Format CD, 12" Length 3:32 | Recorded 2005 Label Geffen Records | |
Released June 20, 2005 (2005-06-20) (United States)
December 23, 2006 (2006-12-23) (Europe)
January 19, 2007 (2007-01-19) (United Kingdom) Genre Midwest hip hop
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"Chain Hang Low" is a hip-hop song by American rapper Jibbs. It was the debut single off his debut album Jibbs Featuring Jibbs. It uses a sample of the children's song "Do Your Ears Hang Low?". "Chain Hang Low" peaked at number 7 on Billboard Hot 100, his only top 40 hit on that chart. It also reached numbers 6 and 16 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts respectively and charted in countries like Ireland and New Zealand. The song went on to rack up more than 20,000 ringtone downloads in a span of two weeks. The song reached number 50 on Complex's list of the 100 best hip-hop one-hit wonders.
Contents
Background
XXL blogger Byron Crawford and The Source have classified this song in a genre of music called "minstrel show rap", because the chorus's melody is taken from the minstrel show song "Turkey in the Straw". Jibbs claims he didn't know the origins of the song.
Chart performance
"Chain Hang Low" debuted at number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of August 19, 2006. Six weeks later, it reached the top 10 at number 8 on the week of September 30, 2006 and stayed there for three weeks. It peaked at number 7 the week of October 21, 2006 and stayed on the chart for twenty weeks.
Music video
Directed by Syndrome, the video features Jibbs rapping the lyrics while he's around moving around his old neighborhood. The video was shot entirely in a studio on green screen when the production company, Robot Films, lost the permit to shoot the video on the actual streets the night before the scheduled shoot. Everything from the ice cream truck, to the people running, was all simulated in a suburban St. Louis industrial park studio and composited in post-production at the Syndrome Los Angeles production facilities. To maintain the accuracy of Jibb's home neighborhood, James Larese of Syndrome visited the actual neighborhood and took an extensive series of still digital photographs which were added during post production.
Remix
There was an official remix released which featured Yung Joc, Rich Boy, St. Louis native Lil' Mont, and Lil' Wayne.
In popular culture
The song was used during the opening credits for the films Drillbit Taylor and Norbit and was also used during an episode in season 3 of Entourage.