A-side Nothing but Love Format CD Genre Hip hop | Released June 10, 1993 Recorded 1992 Length 4:19 | |
"I Get Around" is the second single from 2Pac's second album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., and features Shock G and Money-B of Digital Underground, the group that introduced him to the world. It was produced by Shock G. Allmusic notes that in the song 2Pac "brags about his sexual conquests".
Contents
Composition and writing
Some of the background vocals & additional drums on "I Get Around" are sampled from the 1985 Zapp song "Computer Love", while the other background vocals (the lyric "step up") is sampled from "Step in the Arena" by Gang Starr. The percussion is sampled from The Honey Drippers' 1973 track "Impeach the President."
In the 2009 book How to Rap, Shock G recalled that 2Pac wrote the lyrics to the beat after hearing it for a while (rather than with no beat), and that 2Pac also ghostwrote Shock G's verse.
Brian McKnight sampled the song on "Hold Me" on Anytime (1997). Nicole Wray sampled the song on her single, "I Like It".
Commercial success
"I Get Around" peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It spent 25 weeks on the charts and peaked number 5 on the US R&B charts. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and sold 700,000 copies.
Live Performance
Accolades
The song was re-released on 2Pac's Greatest Hits album in 1998. The music video reached #1 on XXL's and MTV2's "25 Greatest West Coast Videos". The song is ranked #14 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.
The information regarding accolades attributed to I Get Around is adapted from Acclaimed Music: