds, on Side 1 of Funkadelic's 1979 album Uncle Jam Wants You.

The song is widely regarded as a funk classic, peaking at No. 77 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the US R&B charts in 1979.[1] An edited version of the song, appearing as Side A on the single release, reached number one on the Billboard Black Singles chart.

Composition[edit]

The song was written by George Clinton (credited on some releases as "George Clinton, Jr."); the recording was arranged by Walter "Junie" Morrison and produced by Clinton under the alias "Dr. Funkenstein".

The Funkadelic version is sung by Clinton and several other group members, including Philippé Wynne, who was a former lead singer of the rhythm and blues group, The Spinners, which he left two years earlier.

The lyrics tell of a "girl" who "was a freak of the week" and the man who was dancing with her. He was unimpressed by the Jerk, the Monkey, the Chicken, and the Moose, but was turned on by the Freak.

Personnel[edit]

Sampled in other music[edit]

The song has been heavily sampled by many artists. Hip hop group De La Soul sampled the intro to the song in their hit "Me Myself and I", which reached #34 on the Billboard Pop Charts and #1 on the R&B Charts.[2] The song was also notably sampled in LL Cool J's "Nitro", Everlast's "Never Missin A Beat", Tone Lōc's "Funky Cold Medina", MC Hammer & Deion Sanders' "Straight to My Feet", the rap group Mass 187's "Swang Your Hips", Tha Dogg Pound's unreleased track "Can't C Us" (later remixed as 2pac's "Can't C Me"), Geto Boys' "Homie Don't Play That", X Clan's "Funkin' Lesson", Bobby Brown's "Get Away", and Jessie J's "Seal Me with a Kiss". The Black Eyed Peas also used the beat behind it to remix their hit single "Shut Up".

EPMD sampled it in their song "Gold Digger", and Digital Underground used it in two of their songs, "Kiss You Back" and "Bran Nu Swetta".

Rapper 2Pac sampled the song for his "Intro/Bomb First (My Second Reply)".

In 1997, Vanessa Williams sampled "Knee Deep" for her song "Happiness".

Dr. Dre's song, "Fuck wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')" is based on "Knee Deep".[3]

South Korean girl band Mamamoo song "Um Oh Ah Yeh" from their third mini-album Pink Funky was influenced from it.

Appearances in other media[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 450. ISBN 978-0-89820-160-4.
  2. ^ "Me Myself and I by De La Soul on WhoSampled". WhoSampled. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
  3. ^ "(Not Just) Knee Deep by Funkadelic on WhoSampled". WhoSampled. Retrieved 2022-11-26.

External links[edit]