Released January 17, 2006 Genre Hip hop
dance
rap rock | Recorded 2004 Label A&M, will.i.am | |
Format CD single, digital download Length 3:35 (Single Version/Radio Edit)
3:33 (Album Version) | ||
"Pump It" is a 2005 song by The Black Eyed Peas. It was released as the fourth and final single from The Black Eyed Peas' 2005 album Monkey Business. This song was also remixed for the deluxe edition of the group's fifth studio album The E.N.D as "Pump It Harder". "Pump It" heavily incorporates music from Dick Dale's 1962 surf version of the song "Misirlou" (known by many for being featured in the 1994 Quentin Tarantino film Pulp Fiction). "Misirlou" is a popular folk song of Eastern Mediterranean origin, with an Egyptian version dating back to 1919, and a Greek version of 1927 which is believed to have been written by Tetos Dimitriadis, the arrangement of which is credited to Nicholas Roubanis for his 1941 released jazz version.
Contents
Origins
"I was in Brazil doing some CD," The Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am recalls. "I came across this compilation [disk] and I thought it was one thing but it turned out to be something else. The Dick Dale song Miserlou was on it. At first, I was angry this isn't what I wanted to buy," he laughs. "But then, really, that song is hot. I said, 'We should do a song like this.' I jump-started the computer and made some beats on the train. Then we had to fly to Tokyo and I tightened up the beat on the plane. Then I recorded vocals in this park in Tokyo, and that's how we recorded the song 'Pump It'."
Music video
The music video for "Pump It" features The Black Eyed Peas competing and fighting with a gang of unidentified people in a basement.
Chart performance
Before the single was officially released, the song peaked at number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 2005. This was mainly based on digital download strength due to exposure in the Best Buy ads. After its official airplay release, it peaked at number 18 in March 2006. The single was released to stores in the United States on February 14, 2006 and in the United Kingdom on March 13, 2006.
This single, compared to other Monkey Business singles performance on US charts, is the lowest ranking single from the album.
The song reached higher spots on charts in other countries. In New Zealand, "Pump It" debuted at number 19 on March 13, 2006. It jumped to number 2 the following week, where it peaked. It became their 4th consecutive top 5 hit from "Monkey Business" in this country, after "Don't Phunk With My Heart" and "My Humps" reached number 1, and "Don't Lie" peaking at number 5. Also, it is their 9th consecutive top 10 hit, after all of their singles from "Elephunk" reached the top 10, (including #1's "Where Is The Love?" and "Shut Up!". and earlier single "Request + Line", which peaked at number 10. Amazingly, this expanded to 11 top 10 hits for the band with the release of the 3 consecutive top 3 singles "Boom Boom Pow" (#2), " I Gotta Feeling" (#1) and "Meet Me Halfway" (#3) from the future album "The E.N.D". The streak broke when next single "Rock That Body" only managed to peak at number 16. They then had another 3 consecutive top 10 hits with "The Time (Dirty Bit)" (another #1 hit in the country), "Just Can't Get Enough" (#4), and "Don't Stop The Party" (#9) from the 2010 album The Beginning. In Australia, the song peaked at number 6. The song was also popular in the United Kingdom, becoming their 8th hit single there. "Pump It" peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart, matching the chart success of previous single "My Humps". It was the first song ever to make the UK Top 40 on sales of downloads alone.