imported>Tassedethe at 20:30, 24 May 2025

2025-05-24T20:30:22Z

New page

{{Infobox song
| name = Cha Cha Cha
| cover = File:Cha Cha Cha MC Lyte Single.webp
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = [[MC Lyte]]
| album = [[Eyes on This]]
| B-side = Housepower
| released = September 8, 1989<ref name="Allmusic">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/cha-cha-cha-mr0001468228|title=MC Lyte - Cha Cha Cha (12 inch Vinyl Single - Atlantic #96529)|website=AllMusic}}</ref>
| recorded = 1989
| studio =
| genre = [[Golden age hip hop]]
| length = 3:02
| label = [[First Priority Music|First Priority]], [[Atlantic Records]]
| writer = Freddie Byrd<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/search/workID/330418007|title=ASCAP Repertory entry for this song |work=ASCAP|accessdate=April 14, 2021 }}</ref>
| producer = King Of Chill<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/eyes-on-this-mw0000201996|title=Eyes on This - MC Lyte - Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic}}</ref>
| prev_title = [[I'm Not Havin' It]]
| prev_year = 1989
| next_title = [[Stop, Look, Listen (MC Lyte song)|Stop, Look, Listen]]
| next_year = 1990
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|rjFN2WoHjhA|"Cha Cha Cha}}}}
}}

'''Cha Cha Cha''' is the lead single from [[MC Lyte]]'s second album ''[[Eyes on This]]''. Produced by King Of Chill, who also has songwriting credits, it was released on September 8, 1989.<ref name="Allmusic" />

The song stayed 18 weeks on the recently created [[Hot Rap Songs|Billboard Hot Rap Singles]] and became one of the first songs to peak at {{Abbr|No.|number}} 1 on that chart, staying there for two weeks in December 1989. Although MC Lyte had already reached #1 on Rap chart a few months earlier with the collaborative single "[[Stop the Violence Movement|Self Destruction]]", this was the first time that a woman had achieved it as the lead artist. In turn, it would also become Lyte's first appearance on the [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hip-Hop]] (then called "Billboard Hot Black Singles"), peaking {{Abbr|No.|number}} 35.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=369&cfgn=Singles&cfn=Hot+Rap+Singles&ci=3008832&cdi=6444842&cid=11%2F04%2F1989|title=Top Music Charts - Hot 100 - Billboard 200 - Music Genre Sales|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}{{dead link|date=July 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

In 2008 "Cha Cha Cha" was {{Abbr|No.|number}} 54 on [[VH1]]'s ''100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop'' list<ref name="VH1">{{Cite episode |title=100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs |url=http://www.vh1.com/shows/the_greatest/episode.jhtml?episodeID=140905 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210013226/http://www.vh1.com/shows/the_greatest/episode.jhtml?episodeID=140905 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 10, 2011 |series=The Greatest |series-link=The Greatest (VH1 TV series)|network=MTV Networks |station=VH1 |airdate=2008-09-28 |number=186 }}</ref> and [[Lil' Kim]] performed a rewritten version on her mixtape, ''[[Ms. G.O.A.T.]]''<ref name="Thomas, p. 192">Thomas, p. 192.</ref>

== Conception and composition ==
Although the song's credits only feature King of Chill as the songwriter, MC Lyte stated that they wrote the song together:

{{blockquote|“There were occasions like a song like ‘Cha Cha Cha’ King of Chill wrote that with me. I didn’t have a problem with opening the door to someone writing with me at times. But I had to have my stamp in it, on it and all round it because I’m not just saying whatever someone writes.”<ref name=clip>{{cite web| author= MC Lyte| url= http://www.vibe.com/photo-gallery/full-clip-mc-lyte-breaks-down-her-entire-catalogue-brandy-janet-jackson-ll-cool-j-more | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715064736/http://www.vibe.com/photo-gallery/full-clip-mc-lyte-breaks-down-her-entire-catalogue-brandy-janet-jackson-ll-cool-j-more |archive-date= July 15, 2014| date= January 7, 2011| website= [[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe.com]]| url-status= dead| title= Full Clip: MC Lyte Breaks Down Her Entire Catalogue (Brandy, Janet Jackson, LL Cool J & More)| access-date= December 27, 2020}}</ref>}}

Also comment about the lyrics:

{{blockquote|“There were some things that were humorous in there that I didn’t write or didn’t like or thought was the hottest line I ever said. It was comical to me…like that line, ‘Well, well, well, I’ll be damned.’ But turned out that that’s one of the most memorable parts of ‘Cha Cha Cha.’ Whenever I perform it that’s the part that the whole crowd wants to say. So sometimes you have to get out of yourself and let a new way of approaching a rhyme happen.”<ref name=clip />}}

=== Samples ===
The song contains samples of [[Four Tops]]'s "I Can't Live Without You" bass part, [[Kraftwerk]]'s "The Man-Machine" lead synth part, [[Funkadelic]]'s "Good Old Music"'s drum,{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}} [[Cerrone]]'s "Rocket in the Pocket"'s drum, and [[The Fearless Four (group)|The Fearless Four]]'s "Rockin' It" hook.<ref name=Albumism/> The song also has a vocal interpolation of herself on "Kickin' 4 Brooklyn" from her debut album.

==Music video ==
The music video for the song, directed by [[Tamra Davis]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://imvdb.com/n/mc-lyte |title=MC Lyte |website=IMVDb |access-date=April 16, 2021}}</ref> was filmed in August 1989 on [[Randalls and Wards Islands|Randall's Island]], [[New York City]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gettyimages.ch/detail/nachrichtenfoto/rapper-mc-lyte-films-her-video-for-cha-cha-cha-on-nachrichtenfoto/1225684732?language=fr|title=MC Lyte Films "Cha Cha Cha" Video On Randall's Island (description of photography)|website=[[Getty Images]]}}</ref> In the video, shot almost entirely in black and white, Lyte is shown alongside her bodyguard, her DJ K-Rock, and her dancers Leg One and Leg Two.

It was included on her compilation video album ''Lyte Years'' (1991).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/lyte-years-mw0000269596|title=Lyte Years - MC Lyte · Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic|accessdate=May 18, 2021}}</ref>

==Appearances==
"Cha Cha Cha" was included in his compilation albums [[The Very Best of MC Lyte]] (2001), ''The Shit I Never Dropped'' (2003),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-shit-i-never-dropped-mw0001332459 |website=[[AllMusic]] |date=
|accessdate=January 28, 2021 |title= MC Lyte - The Shit I Never Dropped}}</ref> ''Rhyme Masters'' (2005),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/rhyme-masters-mw0000170877 |website=[[AllMusic]] |date=
|accessdate=January 28, 2021 |title= MC Lyte - Rhyme Masters}}</ref> ''Rhino Hi-Five: MC Lyte'' (2007),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/mx/album/rhino-hi-five-mc-lyte-ep/251506865|title=Rhino Hi-Five: MC Lyte EP - MC Lyte - Release Info|website=Apple Music}}</ref> ''Cold Rock a Party - Best Of MC Lyte'' (2019)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/cold-rock-a-party-best-of/1461763211|title=Cold Rock a Party Best Of - MC Lyte - Release Info|website=Apple Music}}</ref> and on the [[EastWest Records|EastWest]] [[Maxi-Single]] "Lyte Of A Decade" (1996).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/lyte-of-a-decade-mw0000969021 |website=[[AllMusic]] |date=
|accessdate=January 30, 2021 |title= MC Lyte - Lyte Of A Decade}}</ref>

In the fall of 1991 she performed the song at the [[Pay-per-view]] TV concert '' [[Dee Barnes|Sisters In The Name of Rap]]''.<ref>{{cite web|date=April 24, 1992|title=Sisters in the Name of Rap|url=http://www.ew.com/article/1992/04/24/sisters-name-rap|publisher=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|access-date=February 11, 2021}}</ref>

The song was performed by [[Da Brat]] and [[Remy Ma]] at the MC Lyte tribute at the 2006 [[VH1 Hip Hop Honors]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1542620/lil-kim-mc-lyte-put-female-mcs-center-stage-at-hip-hop-honors/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029215015/http://www.mtv.com/news/1542620/lil-kim-mc-lyte-put-female-mcs-center-stage-at-hip-hop-honors/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 29, 2020|title=LIL' KIM, MC LYTE PUT FEMALE MCS CENTER STAGE AT HIP-HOP HONORS |website=[[MTV]] (website)|date=October 9, 2006 |access-date=May 24, 2021}}</ref>

The song was also featured on the soundtrack of the video game ''[[Grand Theft Auto IV]]'' on the fictional in-game station "[[Grand Theft Auto IV soundtrack#The Classics 104.1|The Classics 104.1]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rockstargames.com/fr/manuals/music?gameId=25 |title=Rockstar Games › music |website=[[Rockstar Games]] |date= |access-date=May 16, 2021}}</ref>

In October 2008 she performed "Cha Cha Cha" at the [[2008 BET Hip Hop Awards|3th edition]] of the [[BET Hip Hop Awards]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/www.inquirer.com/philly/phrequency/genres/hip_hop/BET_Hip-Hop_Awards_go_political.html%3foutput |title=BET Hip-Hop Awards go political |website=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer|Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=October 22, 2008 |access-date=May 16, 2021}}</ref>

On October 14, 2014, MC Lyte performed this song to President [[Barack Obama]] in the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the legislation that created the [[National Endowment for the Humanities]] and the [[National Endowment for the Arts]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/s/www.cbsnews.com/news/president-obama-celebrates-american-music-with-eclectic-bunch/ |website=[[CBS News]]
|date=October 14, 2015 |access-date=January 28, 2021 |title= President Obama celebrates American music with "eclectic bunch"}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media | last=
muzline
|title=MC Lyte - Dear John / Cha Cha Cha (Live 2016) | url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bo_5FAx8Wdo |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/bo_5FAx8Wdo |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live| via=[[YouTube]] | date=January 10, 2016
|access-date=January 28, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Legacy and influence==
In his book ''Icons of Hip Hop: An Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture'' (2007) writer Mickey Hess commented on the song "is an early example of her competing not as a female MC, but as an MC. In this song, she includes the audience as part of her battle strategy. Unlike some of her other songs in which she attacks a rapper or a crew of rappers, this song is a general warning to her competition. Considered an ultimate dis song, Lyte references hip hop and lyricism as if it is a science, a complex skill that few have mastered. The song does not have violent images, yet delivers punishment. The defeat for competitors is in the realization that they are not smart enough to outwit her."<ref name="Icons of Hip Hop">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LldOLnIQ66cC&dq=The+song+does+not+have+violent+images%2C+yet+delivers+punishment.&pg=PA124 | title=Icons of Hip Hop: An Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture | publisher=ABC-CLIO | author=Hess, Mickey | year=2007 | page=124 | isbn=978-0-313-33902-8}}</ref>

In 2009, [[PopMatters]]'s Quentin B. Huff reviewed the song in his note "I still love H.E.R. (and so should everyone else)", commenting: {{blockquote|"(MC Lyte) tenor of voice and the precision of her delivery make her undeniable, not to mention her willingness to try a variety of subject matter. Despite the variety, however, she is well suited to battle mode where she can verbally stomp her competition. "Cha Cha Cha" is that type of song, but the execution is so smooth, with one of the slinkiest bass lines in all of rap, that she accomplishes her mission without being menacing. At the same time, she naturally sounds a bit like a [[mobster]] from an old [[black-and-white movie]]. I can easily see her pulling a [[Humphrey Bogart]] and saying something like, "Move kid, ya botha me. Am-scray, will ya?" "Cha Cha Cha" is more subdued and matter of fact than "[[I'm Bad]]", [[LL Cool J]]'s earnest tribute to his lyrical skill."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/i-still-love-h-e-r-and-so-should-everyone-else-2496138018.html |website=[[PopMatters]] (website) |date=December 14, 2009 |accessdate=June 29, 2021 |title=I Still Love H.E.R. (And So Should Everyone Else)}}</ref>}}

[[Jack White]] revealed the song as the primary inspiration behind his 2014 [[Grammy Award|Grammy]]–nominated song "[[Lazaretto (song)|Lazaretto]]".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Manning|first1=Sean|title=Meet Daru Jones, Jack White's Secret Weapon|url=http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/a31999/jack-white-drummer-daru-jones/|website=esquire.com|publisher=Esquire Magazine|access-date=2015-11-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Jack White Talks MC Lyte's Influence, "Seven Nation Army"'s Soccer Anthem Status For KROQ|url=http://radio.com/2014/06/12/jack-white-talks-mc-lytes-influence-seven-nation-armys-soccer-anthem-status-for-kroq/|website=radio.com|publisher=CBS Interactive|access-date=2015-11-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208093926/http://radio.com/2014/06/12/jack-white-talks-mc-lytes-influence-seven-nation-armys-soccer-anthem-status-for-kroq/|archive-date=2015-12-08|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In October 2019, on the 30th anniversary of its release, ''Albumism'''s Jesse Ducker reviewed "Eyes of This," in which he commented that "Cha Cha Cha" is one of the best songs Lyte has ever released. Though the beat intentionally evokes old school hip-hop, sampling The Fearless Four's "Rockin' It" synthesizer-based loop and the drum/guitar break from Cerrone's "Rocket In the Pocket", it still feels futuristic even three decades later."<ref name=Albumism>{{cite web|url=https://www.albumism.com/features/mc-lyte-eyes-on-this-turns-30-anniversary-retrospective |website=Albumism |date=October 2, 2019 |accessdate=March 15, 2021 |title= MC Lyte's 'Eyes On This' Turns 30 - Anniversary Retrospective}}</ref>

=== Accolades ===
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Publication
!Country
!Accolade
!Year
! style="text-align:center;"|Rank
|-
|''[[Ego trip (magazine)|Ego Trip]]''
|rowspan=4|[[United States|U.S.]]
|''Hip Hop's 40 Greatest Singles by Year 1980–98''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://genius.com/Ego-trip-magazine-hip-hops-greatest-singles-by-year-lyrics |website=[[Genius (website)|Genius]] |date=
|accessdate=October 9, 2020 |title= Hip-Hop's Greatest Singles By Year (Ego Trip Magazine)}}</ref>
| 1999
| style="text-align:center;"|#27
|-
|''[[The Boombox]]''
|''50 Greatest Songs By Female Rappers''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theboombox.com/50-greatest-songs-by-female-rappers/ |website=[[The Boombox]] |date=
|accessdate=October 27, 2017 |title=50 Greatest Songs By Female Rappers }}</ref>
| 2017
| style="text-align:center;"|#15
|-
|''[[VH1]]''
|''100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop''<ref name="VH1" />
| 2008
| style="text-align:center;"|#54
|-
|''[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]''
|''The BIG List: Rap’s 30 Most Powerful Album Intros''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vibe.com/features/lists/big-list-raps-30-most-powerful-album-intros-28-27-42888/ |website=vibe.com |date=August 2, 2010
|accessdate=March 24, 2022 |title=The BIG List: Rap's 30 Most Powerful Album Intros (#28 – 27)}}</ref>
| 2010
| style="text-align:center;"|#28
|-
| colspan="7" style="text-align:center; font-size:8pt;"| (*) designates lists which are unordered.
|}

===Samples===
*In 1999, it was sampled by [[Ugly Duckling (hip hop group)|Ugly Duckling]] on "Get on This" from their EP ''[[Fresh Mode]]''.
*In 2002 "Cha Cha Cha" was sampled in [[7L & Esoteric]]'s second EP release, ''[[Dangerous Connection]]'', on a track called "Word Association".
*In 2003 it was interpolated by [[Da Brat]] on the track "Who I Am" from her fourth album ''[[Limelite, Luv & Niteclubz]]''.
*In 2004 it was interpolated by [[Shawnna]] on the track "Kick This One" from her debut album ''[[Worth tha Weight]]''.
*In February 2008, [[Rick Ross]] makes an interpolation to Cha Cha Cha in his collaboration with [[T-Pain]] on "[[The Boss (Rick Ross song)|The Boss]]", in which he says ''"I'm the biggest boss that you seen thus far"'' in reference to the line''"I'm the dopest female that you ' ve heard thus far"''.
*In June 2008 [[Lil' Kim]] rewrites "Cha Cha Cha" for her song "Ms. G.O.A.T." from her [[Ms. G.O.A.T.|homonym mixtape album]]. Among the modifications that his version had, in the first verse Lil 'Kim sings ''"Do my thing with an '89 swing/The dopeness I write, I guarantee delight/To the hip-hop maniac, the Uptown brainiac/In full effect, MC Lyte is back"'' changing it to ''"Shake my thing all the boys start to sing/Shawty is a ten, think about me in his dreams/Nymphomanic, head like a brainiac/For those who slept Lil' Kim is back"''.<ref name="Thomas, p. 192"/>

==Single track listing==
=== 7" Vinyl===
====A-Side====
# "Cha Cha Cha" (3:00)

====B-Side====
# "Housepower" (3:50)

=== 12" Vinyl===
====A-Side====
# "Cha Cha Cha" (3:00)
# "Cha Cha Cha" (Instrumental) (3:00)

====B-Side====
# "Housepower (12" Mix)" (11:42)

=== Cassette===
====A-Side====
# "Cha Cha Cha" (3:00)
# "Housepower" (11:42)

====B-Side====
# "Cha Cha Cha" (3:00)
# "Housepower" (11:42)

==Personnel==
Credits are taken from the liner notes.<ref>{{cite AV media notes | others=MC Lyte | date=1989 | title=Cha Cha Cha | type=track listing | publisher=[[First Priority Music]] | id=0-96529}}</ref>
*Producer, Mixed By, Lyrics By, Music By – King of Chill
*Mastered By – Dennis King (D.K.)
*Executive-Producer – Nat Robinson

==Charts==
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1989–90)
!Peak<br/>position
|-

|-
{{single chart|Billboardrandbhiphop|35|artist=MC Lyte|rowheader=true|access-date=November 20, 2019}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardrapsongs|1|artist=MC Lyte|rowheader=true|access-date=November 20, 2019}}
|}

==See also==
* [[List of Billboard number-one rap singles of the 1980s and 1990s]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{MC Lyte|state=autocollapse}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Songs written by MC Lyte]]
[[Category:MC Lyte songs]]
[[Category:1989 singles]]
[[Category:Music videos directed by Tamra Davis]]
[[Category:1989 songs]]
[[Category:Atlantic Records singles]]

Cha Cha Cha (MC Lyte song) - Revision history

imported>Tassedethe at 20:30, 24 May 2025