"Say No Go" is a single by De La Soul from their influential 1989 album 3 Feet High and Rising. It reached number 18 in the UK charts. The tune is heavily based on the Hall & Oates song "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)".

Background

During the 1980s and 1990s, the United States faced a severe crack cocaine epidemic. This crisis particularly impacted Black urban communities, leading to increased rates of addiction, violence, and incarceration. In this context, The song is a cautionary tale about the use of drugs, in particular "base" (otherwise known as crack cocaine); a topic they would tackle on their follow-up album, De La Soul Is Dead, albeit from a different perspective, on the song "My Brother's a Basehead". In the opening line, Posdnuos raps: "Now let's get right on down to the skit / A baby is brought into a world of pits / And if it could've talked that soon / In the delivery room / It would've asked the nurse for a hit".

Track listing

"Say No Go" includes samples from the following songs:

Charts