"Blow the Whistle" is the first single from Oakland rapper Too Short's 16th album of the same name. It was produced by Lil Jon. The song features a refrain of the words "blow the whistle", followed by a series of whistle blasts. Despite not charting on the Billboard Hot 100, it is considered his signature song,[1] and is his most popular song as a solo artist as of 2022.
| "Blow the Whistle" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Too Short | ||||
| from the album Blow the Whistle | ||||
| Released | March 2006 | |||
| Recorded | 2005 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop, crunk | |||
| Length | 2:48 | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Songwriter(s) | Todd Shaw | |||
| Producer(s) | Lil Jon | |||
| Too Short singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Sampling edit
Canadian rapper Drake sampled the beat and paid homage to the intro lyrics on DJ Khaled's hit single "For Free".[2] American rapper and fellow Bay Area native Saweetie sampled the beat on her 2020 single "Tap In". Too Short gave her his blessing to use the sample.[3] Also Oakland rapper G-Eazy sampled the song lyrics on his 2024 song "All I Wanna Do".
Usage in media edit
During the 2008 NBA Playoff series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Washington Wizards, Jay-Z made a freestyle to this called "Playoff",[4] responding to negative comments by DeShawn Stevenson on behalf of LeBron James. It was also featured on the soundtrack of NBA 2K13.[5]
The song has been featured on the HBO shows Eastbound & Down, Entourage, Euphoria, and Insecure.
Charts edit
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[6] | 1 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[7] | 70 |
| US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[8] | 21 |
| US Rhythmic (Billboard)[9] | 26 |
References edit
- ^ "Drake Brought Out Steph Curry and Draymond Green for Too Short Performance at Oracle Arena". 15 September 2016.
- ^ "For Free by DJ Khaled feat. Drake on WhoSampled".
- ^ Price, Joe (June 17, 2020). "Saweetie Flips Too Short's "Blow the Whistle" for New Track "Tap In"". Complex. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
- ^ Jay-Z Playoff Freestyle — Eighty81.com exclusive Archived April 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Jackson, Scoop (May 1, 2008), "LeBron versus DeShawn: More than words", ESPN.
- ^ "Too $hort Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
- ^ "Too $hort Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
- ^ "Too $hort Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
- ^ "Too $hort Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2022.