Shook Ones Pt. II

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"Shook Ones Pt. II"
"Shook Ones Pt. II" cover
Single by Mobb Deep
from the album The Infamous
Released March 1995
Format CD single
Recorded 1994
Genre Hip hop
Length 5:24
Label Loud Records
Writer(s) Mobb Deep
Producer(s) Mobb Deep
Chart positions

#59 (US)

Mobb Deep singles chronology
Flavor For The Non Believers
(1994)
Shook Ones Pt. II
(1995)
Survival of the Fittest
(1995)

Shook Ones Pt. II was the first single from Mobb Deep's The Infamous album. The song was hailed as an instant classic and in many ways, the pinnacle of Mobb Deep's critical acclaim.

Contents

[edit] Overview

Prodigy in the video for Shook Ones Pt. II
Enlarge
Prodigy in the video for Shook Ones Pt. II

[edit] Content

The song is told from the perspective of inner-city youths engaged in territorial warfare and struggling for financial gains. It does not, however, offer any apologies for its grim tone, nor does it offer any solutions to the problems it discusses. This factor plays a key role in its impact, as the intentions of the song, with its threatening perspective, is left up to the listener to interpret. Because of this, the song is one of the more thought-provoking, and complex hardcore rap songs to emerge in the aftermath of Death Row's dominance in mid-1990s Hip hop. The song samples "Kitty With The Bent Frame", released in 1972 by Quincy Jones and also "Dirty Feet", released in 1979 by Daly Big Band Wilson.

[edit] Pop Culture References

"Shook Ones Pt. II" was voted #27 in an online poll by About.com of The 100 Greatest Rap Songs. "Shook Ones Pt. II" was also included in the soundtrack to the motion picture, 8 Mile, and the instrumental for the song is used in the climatic freetstyle battle of the movie. It was also on the True Crime: New York City soundtrack. It is also featured on the Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories radio station The Liberty Jam (the city's rap radio station). The song has also been sampled by Mariah Carey for her single The Roof, and the Canadian R&B singer Keshia Chanté for her 2003 debut single "Shook (The Answer)". Rapper The Game has also created a version dissing his former group G-Unit.

Audio samples of Shook Ones Pt. II

[edit] Track listing

Side A

  1. "Shook Ones Pt. II" [LP Version]
  2. "Shook Ones Pt. II" [Instrumental]
  3. "Shook Ones Pt. II" [A Cappella]

Side B

  1. "Shook Ones Pt. I" [Original Version]
  2. "Shook Ones Pt. I" [Instrumental]

[edit] External links

Mobb Deep
Members
Havoc | Prodigy
Albums
Juvenile Hell | The Infamous | Hell On Earth | Murda Muzik | Infamy | Amerikaz Nightmare | Blood Money
Compilations
Free Agents: The Murda Mix Tape | The Mix Tape Before 9/11 | Life of the Infamous: The Best of Mobb Deep
Singles
"Peer Pressure" | "Hit It from the Back" | "Shook Ones Pt. II" | "Survival of the Fittest" | "Temperature's Rising" | "Hell on Earth (Front Lines)" | "G.O.D. Pt. III" | "Drop a Gem on 'Em" | "Hoodlum" | "Rare Species (Modus Operandi)" | "Quiet Storm (Remix)" | "It's Mine" | "U.S.A. (Aiight Then)" | "The Learning (Burn)" | "Get Away" | "Double Shots" | "Gangstaz Roll" | "Got It Twisted" | "Real Gangstaz" | "Throw Your Hands (in the Air)" | "Have a Party" | "Put Em in Their Place" | "Give It to Me"