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Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)

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"Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)"
Single by Us3
from the album Hand On the Torch
Released2 January 1993
Recorded1992
GenreJazz rap, acid jazz
Length4:41
LabelBlue Note Records
Songwriter(s)Herbie Hancock, Rahsaan Kelly, Geoff Wilkinson, Mel Simpson
Producer(s)Geoff Wilkinson, Mel Simpson
Us3 singles chronology
"Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)"
(1993) 		"Tukka Yoot's Riddim"
(1993)
Music video
"Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" on YouTube

"Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" is a song by British jazz-rap group Us3. It was originally released in October 1992 as the lead single from their debut album, Hand On the Torch (1993). The song was recorded as a demo a year before the group's first release and features a sample of Herbie Hancock's song "Cantaloupe Island". Another sample, the announcement by Pee Wee Marquette, is taken from the Blue Note album A Night at Birdland, Vol. 1 by The Art Blakey Quintet.[1] It did not chart in their native UK, but in the US, "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the group's only top 40 single. It was subsequently re-released in UK where it peaked at No. 23.[2] "Cantaloop" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on March 25, 1994 for selling over 500,000 copies.

Critical reception

Ron Wynn from AllMusic stated that "when words and music mesh", as on "Cantaloop", "Us3 show how effectively hip-hop and jazz can blend."[3] Another editor, Stewart Mason called it "excellent" and "probably the best acid jazz single ever".[4] Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Tired of the same old urban grind? Here's just what you need: a zesty stew of traditional jazz-fusion, hip-hop, and classic funk. Live horns (with a trumpet solo that works!), imaginative use of samples from Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloop Island", and diggy-diggy-bop rapping render this an essential playlist addition."[5] The Daily Vault's Christopher Thelen noted its "trip-hop mood".[6] David Hajdu from Entertainment Weekly described the Hand On the Torch album as "a compelling, danceable delight", and stated that the song is "one of the best singles of the year".[7]

Linda Ryan from the Gavin Report commented, "It just doesn't get cooler than this! US3 combine jazz, hip-hop and house grooves for a fresh sound that begs to be discovered in a big way. If you thought Guru's Jazzmatazz was phat and all that, wait 'til you hear US3's "Cantaloop!" I prefer either the Radio Edit or the Groovy Mix. Aw, yeah."[8] A reviewer from Irish Independent deemed it as "excellent".[9] Alan Jones from Music Week called it a "funky, spunky, tasty, sample-strewn and cool jazz jam", adding that the rap is "superb".[10] Another editor, Andy Beevers gave it four out of five, noting that the single "is even more catchy than Tukka Yoot's Riddim. Rahsaan is the rapper this time and the vibe is funky rather than ragga influenced."[11] Troy J. Augusto from Variety described it as "a smooth, midtempo jazz track" that heavily samples the Herbie Hancock track.[12]

Music video

A music video was made to accompany the song, directed by Charles Wittenmeier. It earned an award in the category "Best New Artist Clip" at the 1994 Billboard Music Video Awards in Los Angeles.[13] The video was later published on YouTube's Vevo channel in March 2009. It has amassed more than 11,6 million views as of October 2021.[14]

Impact and legacy

American online publication Slant Magazine listed the song at number 76 in their ranking of "The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s" in 2011, writing, "They got the beats. They got the rhymes. Us3’s sole pop hit, “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)”, is a cheerfully funky fusion of jazz and hip-hop—nothing more, nothing less. What it lacks in social consciousness it makes up for in musical brinkmanship: The production’s exciting explosion of frenetic horn riffs, interrupted only by a sick trumpet solo by Gerard Presencer, samples Herbie Hancock and Lou Donaldson, among others, and grooves in scary synchronicity with the uncannily delivered lyrics by one-time member Rahsaan Kelly. The mood is creative, idealistic, and laidback, suggesting the good vibes of A Tribe Called Quest and Digable Planets. It’s a sweet, slick, funky maelstrom of sound that’s also a time capsule of a gorgeously short-lived musical form. Diddi-diddi bop."[15]

Charts

Appearances in other media

"Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" is played in the films Super Mario Bros. (1993), Jimmy Hollywood (1994), Renaissance Man (1994), It Takes Two (1995),[40] Sisters (2015),[41] and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013), and in the TV shows New York Undercover, Hindsight, the Baywatch episode "Someone to Baywatch Over You" (1994) and the Australian news satire Frontline. It is also featured in the PlayStation 4 video game Knack II (2017), during the end credits showing Knack in his various sizes dancing to the song,[42] and was used as the theme song for The Connection radio program on WBUR.[43]

References

  1. ^ A Night At Birdland vol.1, retrieved August 9, 2022
  2. ^ "Official Charts Company: Us3". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  3. ^ Wynn, Ron. "Us3 – Hand On the Torch". AllMusic. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  4. ^ Mason, Stewart. "Us3 – Flip Fantasia: Hits & Remixes". AllMusic. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  5. ^ Flick, Larry (March 13, 1993). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 118. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  6. ^ Thelen, Christopher (December 31, 1998). "Hand On The Torch – Us3". The Daily Vault. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  7. ^ Hajdu, David (January 14, 1994). "Hand On the Torch". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  8. ^ Ryan, Linda (October 8, 1993). "Alternative: New Releases" (PDF). Gavin Report. p. 54. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  9. ^ Irish Independent. 5 October 1993. p. 22. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  10. ^ Jones, Alan (September 18, 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Singles - Pick of the Week" (PDF). Music Week. p. 16. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  11. ^ Beevers, Andy (September 11, 1993). "Market Preview: Dance" (PDF). Music Week. p. 14. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  12. ^ Augusto, Troy J. (April 5, 1994). "Us3". Variety. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  13. ^ Flick, Larry (November 19, 1994). "Dance Trax: M People's 3rd deConstruction Set To Bear 'Fruit'" (PDF). Billboard. p. 33. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  14. ^ "US3 - Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) [Official Video]". YouTube. March 12, 2009. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  15. ^ "The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s". Slant Magazine. January 9, 2011. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  16. ^ "US 3 – Cantaloop". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  17. ^ "US 3 – Cantaloop" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  18. ^ "US 3 – Cantaloop" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  19. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1606." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  20. ^ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 6256." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  21. ^ "European Dance Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. March 6, 1993. p. 17. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  22. ^ "US 3 – Cantaloop" (in French). Les classement single.
  23. ^ "US 3 – Cantaloop" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  24. ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 18. May 1, 1993. p. 24. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  25. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – US 3" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  26. ^ "US 3 – Cantaloop" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  27. ^ "US 3 – Cantaloop". Top 40 Singles.
  28. ^ "US 3 – Cantaloop". Swiss Singles Chart.
  29. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  30. ^ "Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. September 25, 1993. p. 26. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  31. ^ "Us3 - Chart history | Billboard Hot 100". www.billboard.com. Archived from the original on May 28, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  32. ^ "Us3 - Chart history | Billboard Hot R&B Hip Hop Songs". www.billboard.com. Archived from the original on April 27, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  33. ^ "Us3 Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  34. ^ "JAHRESHITPARADE 1993" (in German). austriancharts.at. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  35. ^ "1993 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. December 18, 1993. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  36. ^ "Top 100 Singles – Jahrescharts 1993" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  37. ^ "SWISS YEAR-END CHARTS 1993". swisscharts.com. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  38. ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1994". Archived from the original on March 1, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  39. ^ "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1994". Cash Box. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012.
  40. ^ "It Takes Two (1995)". imdb.
  41. ^ "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) [Goldfish Remix] Goldfish & Us3 in Sisters Movie". InSoundtrack.
  42. ^ "Knack 2". Playstation. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  43. ^ The Connection. WBUR.
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