1998 single by Fatboy Slim
"The Rockafeller Skank", often referred to as "Funk Soul Brother" by fans,[citation needed] is a song by English big beat musician and DJ Fatboy Slim. It was released as the lead single from his second studio album, You've Come a Long Way, Baby (1998), on 8 June 1998. The single peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart in June 1998 and topped the Icelandic Singles Chart for a week the same month. It was the second Fatboy Slim single (after "Praise You") to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 76. In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked "The Rockafeller Skank" at number 199 on their list of the "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time".[2]
Critical reception
Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Using self-consciously old-school DJ techniques (scratching and repetition of a spoken phrase, dramatic tempo changes), Fatboy Slim has created an organically simple masterpiece. With the accessibility of Beck, the danceability of ska, and the sunny quality of the Beach Boys, the track has a sparse, magnetic beginning that builds in depth and intensity (with the addition of jangly guitar riffs and more complex beats) to a meticulous, frenetic climax. And the wind-down is no less danceable."[3]
Will Hermes from Entertainment Weekly called it a "remarkable splice-rock roller coaster". He added, "Big, dynamic, spectacularly dumb, it grafts Duane Eddy guitar twang (via John Barry) onto Godzilla-goes-Motown beats, adds an MC non sequitur, and presses "frappe" on the digital blender. Result? The most potent DJ pop since "Firestarter". If this won't convert the techno-phobes, nothing will."[4]
A reviewer from Music & Media stated that the track "easily matches the extremely high quality one would expect from a chart veteran with such names as the Housemartins, Beats International, The Mighty Dubcats and Pizzaman on his CV." He explained further, "This time around, he's somehow managed to fuse big beat and dance with surf—seasoned with a slight pinch of punk—and has come up with what is probably the single most infectious sound around on the airwaves right now."[5]
Samples
The song features the repeated line "Right about now, the funk soul brother / Check it out now, the funk soul brother", which is a truncated vocal sample of rapper Lord Finesse on the track "Vinyl Dogs Vibe" by Vinyl Dogs. The original line, a spoken-word introduction to the instrumental track, was "Check it out right about now, it's no other than the funk soul brother, the Lord Finesse. And you're welcome to the world of the Vinyl Dogs right about now".[6]
Lord Finesse spoke about his "contribution" for the first time in 2019. He recalled receiving a fax about Fatboy Slim wanting to use his vocal sample for "The Rockafeller Skank", to which he agreed. However, he was shocked to learn the song was not what he had in mind, thinking it was going to be hip hop and not big beat. He called it a "big mistake" and expressed regret for not listening to the song first before sending his approval, and not having someone look at the contract before he signed it. Regardless, Lord Finesse remains proud of the success of "The Rockafeller Skank" but says it could have been his "retirement money".[7]
The song also features at least nine [8] other samples, including a sample of the song "Sliced Tomatoes" by the band Just Brothers (a popular Northern soul track); The Bobby Fuller Four's "I Fought the Law" (featuring DeWayne Quirico's drum intro); "Join the Gang" by David Bowie; and a sample of "Beat Girl" by John Barry and his Orchestra. Guitar lines were also sampled from "Twistin' 'N' Twangin'" by Duane Eddy[9] and "Why Can't You Love Me" by Brian Poole & The Tremeloes,[10] along with a shout from the song "Soup" by the J.J. All-Stars. In addition to these the title of the song is a reference to another newly identified sample from the track "Who You Wit II" from Jay-Z's 1997 album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, in which the word "Roc-a-Fella" is mentioned near the beginning of the track, a reference to Roc-A-Fella Records, one of the record labels the album was released by; this sample can be heard throughout The Rockafeller Skank, slowed down and with the first syllable repeated as a vocal chop many times before the full sample is heard.
Fatboy Slim has stated that to clear the samples and release the song he had to release 100% of the track's royalties, 25% to each artist, meaning he receives no royalties himself.[11]
On the album, the track is preceded by a short conversation between a radio DJ and caller named Brad requesting the song. A real conversation that took place on Boston station WBCN (now known as WWBX), the tape was played for Fatboy Slim who persuaded the station to allow him to use the audio on the album.[12]
