Released March 21, 1989 Recorded 1987 Length 4:08 | Format 7" single; CD single Genre Hip hop / rap rock Label Delicious Vinyl | |
"Funky Cold Medina" is a hip hop song written by Young MC, Michael L. Ross and Matt Dike, 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.
Contents
The song title refers to a fictional aphrodisiac (described as a love potion), 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 woman who, unbeknownst to him until the couple "got undressed," was a transsexual, 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."
Song samplings
"Funky Cold Medina" contains samples from the following 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 and multiple Run DMC songs
Track listings
[1] US vinyl, 12", promo
US promo