"Say No Go"
Single by De La Soul
from the album 3 Feet High and Rising
Released1989
Recorded1988
GenreAlternative hip hop
Golden age hip hop
Length4:21
LabelTommy Boy
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Prince Paul, De La Soul
De La Soul singles chronology
"Me Myself and I"
(1989)		 "Say No Go"
(1989)		 "The Magic Number"
(1990)

"Say No Go" is a single by De La Soul from their influential 1989 album 3 Feet High and Rising. It reached number 18 in the UK charts.[1] The tune is heavily based on the Hall & Oates song "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)".[2]

Background

During the 1980s and 1990s, the United States faced a severe crack cocaine epidemic. This crisis particularly impacted Black urban communities, leading to increased rates of addiction, violence, and incarceration.[3] In this context, The song is a cautionary tale about the use of drugs, in particular "base" (otherwise known as crack cocaine); a topic they would tackle on their follow-up album, De La Soul Is Dead, albeit from a different perspective, on the song "My Brother's a Basehead".

In the opening line, Posdnuos raps: "Now let's get right on down to the skit / A baby is brought into a world of pits / And if it could've talked that soon / In the delivery room / It would've asked the nurse for a hit".

Track listing

  1. "Say No Go (Say No Dope Mix)" - 6:15
  2. "Say No Go (New Keys Vocal)" - 4:51
  3. "Say No Go (Radio Mix)" - 4:21
  4. "The Mack Daddy on the Left" - 2:33
  5. "Say No Go (New Keys Instrumental)" - 5:01
Samples

"Say No Go" includes samples from the following songs:[4]

Charts

Chart (1989) Peak
Position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart 35
U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles 32
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 3
U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Singles 11
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales 13
UK Singles Chart 18

See also

References

  1. ↑ "SAY NO GO". Official Charts. 1989-07-08. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  2. ↑ Cantor, Paul (2014-03-03). "De La Soul, '3 Feet High and Rising' at 25: Classic Track-by-Track Review". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  3. ↑ Watkins, Beverly Xaviera; Fullilove, Robert E.; Fullilove, Mindy Thompson (1998). "Arms against Illness: Crack Cocaine and Drug Policy in the United States". Health and Human Rights. 2 (4): 42. doi:10.2307/4065186. JSTOR 4065186.
  4. ↑ Cantor, Paul (2014-03-03). "De La Soul, '3 Feet High and Rising' at 25: Classic Track-by-Track Review". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
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