What I Got

Infobox Single |
Name = What I Got


Artist = Sublime
from Album = Sublime
Released = August 27, 1996
Recorded = 1995 & 1996
Genre = Alternative rock Ska punk
Length = 2:51
Label = MCA Records
Writer = Sublime
Producer = David Kahne
Chart position = * #37 (US Hot 100)
** #1 (US Modern Rock Tracks)
** #7 (US Mainstream Rock Tracks)
Last single = "Date Rape" (1996)
This single = "What I Got" (1997)
Next single = "Santeria" (1998)

"What I Got" is a song from Sublime's eponymous third album and was the band's biggest radio hit, posthumously after singer Bradley Nowell's 1996 heroin overdose. This song was one of the most popular songs of 1997 and is still played on radio today. At the time of its release, it reached the #1 spot on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. It was also a mainstream Top 40 hit, peaking at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100. [Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 7th Ed 2000, by Joel Whitburn. p. 611]

The Song is well known for stealing the main tune from The Beatles' Lady Madonnafix|link=Wikipedia:Contents|text=citation needed, while the song's chorus is stolen from the song "Loving" by Half-Pint. fix|link=Wikipedia:Contents|text=citation needed Half-Pint has since performed songs with the Long Beach Dub Allstars, which includes the two surviving members of Sublime. It can be heard on the movie, "Fun with Dick and Jane". A shortened, clean version of the song was also included in the video game "Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX".

The guitar solo played was played by Michael “Miguel” Happoldt, the founder of Skunk Records. [Sublime: Stories Lies Tales and Exaggerations. 1:53]

The song was covered by Michael Franti & Spearhead feat. Gift of Gab on the tribute album Look at All the Love We Found.

The song contains a sample of the words "too short" from "Life Is... Too Short" by the American rapper Too Short. The song also contains a sample from a Richard Pryor quote.

The sentence "Never had to battle with no bulletproof vest" is taken from "Nappy Heads" by The Fugees.

What I Got: The Seven Song EP

Track listing

# What I Got (Kahne Radio Edit) (2:47)
# 40 oz. to Freedom (3:03)
# D.J.s (3:18)
# All You Need (2:46)
# Same in the End (2:39)
# Work That We Do (2:35)
# Doin' Time (Marshall Arts Remix) feat. the Pharcyde (4:12)

What I Got (Reprise)

Tis an enhanced version of the 1997 single "What I Got" by American Ska-Punk Band Sublime. It is the 16th track on the band's self-titled third studio album. The song was recorded shortly before the untimely death of lead singer Bradley Nowell. Nowell was found dead of a heroin overdose in a San Francisco hotel room on May 25, 1996. This tragic event prevented Bradley from recording a music video for the song. Therefore, the video is mostly composed of images and stock video of Nowell and the band's icon, a Dalmation named Lou-Dog.

Music video

The video for "What I Got", shot after Nowell's death, mainly contains a collage of archive videos and photos of Bradley, as a tribute to the singer. The video includes images of Long Beach, CA, where the band met their success.

References