A-side "Think (About It)" Released June 1972 Genre Funk, soul | B-side "Ain't No Sunshine" Format 7" single Length 3:18 | |
"Think (About It)" is a funk song recorded by Lyn Collins and released as a single on James Brown's People Records in 1972. The recording was produced by Brown (who also wrote the song) and features instrumental backing from his band The J.B.'s. It was the title track of Collins' 1972 debut album.
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Sampling
Along with "Funky Drummer" and "Funky President," "Think (About It)" is one of the most frequently sampled James Brown productions, having been used on tracks by dozens of hip hop and dance music artists. The song appeared on the 16th volume of the Ultimate Breaks and Beats compilation series in 1986, shortly before the release of the E-mu SP-1200 sampler in 1987. This resulted in "Think" being sampled heavily in the ensuing years. Both the song's main rhythmic groove and a vocal passage known as the Yeah! Woo! break have been used as samples.
Perhaps the first song to sample "Think" was "Go On Girl" by Roxanne Shante in 1987 (produced by Marley Marl) followed by "My Groove Gets Better" from her album "Bad Sister." A few months later, the same 4-bar loop of "Yeah! Woo!" appeared as the basis for Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's "It Takes Two."
Other recordings that sample the song include Kardinal Offishall's "Clear!", Dizzee Rascal's "Pussy'ole (Old Skool)," De La Soul's "Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin's Revenge)," EPMD's "Gold Digger," Dream Warriors' "Face in the Basin," R.E.M.'s "Radio Song," Janet Jackson's "Alright," Wreckx-n-Effect's "Clubhead" (from their self-titled 1989 debut album), Basic Black's "Nothing But A Party," Chubb Rock's "Ya Bad Chubbs," and The Real Roxanne's "Roxanne's On A Roll." At least one jazz musician has sampled the song, Vinnie Colaiuta, in the opening track of his 1994 self-titled album. Today's song "I Got the Feeling" samples a vocal from the song. And TLC's song "Hat 2 Da Back" also samples part of the song.
Cover versions
"Think (About It)" was covered by the reggae fusion singer Patra in 1993. Lyn Collins made an appearance on a remix of Patra's recording of the song, as well as appearing in its music video.
British soul singer Beverley Knight also covered the song, which was released as a B-side to her 1999 single "Made It Back 99."
Sy Smith covered the song on her concert DVD Sy Smith Live: Worship at the Temple.
Bonnie Bramlett covered this song in 1976 for her album Lady's Choice.
Appearances in other media
"Think (About It)" appears on the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack on the Master Sounds 98.3 station. It is also used in two stage themes of the 1997 video game Street Fighter III: New Generation.