Funky Cold Medina

"Funky Cold Medina"
Single by Tone Lōc
from the album Lōc-ed After Dark
Released March 21, 1989
Format 7" single; CD single
Recorded 1987
Genre Rap rock
Length 4:08
Label Delicious Vinyl
Writer(s) Young MC, Michael L. Ross, Matt Dike
Certification Gold (RIAA)
Tone Lōc singles chronology
"Wild Thing"
(1989)
"Funky Cold Medina"
(1989)
"I Got It Goin' On"
(1990)
"Funky Cold Medina"
Tone Lōc's "Funky Cold Medina" from Lōc-ed After Dark

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"Funky Cold Medina" is a hip hop song written by Young MC, Michael L. Ross and Matt Dike,[1] and first performed by Tone Lōc. It was the second single from Lōc's debut album Lōc-ed After Dark (1989). The single was released on March 18, 1989, and rose to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 the following month where it went platinum, selling over one million copies. It peaked on the UK Singles Chart at #13 in May of that year.

The song title refers to a fictional aphrodisiac (described as a love potion[2]), which is presented in the accompanying video as a steaming potion. The lyrics tell the tale of Lōc's initially unsuccessful attempts to attract women at a bar. At the suggestion of another patron, he plies his intended with "that medina thing." He first tests the drink on his dog, who immediately latches onto his leg and attempts to arouse himself sexually, and subsequently becomes more popular with other dogs. Lōc's subsequent attempts to use the drug backfire on him; first he targets a transvestite,[3] and then a woman who becomes immediately intent on marriage (recounting his experiences on the game show Love Connection). In the end, Lōc concludes the concoction is simply not worth the trouble (and the video shows him regretfully emptying the bottle into a storm drain).

After the song became popular, several different cocktails were introduced bearing the name "Funky Cold Medina."[4]

Song samplings

"Funky Cold Medina" contains samples from seven songs: "Honky Tonk Women" by The Rolling Stones, "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner, "Christine Sixteen" by Kiss, "All Right Now" by Free, "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" by Bachman–Turner Overdrive, and the introduction to "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" by Funkadelic.

Track listings

US vinyl, 12", promo

US promo

In popular culture

References

  1. ASCAP Ace System.
  2. "Love Potion". TV Tropes.
  3. "Lyrics". Archived from the original on 2007-11-02. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
  4. Esther Iverem, "We Think It's Legal: Would You Like a Funky Cold Medina?", Newsday, July 8, 1989, part 2, p. 15.
  5. Rolling Stone, March 8, 1990
  6. "Spartan Cheerleaders at a Chess Tournament". Saturday Night Live, January 20, 1996. at nbc.com

External links