"The Rockafeller Skank" | ||||
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Single by Fatboy Slim | ||||
from the album You've Come a Long Way, Baby | ||||
Released | June 8, 1998UK) September 22, 1998 (US) |
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Format | ||||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:27 (radio edit) 6:53 (album version) 4:03 (short version) |
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Label | Skint | |||
Producer(s) | Fatboy Slim | |||
Fatboy Slim singles chronology | ||||
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"The Rockafeller Skank" (sometimes titled Funk Soul Brother) is a song by English big beat musician and DJ Fatboy Slim. It was a hit single released from the 1998 album You've Come a Long Way, Baby.
The single peaked at number six in the UK Singles Chart in June 1998. The song was the second Fatboy Slim single (after "Praise You") to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 76.
The song features the repeated line "Right about now, the funk soul brother / Check it out now, the funk soul brother", which is a truncated vocal sample of rapper Lord Finesse on the track "Vinyl Dog Vibe" by Vinyl Dogs, the original line being "Check it out right about now, it's no other than the funk soul brother, the Lord Finesse".
The song also features four other samples, including a sample of the song "Sliced Tomatoes" by the band Just Brothers (a popular Northern Soul track), Bobby Fuller Four's "I Fought the Law" (featuring DeWayne Quirico's drum intro), and a sample of "Beat Girl" by John Barry and his Orchestra. A guitar line from the song "Peter Gunn" by Art of Noise featuring Duane Eddy is also sampled.
Fatboy Slim has stated that to clear the samples and release the song he had to release 100% of the track's royalties, 25% to each artist, meaning he receives no royalties himself.
Note: Some mainland European editions omit the album version (track 2)
The edited version is notable at the beginning, as there is a scat effect on the first word of the song. This is removed on the edit featured on the 2006 compilation The Greatest Hits – Why Try Harder.