"****Gangster Tripping" (released as a single under the name "Gangster Trippin", which is also the title of the clean version that censors profanity) is a song by British big beat musician Fatboy Slim. It was released on 5 October 1998 as the second single from his second studio album, You've Come a Long Way, Baby (1998).

Samples

The song contains samples from "Entropy" by DJ Shadow, "Word Play" and "The Turntablist Anthem" by the X-Ecutioners, "Beatbox Wash" by the Dust Junkys (this track contains the song's chorus line), "Change the Mood" by Jackie Mittoo, "Sissy Walk" by Freedom Now Brothers, and "You Did It" by Ann Robinson. The song was featured in the 2006 PlayStation Portable game Lumines II and the 1999 film Go. The single peaked at No. 3 in the United Kingdom and No. 49 in Switzerland. The recognizable "We gotta kick that gangsta shit" sample comes from the first recorded live performance by jazz rap duo Pete Rock & CL Smooth (sampled by DJ Shadow on "Entropy"). In the radio cut, it was re-edited for censorship purposes. In 2013, Nicky Lockett (aka MC Tunes) of the Dust Junkys won a three-year court case to recover unpaid royalties for use of his vocals in the main chorus of the song.

Music video

The music video for "Gangster Trippin", directed by Roman Coppola, consists simply of scenes of furniture sets exploding, shown from multiple angles, and often in slow-motion. Fatboy Slim himself makes a cameo in the video, being shown on a photograph on the mirror where a lady stands up from. According to MTV at the time, the script for the video contained just one line: "Blow stuff up". The video shows certain similarities to the ending of Antonioni's Zabriskie Point where several pieces of furniture are blown up similarly in slow motion and from different angles. Director Coppola often praised the works of Antonioni in interviews.

Track listings

Standard CD, 12-inch, and cassette single European CD single Japanese CD single

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history