Pump It by Black Eyed Peas Song Info
"Pump It" is a song by The Black Eyed Peas that heavily incorporates music from the Dick Dale version of the song "Misirlou" (known by many for being featured in the Quentin Tarantino movie Pulp Fiction). "Misirlou" is a popular folk song of Greek origin, and its original writer is unknown, but Nicholas Roubanis, who accredited himself as a writer in a jazz version he recorded, was given a writing credit on "Pump It." It was released as the fourth single, and possibly the last, from The Black Eyed Peas's 2005 album Monkey Business. The song was also featured in commercial spots for Best Buy in 2005 and Big Momma's House 2, Cars, and Pepsi in 2006, as well as the main music during the pre-game of Edmonton Oilers home games during their 2006 playoff run. Dick Dale has been known to attempt to sing the chorus when playing "Misirlou" live. There is a remix by Travis Barker. "I was in Brazil doing some CD shopping," Black Eyed Peas member Will. I.Am recalls. "I came across this compilation [disk] and I thought it was one thing but it turned out to be something else. The Dick Dale song Misirlou was on it. At first, I was angry this isn't what I wanted to buy," he laughs. "But then, really, that song is hot. I said, 'We should do a song like this.' I jump-started the computer and made some beats on the train. Then we had to fly to Tokyo and I tightened up the beat on the plane. Then I recorded vocals in this park in Tokyo, and that's how we recorded the song 'Pump It'." Before the single was officially released, the song peaked at #82 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 2005. This was mainly based on digital download strength due to exposure in the Best Buy ads. After its official airplay release, it peaked at #18 in March 2006. The single was released to stores in the US on February 14, 2006, and in the UK on March 13, 2006. This single, compared to other singles from Monkey Business, has been relatively weak on the US Charts, being the lowest-ranking single from the album. One probable factor of this is that it was released after The Pussycat Dolls single "Beep" was released, which has vocals from Will.I.Am, or that "My Humps" was still in rotation and on the charts when it was released. The song performed better in other countries. In Australia, the song peaked at #6. The song was also popular in the UK, becoming their 8th hit single there. "Pump It" peaked at #3 on the UK singles chart, matching the chart success of the previous single "My Humps". The video premiered on February 2, 2006, on MTV's TRL, Canada's Much Music, and AOL Music. It was directed by Francis Lawrence. It starts with a girl from what appears to be a rival gang saying, "I thought you said the Black Eyed Peas were gonna be here...". The song then starts, and the Black Eyed Peas arrives in their new car, which is a modified Honda Civic Hybrid that has the same color scheme as the cover of Monkey Business. The car can be seen on their website and their Honda Civic Tour. The video features martial arts creative forms star Steve Terada, break dancing, and some form of telekinesis in an underground parking lot setting. It also referenced the "Burly Brawl" scene from The Matrix Reloaded and it appears that the BEP has superhuman powers, Will.I.Am seems to possess Speed and Super Strength, as he takes out some of a rival gang with a black bowling ball (he seems to be able to use his super strength to make it bounce off walls), Apl.de.apl seems to defy gravity, running on the gang's chests, Fergie appears to knock people to the other side of the room without touching them at all. Taboo doesn't seem to be doing anything.
