"International Players Anthem (I Choose You)" | |||||||||||
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Single by UGK featuring OutKast | |||||||||||
from the album Underground Kingz | |||||||||||
Released | June 6, 2007 | ||||||||||
Format | CD, digital download | ||||||||||
Recorded | 2006 | ||||||||||
Genre | Hip hop | ||||||||||
Length | 4:25 | ||||||||||
Label | Jive | ||||||||||
Writer(s) | Bernard Freeman, Chad Butler, Andre Benjamin, Antwan Patton | ||||||||||
Producer(s) | DJ Paul, Juicy J | ||||||||||
UGK singles chronology | |||||||||||
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"International Player's Anthem (I Choose You)" is a song by American hip hop group UGK, released June 6, 2007, as the second single from their fifth studio album Underground Kingz (2007). The song, produced by DJ Paul and Juicy J of Three 6 Mafia, features verses from fellow Southern hip hop duo OutKast.
The song contains a sample of "I Choose You" by Willie Hutch. The song hit number 70 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it their first and only song to reach the chart. The songs official remix, featuring verses from Three 6 Mafia, is a bonus track on the album.
The song's official music video, directed by Bryan Barber, premiered on MTV Jams on June 4, 2007. The video is centered on the fictional wedding of Outkast member Andre 3000, progressing through the men's waiting room before the ceremony, the wedding itself, the reception, and the afterparty dance. Before the wedding ceremony, UGK member Bun B and friends ridicule Andre 3000 for supposedly rushing into getting married, and poke fun at him for wearing a red kilt ("I've got Scottish in my family," Andre calmly states). DJ Paul humorously says that it makes him look like Roddy Piper of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Andre defends his decision to get married, saying that he is ready to take the next step in life, and in turn berates his friends for not looking to get into commitments themselves. During the wedding, Andre talks about text messaging past flings and telling them that he has found love and will be giving up his life as a player. The audience remains seated as the bride, played by actress Salina Soto (CSI:NY, Forbidden), marches to the altar, a boy plays with an oversize toy spaceship, and one of Andre's past flings makes a side remark to him (the verse that is being rapped), to the dismay of her date, Fonzworth Bentley. A choir and its director sing the "I Choose You" vocals as the wedding progresses, while the groomsmen and other friends implore Andre to "keep your heart, 3 stacks!". Later at the afterparty, two of Andre's past flings get into an argument while attempting to catch the bride's bouquet, which escalates into a full-blown fist fight that destroys the wedding cake and much of the buffet. The male onlookers are pleasantly shocked, the bride is almost reduced to tears, but the rest of the main characters (including the bride) all smile at the end, apparently having a good time. The video features cameo appearances by Bishop Don "Magic" Juan, Three 6 Mafia, Chamillionaire, T-Pain, Fonzworth Bentley, David Banner, Kardinal Offishall, Katt Williams, Big Gipp and DeRay Davis, along with actor Lukas Haas. This became the last video appearance of UGK member Pimp C, before his death on December 4, 2007.