Jump Around


"Jump Around" is a song by the American hip hop group House of Pain, produced by DJ Muggs of the hip hop group Cypress Hill, who has also covered the song. It became a hit in 1992, reaching number 3 in the United States. A 1993 re-release of the song in the United Kingdom, where the initial release had been a minor hit, peaked at number 8. "Jump Around" was featured at position 580 on Q Magazines 1001 Best Songs Ever, number 24 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s, number 66 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop, number 325 on Blenders 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born and number 47 on NMEs 100 Best Songs Of The 1990s. The song is popular among dancehall DJs and is widely regarded in the United Kingdom as a club classic.

Development

DJ Muggs has stated that he originally produced the beat for Cypress Hill, but rapper B-Real did not want to record at that time. It was subsequently offered to Ice Cube, who refused it, before finally being taken and used by House of Pain.

Samples

The song features a distinctive horn fanfare intro, sampled from Bob & Earl's 1963 track "Harlem Shuffle". The song also samples "Popeye the Hitchhiker" by Chubby Checker, but it is best known for a high-pitched squealing sound that appears at the beginning of almost every bar—66 times in the course of the recording.
The origin of the squeal has been the subject of debate. The website WhoSampled credits the 1967 Junior Walker & the All Stars track "Shoot Your Shot", in which a tenor saxophone makes the noise. However, Americans blogger Anil Dash and musician Questlove of hip-hop band The Roots have insisted on Prince's "Gett Off" as the source. A Newsweek reader performed a spectrogram where the sample more closely matches "Shoot Your Shot", and House of Pain member Everlast himself told Questlove that it is a horn making the squeal and not Prince. However, Anil Dash claims the band has denied that the sample is Prince to avoid paying royalties to the singer. For his part, DJ Muggs says the sample came from neither Prince nor Junior Walker.

Critical reception

's Bill Lamb said that "after one time of hearing this riveting blend of rap and rock, you will likely never forget the sampled saxophone squeal from Jr. Walker and the All Stars that leads off every bar." He also wrote that "for a brief period of time in the 1990s, it seemed that the marriage of edgy rock and hip-hop could actually become a thing. 'Jump Around' is proof that the union could either be incredibly infectious or annoying, depending on one's tolerance for the incessant siren that accompanies the pounding beats." AllMusic editor Rob Theakston described the song as a "dynamite classic". He also added that the "anthem" that got the Irish boys rolling in the first place "still sounds as timeless and energetic nearly a decade along". J.D. Considine for Schenectady, New York's The Daily Gazette noted it as "springy" in his review, and Scott Sterling from The Michigan Daily called it the "most happening track" on the House of Pain album. Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly wrote that "the first and only members of hip-hop's Irish-American Thug Life Hall of Fame earned their spot in that pantheon with this killer blast of rapid-fire rap bravado."
Across the Atlantic, Dublin-based Evening Herald called it a "compelling single." The Irish Independent said that with it, the group "made a fairly groovy record." NME described the song as "irresistible, the ultimate easy floorfiller, and floor-destroyer." Rupert Howe from Select magazine described it as a "Kriss-Kross-with testosterone smash" and added that it is "an impossibly simple freestyle skank that stormed the US billboard big-time."

Music video

The music video for "Jump Around" was filmed during the 1992 New York City Saint Patrick's Day parade. Portions were shot on the parade route as well as in Central Park and Old Town Bar and Restaurant. New York Yankees super fan and Yankee Stadium regular Freddy Schuman can be seen in the parade crowd, ringing his signature shamrock pan near the end of the video.
The video ends with a dedication to the memory of Matt Champy, a friend of the band who died in 1992.

Track listings

  1. "Jump Around " – 3:37
  2. "Jump Around " – 4:06
  3. "Jump Around " – 3:56
  4. "House of Pain Anthem " – 2:35

    Charts

Weekly charts

Chart Peak
position
Ireland Dance 7

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Australia 97

Certifications

Cover versions

In film

The song has been featured in films like, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Rookie, Happy Gilmore, Kiss of Death, Detention, Ready to Rumble, Black Hawk Down, Rebound, Jack Reacher, The Internship, Turbo, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Central Intelligence, War Dogs and Bridget Jones's Baby.

Television

It was featured in the UK-Canadian children's series Chris Cross; it is heard in the Dino Dana episode "King of the Dance Floor", as one of the two songs that Dana played in that episode along with Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody ", to get the male T-rex to dance to impress the female T-rex; in the Kids Incorporated season 9 episode "Face Your Fears", in the TBS talk show Lopez Tonight; in My Name Is Earl; in New Girl season 2 when Jess, Nick, and Schmidt are celebrating the return of hot water to their loft; in The Tonight Show when the host Jimmy Fallon lip-synched the song in an annual "Lip Sync Battle" against actor and former NBA Basketball player Shaquille O'Neal on April 3, 2017.

Radio

The song was featured in the BBC Radio Scotland series Off the Ball.

Advertising

The song was featured in:

Fan chants

Scottish darts world champion Gary Anderson uses the song as his walk-on music.

Arsenal Football Club

The song is played by English football club Arsenal right before the team returns to the field at half time of every home game at Emirates Stadium.

Dallas Stars

The song is played by the Dallas Stars ice hockey team prior to face-off of the third period of their home games at American Airlines Center.

Los Angeles Angels

This song is played at Angel Stadium during Los Angeles Angels baseball games in the late innings. It is typically preceded by a video of the "Rally Monkey" shown on the scoreboard video screen, which usually features a clip from a classic movie with the Rally Monkey interposed into the movie scene. The Rally Monkey then holds up a "Rally Time" sign and the chorus of "Jump Around" is played to fire up the fans to cheer for the Angels to rally and catch up in the game while the Rally Monkey is shown jumping up and down.

Melbourne City FC

The song is played by Australian football club Melbourne City FC after they score goals during home games at AAMI Park.

New England Patriots

The song was played during the 2015 post-season in Gillette Stadium when the New England Patriots scored the final touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens. The most widely heard playing of the song came at the end of Super Bowl XLIX before Bob Costas presided over the presentations of the Pete Rozelle Trophy to Tom Brady and the Vince Lombardi Trophy to Robert Kraft.

New York Mets

The song was played during 2011–2012 season in Citi Field when New York Mets Third-Baseman captain David Wright went up to bat.

San Francisco Giants

This song was played at AT&T Park during San Francisco Giants baseball games when closing pitcher Brian Wilson entered the game and warmed up.

University of North Carolina

In 2004, the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team began using the song as it was a favorite tune among Rashad McCants and others on the team. The song has played at the beginning of every home game at the Dean Smith Center since that year. Just like Madison, during the song the entire student section jumps up and down. Occasionally, the players are seen dancing to the song as well. When the Tar Heels won the national title in 2009, the song was played over the Smith Center loudspeakers after the final buzzer. After the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament the song was played at the University of Phoenix Stadium.
When the Tar Heels moved a 2010 game against Texas to the Greensboro Coliseum, Jump Around was played before the opening tip of that game as well.
Starting with the 2012 season, the UNC football team started playing the song before home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium.

University of Wisconsin–Madison

At home football games at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, students "Jump Around" to the song between the third and fourth quarters. The tradition grew out of the men's varsity swim team members playing it over a portable CD player and broadcasting via a smuggled-in megaphone to sections O and P during the games to rile up those sections. This began in 1992, well before the official start. In March 1997, at a Fraternity party at Delta Tau Delta at midnight the song was played with the football team and members of the future stadium employees and it became the midnight anthem for every party until the end of that year. The "official" start was on Saturday, October 10, 1998, at the Badgers Homecoming game against the Purdue Boilermakers. After no offensive points were scored in the third quarter, and en route to their second 6–0 start of the modern football era, one of the Badgers' marketing agents, who was in charge of sound, piped the song through the loudspeakers. It stirred up fans and players and eventually became a tradition.
However, on September 6, 2003, with construction of skyboxes surrounding Camp Randall Stadium, UW officials decided to cancel the "Jump Around" due to worries about structural integrity. Stadium security and the local police department had been informed of this decision but no notification had been given to the fans. When news surfaced on Monday, September 8, that this event was not a technical or human malfunction, but rather a decision by campus officials, the students launched a protest. Petitions circulated and students pushed back against administration. Structural engineers confirmed that the stadium would suffer no structural damage caused by the vibrations created by jumping. Two days later, Chancellor John D. Wiley announced that the "Jump Around" tradition would resume. The song's title is displayed on unofficial Wisconsin Badgers clothing and apparel, along with the credit/debit cards of the university's employee/student/alumni credit union.

Vegas Golden Knights

The song is played by the Vegas Golden Knights ice hockey team prior to face-off of the third period of their home games at T-Mobile Arena.

2016 presidential campaign

In 2016, then-candidate Donald Trump used the song at some of his rallies. In response, on April 4, lead vocalist Everlast posted messages to Trump via Twitter, saying: