Here Comes the Hotstepper

"Here Comes the Hotstepper"
Single by Ini Kamoze
from the album Here Comes the Hotstepper
Released	November 18, 1994
Genre	Dancehall, Reggae fusion, Rap, Reggae
Length	4:13
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Ini Kamoze, Chris Kenner, Kenton Nix, Salaam Remi
Producer	Salaam Remi

"Here Comes the Hotstepper" is a dancehall song by musician Ini Kamoze, co-written with Richard Winsland and recorded in 1994. It extrapolates the well-known "na na na na na..." chorus from the song "Land of a Thousand Dances" by Chris Kenner, later covered by Wilson Pickett. To date it is Kamoze's only US number-one hit. It also made the UK Top 5, peaking at number 4.

The song was particularly popular in fashion shows of the 1990s. It was also featured in Prêt-à-Porter and a music video with footage from the film was released and included on the U.S. VHS release of the movie.

Contents 1 Use of sampling 2 In the media and cover versions 3 Tracklist 4 Certifications 5 Charts 5.1 Peak positions 5.2 End of year charts 5.3 End of decade charts 6 References

Use of sampling

"Here Comes the Hotstepper" samples various tracks.^[1]

• Bobby Byrd - "Hot Pants-I'm Coming, I'm Coming, I'm Coming", 1971 (vocal sample: "I'm coming")
• Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick - "La Di Da Di", 1985 (vocal sample: "hit it")
• Taana Gardner - "Heartbeat", 1981 (drums and bass)
• Isaac Hayes - "Hung Up on My Baby", 1971 (closing guitar notes)
• The Mohawks - "The Champ", 1968 (looped vocal sample: "hey")

In the media and cover versions

• Played in the 1994 movie Prêt-à-Porter (called Ready to Wear in some countries).
• Played in an episode of I Love the '90s.
• Played in the 2005 movie Racing Stripes.
• Theme music for wrestling tag-team Public Enemy in ECW.
• Covered by AtomXFlow in 2004. This version peaked at #49 in France.^[2]
• Used in the remix for the Ghostface Killah song Cherchez LaGhost
• Used in the remix for Hoi! - Here Comes The Hoi! Steppa
• Used as the theme song for the Buick "Take a Look at Me Now" television advertising campaign/rebranding effort in 2009.
• Prince Naseem Hamed, former WBO, WBC and IBF world featherweight boxing champion famously used this song for some of his ring entrances.
• Covered by Awaken Demons in 2010.
• Used in Olips Menthol advertisement in 2010.^[3]
• Ranked at #91 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever by Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio, who taunts, "Let's sing along! 'They call me Aaa-noyyyyying! (Word 'em up!)/I'm a one-hit wonder (thank...fully!).'"^[4]
• The Song "Qui t'a dit" (2010) by the French rap Group Sexion d'Assaut covers Here Comes the Hotstepper in its chorus.
• Covered by hip hop group StooShe in July 2011, under the title "Hot Stepper".

Tracklist

CD single

1. "Here Comes the Hotstepper" (heartical mix)
2. "Here Comes the Hotstepper" (allaam mix)

CD maxi

1. "Here Comes the Hotstepper" (heartical mix) — 4:13
2. "Here Comes the Hotstepper" (heartipella) — 4:15
3. "Here Comes the Hotstepper" (heartimental) — 4:13
4. "Here Comes the Hotstepper" (allaam mix) — 4:36
5. "Here Comes the Hotstepper" (allamental) — 4:37
6. "Here Comes the Hotstepper" (LP version) — 4:09

Certifications

Country	Certification	Date	Sales certified	Physical sales
France[5]	Silver	August 18, 1995	125,000	300,000[6]
Germany[7]	Gold	1995	150,000
U.S.[8]	Platinum	December 6, 1994	1,000,000

Charts

Peak positions Chart (1994–1995) Peak position Australian Singles Chart[9] 2 Austrian Singles Chart[9] 6 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[9] 21 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[9] 3 Dutch Singles Chart[9] 16 French SNEP Singles Chart[9] 2 German Singles Chart[10] 6 Irish Singles Chart[11] 3 New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart[9] 1 Norwegian Singles Chart[9] 4 Swedish Singles Chart[9] 5 Swiss Singles Chart[9] 4 UK Singles Chart[12] 4 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[13] 1 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[13] 22 U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40[13] 1 U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream[13] 5

End of year charts End of year chart (1994) Position U.S. Billboard Hot 100[14] 85 End of year chart (1995) Position Australian Singles Chart[15] 22 Austrian Singles Chart[16] 26 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[17] 7 French Singles Chart[18] 9 Swiss Singles Chart[19] 18 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[20] 24 End of decade charts Chart (1990–1999) Position U.S. Billboard Hot 100[21] 65

Preceded by "On Bended Knee" by Boyz II Men	Billboard Hot 100 number one single December 17, 1994 - December 24, 1994 (2 weeks)	Succeeded by "On Bended Knee" by Boyz II Men
Preceded by "George" by Headless Chickens	New Zealand RIANZ number one single (first run) December 18, 1994 (1 week)	Succeeded by "George" by Headless Chickens
Preceded by "George" by Headless Chickens	New Zealand RIANZ number one single (second run) January 15, 1995 - February 5, 1995 (4 weeks)	Succeeded by "Tomorrow" by Silverchair

References