| "What I Got" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Sublime | ||||
| from the album Sublime | ||||
| Released | August 27, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | 1996 at Pedernales Studio in Austin, Texas & Total Access Recording in Redondo Beach, California | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, ska punk, alternative hip hop | |||
| Length | 2:51 | |||
| Label | MCA Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Bud Gaugh/Bradley Nowell/ Half Pint/Eric Wilson |
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| Producer | David Kahne | |||
| Sublime singles chronology | ||||
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"What I Got" is a song from Sublime's eponymous third album titled Sublime and was the band's biggest radio hit, posthumously after singer Bradley Nowell's 1996 heroin overdose. It was the second single to be released by the band, following "Date Rape" (1991). The song was one of the most popular singles of 1997 in the US. 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 Airplay.[1]
It is ranked among the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone at #83.[2] The song is noted for carrying a melody almost identical to that heard on The Beatles' "Lady Madonna"[3] and an overlayed comparison of the said melody matches up almost exactly.
The song itself is also an adaptation of the track "Loving" by Half-Pint.[4] 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. It also appeared on the soundtrack of Guitar Hero 5 and Saints Row: The Third.
The guitar solo was played by Michael “Miguel” Happoldt, the founder of Skunk Records.[5]
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 was covered by Bret Michaels of the glam metal band Poison on his solo album Custom Built released in 2010.
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 found on "That Nigger's Crazy", the same Richard Pryor quote that is used in Ol' Dirty Bastard's Shimmy Shimmy Ya.
The sentence "Never had to battle with no bulletproof vest" is taken from "Mona Lisa (Nappy Heads Remix)" by The Fugees.
A second version, "What I Got (Reprise)", is a more rock-oriented version of the song on the album Sublime. This version was also heard on many rock stations.
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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, as well as live footage from a Sublime show at The Capitol Ballroom in Washington, DC. The rollerblading woman in the beginning of the video is wearing a shirt with the words "I ♥ Slayer" in reference to the thrash metal band Slayer who emerged from the same area.
| Preceded by "Novocaine for the Soul" by Eels |
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single October 26 - November 9, 1996 |
Succeeded by "Swallowed" by Bush |
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