Released June 22, 1993 Recorded 1992 Length 3:32 | Format CD, 12" Genre Hip hop | |
Label Ruffhouse,
Columbia Records | ||
"Insane in the Brain" is a 1993 single by the American hip hop group Cypress Hill. In addition to hitting number one on the US rap chart, the song also was a mainstream hit, reaching number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1993. It earned a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America and sold 600,000 copies domestically. It was highly successful in other countries. The song was released on the group's Black Sunday album.
Contents
The popular lyric "Insane in the membrane" is sometimes confused for the title.
Origins and structure
According to B-Real, the song was actually a diss song aimed at Chubb Rock. The group felt Chubb had ridiculed their style on his 1992 album I Gotta Get Mine Yo.
It is claimed that DJ Muggs produced the song "Jump Around" by House of Pain, which was later used to produce this song, with minor changes.
The song is built around many samples: a repeating sample of a horse from Mel and Tim's "Good Guys Only Win in the Movies"; a drum break from organist George Semper's cover version of Lee Dorsey's "Get Out of My Life, Woman"; a sample of James Brown grunting from the opening of his song "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud"; a sample of the line "insane in the brain" from Cypress Hill's own song "Hole in the Head"; the opening keyboard from Sly & the Family Stone's "Life" and a sample of the line "I think I'm going crazy" from The Youngbloods's "All Over the World (La La)," which concludes the track. In 2008, it was ranked number 34 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.
Music video
A video for the track was filmed at San Francisco's DNA Lounge. Eminem, an Upcoming Rap Artist at the time, makes a Small Appearance in the Video.
Uses of the song
In 2012, the song was used to show that axons transmit electricity from sound to chromatophores of a dead Longfin Inshore Squid to create a colourful display of the music.
Beau Monga performed a cover of this song on The X Factor.
The video game Saints Row IV features the song during a scene in the game where the player character meets up with present-day Shaundi and her past self. The song can also be heard on the fictional radio station The Mix 107.77.
The song is featured in the movie Bulworth.
Track listings
- "Insane in the Brain" (Radio Edit) - 3:32
- "Stoned is the Way of the Walk" - 2:46
- "Something for the Blunted" - 1:15
- "Insane in the Brain" (Extended Version) - 4:56
- "Insane in the Brain" (Jason Master Blaster Edit) - 4:06
- "Insane in the Brain" (Jason Master Blaster Club Mix) - 5:02
- "Insane in the Brain" (Da Funky Chunky Mix) - 6:36
- "Insane in the Brain" (Nevins' Asylum Edit) - 3:40
- "Insane in the Brain" (Nevins' Asylum Club Mix) - 6:06
- "Insane in the Brain" (The Funky French B-Boy Remix) - 5:40