My Humps

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“My Humps”
Single by The Black Eyed Peas from the album Monkey Business
B-side	"So Real"
Released	November 14, 2005 (Australia)
Format	Digital download
Genre	Hip hop, dance-pop, pop rap
Length	5:27 (album version) 3:54 (single version/radio edit)
Label	A&M, Interscope
Writer(s)	will.i.am, D. Payton
Producer	will.i.am
Certification	Platinum (RIAA) Silver (BPI)
The Black Eyed Peas singles chronology
"Don't Lie" (2005) "My Humps" (2005) "Pump It" (2006)
Audio sample
Info (help·info)

"My Humps" is the third single from The Black Eyed Peas' fourth album, Monkey Business. It samples a section of the song "I Need a Freak" by Sexual Harassment as well as the 1989 song "Wild Thing" by Tone Lōc. Released in 2005, it reached number three in the U.S., becoming the Black Eyed Peas' third top ten single in the U.S. The single also reached number three on the UK Singles Chart, their sixth top ten single on the chart. The song was not initially released as a single; "Don't Lie" was intended to be the lead-off release for the album. The song won the 2007 Grammy Award for "Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal". On an interview with ITV1 show This Morning in the UK, will.i.am claims that he originally wrote the song for The Pussycat Dolls.

[edit] Criticism

"My Humps" has been the subject of severe criticism by the music press. John Bush, writing for All Music Guide, described it as "one of the most embarrassing rap performances of the new millennium",^[1] while Bill Lamb, writing for About.com, called it "the musical equivalent of a bad Farrelly Brothers movie".^[2] Hua Hsu of Slate said, "It's not Awesomely Bad; it's Horrifically Bad. ... There are bad songs that offend our sensibilities but can still be enjoyed, and then there are the songs that are just really bad—transcendentally bad, objectively bad."^[3]

In a poll conducted by Rolling Stone, the song was ranked first in the list of 20 most annoying songs^[4].

Despite the heavy criticism, it became a huge hit, charting at #3 and staying there for about two months.

[edit] Music video

Fergie and backup dancers in the music video.

Fergie sings close to William in the music video.

The official music video for "My Humps", directed by Fatima Robinson and Malik Hassan Sayeed, premiered on TRL. It shows Fergie dancing with backup dancers as images of expensive items such as Louis Vuitton purses and jewelry, which is supposed to be the jewelry her men have bought her, appear on the screen. The other members of the Black Eyed Peas — apl.de.ap, Taboo, and will.i.am — sing about how much they spend on Fergie as she sings about her "humps" and "lovely lady lumps". In some vignettes Taboo, Apl.de.ap, and will.i.am are behind women erotically dancing.

The video received the award for "Best Hip-Hop Video" at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards on August 31, 2006.

[edit] In popular culture

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

In Season 3 of the American version of the television show The Office, the song can be heard as Michael Scott's ringtone, replacing "Mambo No. 5", his old one from Season 2. Stephen Colbert was seen singing this song on an episode of The Colbert Report, stating that he used to hate the song until it won a Grammy Award. In the 2007 film Blades of Glory, Will Ferrell's character sings (albeit incorrectly) "My Humps", stating it is the only song he will skate to. When Jon Heder's character wonders what "lady humps" (what Ferrell's character named the song) means, Ferrell's character says, "Nobody knows what it means, but it's provocative..." This song was plagiarized in the Telugu movie Mantra as "Maha Maha" starring Charmy Kaur^[5] although the Black Eyed Peas took the beginning of the song from the Hindi song "Kisi Ki Jaan Lete Hai" from the film Jhuk Gaya Aasman.

[edit] Parodies

The unconventional lyrical content of the song has been a satire target, spawning many parodies.

Peaches covered the song in 2006, altering the lyrics humourously and changing the title to "My Dumps".

Alanis Morissette covered the song in 2007, seemingly as an April Fools' Day prank, although she has not confirmed this.^[6] In contrast to the original "My Humps", Morissette's cover is performed slowly and in the style of a ballad, with only a piano accompanying the vocal. On April 2, a video in which Morissette parodies Fergie's dancing moves in the original "My Humps" music video was added to the website YouTube. By April 3, the video was the most viewed on Technorati,^[7] and it was viewed 4 million times six days later.^[6] The Associated Press wrote that Morissette's "quiet, somber version only highlights the ridiculousness of Fergie's original lyrics".^[8] The video has been hosted on Morissette's official website. TIME stated that the parody proved that Morissette "under[stands]" irony, in reference to her hit single, Ironic. On April 15, Fergie confirmed to E! News that she thought that the parody was "hilarious", and "genius". Fergie also said that she sent Alanis a cake in the shape of a "derrière".

American Greetings parodied the song in their Christmas e-card, "Three Wise Camels", in which the camels of the Three Wise Men rap about the gifts awaiting baby Jesus, which are sitting on their humps.

Afroman parodied the song for his album "Waiting to Inhale" entitled "My Chunc" where he raps about his genitals.

Peaches then covered the Alanis Morissette parody, changing the title again to "My Dumps". This version combines Peaches' original "My Dumps" lyrics with Alanis' melody.

Sketch-comedy show MADtv did a parody titled "My Slump" that featured George W. Bush.

[edit] In Other Songs

The 2008 single "Lollipop" by Lil Wayne references "My Humps" in the chorus, telling the listener he would "like to touch [her] lovely lady lumps".

DJ Mei-Lwun[1] mixed the bulk of the vocals from "My Humps" with the signature guitar riff and chorus of the AC/DC song "You Shook Me All Night Long" to form a mash-up dubbed "You Humped Me All Night Long".

[edit] Track listing

1. "My Humps" (single version)
2. "My Humps" (Lil' Jon remix version)
3. "So Real"
4. "My Humps" (video)

[edit] Vinyl track listing

12 inch 33⅓ rpm black vinyl record from A&M Records - B0005585-11

Side A

1. "My Humps" (radio edit) - 3:44
2. "My Humps" (instrumental) - 4:10

Side B

1. "My Humps" (album version) - 5:26
2. "My Humps" (a cappella) - 4:08

[edit] Charts

[edit] References