"Ant Rap" | ||||
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Single by Adam and the Ants | ||||
from the album Prince Charming | ||||
B-side | Friends | |||
Released | 30 November 1981 | |||
Format | vinyl record (7") | |||
Genre | Rap-rock, new wave, post-punk | |||
Length | 3:40 | |||
Label | CBS Records | |||
Writer(s) | Adam Ant, Marco Pirroni | |||
Adam and the Ants singles chronology | ||||
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"Ant Rap" is a 1981 song performed by the British new wave band Adam and the Ants. Written by Adam Ant and Marco Pirroni, the song was included on the band's 1981 album Prince Charming. It entered the UK Singles Chart in December 1981 at number 9 before rising to a peak position of number three.
The setting for the music video is Bodiam Castle and features Adam wearing a suit of armour, then a blue American Football uniform with the number 57 on the front. While in his football uniform, he crashes through a door, revealing Marco Pirroni sitting at a grand piano dressed as Liberace. Adam then does a Bruce Lee impersonation while rescuing the princess (played by Lulu) before reverting to his shining armor. The video ends with Adam jumping from the top of the castle into the moat (the jump is actually performed by a stuntman). He throws his sword in the moat only to see an armored hand lift it again from the water.
While widely panned by critics, "Ant Rap" was one of the earliest rap singles to chart in the UK, reaching number 3 on the UK singles chart.
The B-side to the single was a rerecording of "Friends". The band's former label, Do It Records, would release an early recording of "Friends" as a single in 1982.
Adam's chest pounding bravado lent itself to the rap of the time. He boasts of his success and his ability to dance, and calls out the anarchists of the music scene, affirming he was never concerned with receiving their credibility.