"Blow the Whistle" is a song by American rapper Too Short, released by Up All Nite, Zomba and Jive Records on March 3, 2006 as the lead single from his sixteenth album of the same name. The song, produced by Lil Jon, features a refrain in which Too Short utters "blow the whistle!", followed by a series of whistle blasts.
| "Blow the Whistle" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Too Short | ||||
| from the album Blow the Whistle | ||||
| Released | March 3, 2006[1] | |||
| Recorded | 2005 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop, crunk | |||
| Length | 2:48 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | Lil Jon | |||
| Too Short singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Blow the Whistle" peaked atop the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart; despite not entering the Billboard Hot 100, it is often considered Too Short's signature song.[2]
Sampling
editCanadian rapper Drake sampled the beat and paid homage to the intro lyrics on DJ Khaled's hit single "For Free".[3] 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.[4] Also Oakland rapper G-Eazy sampled the song lyrics on his 2024 song "All I Wanna Do".
Usage in media
editDuring the 2008 NBA Playoff series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Washington Wizards, Jay-Z made a freestyle to this called "Playoff",[5] responding to negative comments by DeShawn Stevenson on behalf of LeBron James. It was also featured on the soundtrack of NBA 2K13.[6]
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)[7] | 1 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[8] | 70 |
| US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[9] | 21 |
| US Rhythmic (Billboard)[10] | 26 |
References
edit- ^ "HitDisc: Prime Cuts (March 3, 2006)".
- ^ "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.