Me Myself and I (De La Soul song)

"Me Myself and I"
Single by De La Soul
from the album 3 Feet High and Rising
Released	August 1988 (Germany) 1989 (worldwide)
Format	CD single 12" single
Recorded	1988
Genre	Alternative hip hop Golden age hip hop
Length	(LP Version) 3:40
Label	Tommy Boy
Writer(s)	P. Huston, K. Mercer, D. Jolicoeur, V. Mason, P. Wynn and G. Clinton
Producer	Prince Paul, De La Soul
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
De La Soul singles chronology
"Eye Know" (1989) "Me Myself and I" (1989) "Say No Go" (1989)

"Me Myself and I" is a single by De La Soul, released in 1989.

It established the group's characteristic style of combining hip hop with humor and social commentary. The group's frustration concerning their forced-upon hippie label is addressed in the typically dry humor which became the De La Soul trademark. It was the group's only number one on the U.S. R&B chart. The song also topped the U.S. Club Play chart. ^[1]

The song's number 1 position in The Netherlands was spurred by the VPRO television station, who made a documentary about De La Soul after meeting them when they were still unknown. ^[2] The record label Indisc acquired the local rights from Tommy Boy Records, and immediately seized the opportunity to release the song as a single.

This song is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

It is also used in the video games NBA Street V3 and NCAA Football 06.

It ranked number 46 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.

The song was used in the opening scene for the season 5 finale of the HBO original series Entourage.

Music video

A music video was filmed for the song beginning with De La Soul in a guidance counselor's office, lamenting that they have to take a class taught by Professor Defbeat, followed by a short message by Prince Paul, who states, "if you take three glasses of water and put food coloring in them, you have many different colors, but it's still the same old water." The video then presents Trugoy, Posdnuos and Maseo entering a high school class taught by Professor Defbeat, who teaches his students the image-driven, mainstream style of hip-hop. Throughout the video, Posdnous, Maceo, and Trugoy are teased by their fellow students and punished by Professor Defbeat for sporting a unique style instead of conforming to the more popular hip hop image. These students are dressed in the stereotypical rap gear: gold medallions, sunglasses, leather jackets, expensive sneakers, jogging suits, baseball caps worn backwards, etc.

At the end of the video, mirror images of the three De La Soul members appear from the back of the class, each sporting a T-shirt that reads "Mirror Mirror". Each "Mirror Mirror" image gives their respective counterpart a school pass allowing them to get out of Professor Defbeat's class. Together, the trio leave their desks, throw their slips in Professor Defbeat's face, and leave the classroom.

The video also contains brief cameos from A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, along with a brief cameo from Randee of the Redwoods, a comedic hippie character made famous in promotional spots created by MTV in the late 1980s. He is seen during the part of the video where Posdnous says "You say Plug One and Two are hippies/No we're not, that's pure Plug bull". Randee is portrayed by actor/comedian Jim Turner.

Track listing

3-sided 12" single

The U.S. 12" single of "Me Myself and I" was released as a "3-sided single". Side 1 of the record plays like a normal record. Side 2 was mastered with "parallel grooves". Instead of one continuous groove, there are actually two different grooves on the record. Each time the listener plays the record, it may play something different than before. One groove would play two mixes of "Me Myself and I", while the other groove would play "Brain Washed Follower".

#	Title	Length
United States 12" single
A1.	"Me Myself and I (Radio version)"	3:45
A2.	"Ain't Hip to Be Labeled a Hippie"	1:54
A3.	"Me Myself and I (Instrumental)"	3:35
A4.	"What's More" from the soundtrack Hell on 1st Avenue	2:10
B1.	"Me Myself and I (Oblapos Mode)"	3:38
B2.	"Me Myself and I (Oblapos Instrumental)"	3:24
C1.	"Brain Washed Follower"	3:01
European CD single
1.	"Me Myself and I (Radio version)"	3:25
2.	"Me Myself and I (Richie Rich Remix)"	7:25
3.	"Ain't Hip to Be Labeled a Hippie"	1:54
4.	"What's More" from the soundtrack Hell on 1st Avenue	2:10
5.	"Brain Washed Follower"	3:01

List of samples

"Me Myself and I"

• "(Not Just) Knee Deep" by Funkadelic (1979)
• "Rapper Dapper Snapper" by Edwin Birdsong (1980)
• "Funky Worm" by the Ohio Players (1973)
• "The Show" by Doug E. Fresh (1985)
• "Gonna Make You Mine" by Loose Ends (1986)

"Ain't Hip to Be Labeled a Hippie"

• "Hard Times" by Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band (1976)

"What's More"

• "You Baby" by The Turtles (1966)

"Brain-Washed Follower"

• "Funky President" by James Brown (1974)
• "You Made A Believer (Out of Me)" by Ruby Andrews (1971)
• "Booty Butt" by Ray Charles (1971)
• "So This Is Our Goodbye" by The Moments (1972)

Charts

Chart (1989)	Peak Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	34
U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	1
Dutch Top 40	1[3]
German Singles Chart	16 [4]
Austrian Singles Chart	21 [5]
UK Singles Chart	22 [6]
Swiss Singles Chart	22 [7]

References

1. ^ Me Myself and I Songfacts
2. ^ Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, 500 nr.1 hits uit de Top 40, page 262, 9023009444 (Book in Dutch)
3. ^ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 22, 1989". http://www.radio538.nl/web/show/id=44685/chartid=4960. Retrieved 2008-07-13. 
4. ^ Infinity charts German Top 20 - The Chart Of June 1989 Accessed: November 2, 2006
5. ^ AustrianCharts.at "Me Myself and I" page. Note: This is a biweekly chart. Accessed: October 28, 2006
6. ^ Everyhit.co.uk UK Top 40 database Accessed: November 2, 2006
7. ^ SwissCharts.com "Me Myself and I" page Accessed: November 2, 2006

Preceded by "Miss You Like Crazy" by Natalie Cole	Billboard Hot R&B Singles number-one single June 10, 1989	Succeeded by "Have You Had Your Love Today" by The O'Jays
Preceded by "Round & Round" by New Order	Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single June 3, 1989	Succeeded by "Uh-Uh Ooh-Ooh Look Out (Here It Comes)" by Roberta Flack