Party Like a Rockstar
Encyclopedia
"Party Like a Rockstar" is a rap song recorded by Shop Boyz
. It was released as the first single
from their debut album Rockstar Mentality
(2007). It reached high success during summer 2007 and was successful in the United States, peaking in the top five on the Billboard
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
, Hot Rap Tracks
, and Hot 100
charts. The song was nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 50th Grammy Awards.
The song is played with two electric guitar
riff
s (performed by Atlanta producer Billy Hume), It also makes references to certain rock figures such as Marilyn Manson
, The Osbournes
, Kiss
, Queen
, Bruce Springsteen
, Red Hot Chili Peppers
, and Travis Barker
.
For a time, "Party Like a Rockstar" was the most played rhythmic, and rap song in the United States, according to Radio & Records
It was featured in the video game NBA Live 08
.
The remix
features Lil Wayne
, Jim Jones
and Chamillionaire
with more guitar riffs included. Jim Jones
' verse didn't make it to iTunes' remix, although Lil Wayne's verse and Chamillionaire
's verse did. Another unofficial remix has been produced by Lil Jon
and the Swedish composer Jay Orpin
, who also wrote the first remix, but had Lil' Jon make changes for the beat for this remix. That remix has been unofficially called the Orpinz Old Duff WWE
Remix because some feel it resembles a professional wrestlers entrance music
. There is also a freestyle version by J. R. Writer of Dipset
as well as a remix by Trina
and another one by rapper Bow Wow.
The song gained some airplay in the UK on BBC Radio 1
, and was added to the B-List on its playlist.
in a black 1968 Pontiac GTO
. It then progresses to show the group performing at a crowded concert, with inter-mixed clips of an actual rock band playing and clips of the group performing in a hotel room reminiscent of Avenged Sevenfold
's hit song Bat Country
.
Cristal Athena Steverson from VH1
's "Flavor of Love
" and Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School
appears in the song's music video
.
titled "Do It Just Like a Rock Star", was erroneously listed in the U.S. iTunes Store
with the title "Party Like a Rockstar". This led to Freak Nasty's song, recorded in 2005, selling approximately 30,000 digital downloads
even though his track was completely different. In the Billboard issue dated May 26, 2007, the Shop Boyz were at number 54 on the Hot 100 due to strong airplay while Freak Nasty was number 56 due to strong sales. The following week, after the Shop Boyz had an official digital release of their single, "Party Like a Rockstar" shot to number two while Freak Nasty dropped completely off the chart.
Amid accusations of Freak Nasty taking advantage of the popularity of the Shop Boyz song, he responded in Billboard magazine's letters to the editor, stating in part, "I expect any artist that's signed to a major to do far better than any independent artist. Unlike Shop Boyz, I don't have a video. I also don't have any radio play or marketing. They do. My song sounds totally different from theirs, and our names are distinctly different. So how can consumers be confused? I have much love and respect for Shop Boyz, and I would never do anything to block their shine." The song was prevented from reaching the top spot on the Hot 100 by Rihanna
's seven-week run with her hit, "Umbrella
".
Shop Boyz
The Shop Boyz are an Atlanta-based hip hop group, originating from the Kings Glen Trail in Decatur.They relocated to Des Plaines, Illinois during the early nineties. They are most known for their single "Party Like a Rockstar" from their debut album Rockstar Mentality...
. It was released as the first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from their debut album Rockstar Mentality
Rockstar Mentality
Rockstar Mentality is the only album by the Shop Boyz, released on June 19, 2007. It debuted #11 on the Billboard 200 with 52,000 copies sold in the U.S. in its first week, and sold a total of 212,000 copies....
(2007). It reached high success during summer 2007 and was successful in the United States, peaking in the top five on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
, Hot Rap Tracks
Hot Rap Tracks
Rap Songs is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stations and sales in hip hop-focused or exclusive markets. From 1989 through 2001, it was based on how much the single...
, and Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
charts. The song was nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 50th Grammy Awards.
The song is played with two electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
s (performed by Atlanta producer Billy Hume), It also makes references to certain rock figures such as Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...
, The Osbournes
The Osbournes
The Osbournes is an American reality television program featuring the domestic life of heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and his family. The series premiered on MTV on March 5, 2002, and in its first season, was cited as the most-viewed series ever on MTV...
, Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
, Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
, and Travis Barker
Travis Barker
Travis Landon Barker is an American musician, producer and entrepreneur, most noted as the drummer for the American pop punk band Blink-182, as well as the alternative rock band +44, the rap rock band The Transplants, and the alternative rock band Box Car Racer. He was a frequent collaborator with...
.
For a time, "Party Like a Rockstar" was the most played rhythmic, and rap song in the United States, according to Radio & Records
R&R (magazine)
R&R was a weekly music trade publication that followed the radio industry and tracked the monitoring of current songs by format, station and audience cumes...
It was featured in the video game NBA Live 08
NBA Live 08
NBA Live 08 is the 2007 installment of the NBA Live series by EA Sports. It was released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation 2, PC , and PlayStation Portable. This is the first NBA video game to include all three next-generation consoles...
.
The remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
features Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
, Jim Jones
Jim Jones (rapper)
Joseph Guillermo Jones II , better known by his stage name Jim Jones, is an American rapper and original member of The Diplomats, also known as Dipset. He is Co-CEO of Diplomat Records...
and Chamillionaire
Chamillionaire
Hakeem Seriki , better known by his stage name Chamillionaire, is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He is the CEO of Chamillitary Entertainment. Chamillionaire is also the founder and an original member of The Color Changin' Click...
with more guitar riffs included. Jim Jones
Jim Jones (rapper)
Joseph Guillermo Jones II , better known by his stage name Jim Jones, is an American rapper and original member of The Diplomats, also known as Dipset. He is Co-CEO of Diplomat Records...
' verse didn't make it to iTunes' remix, although Lil Wayne's verse and Chamillionaire
Chamillionaire
Hakeem Seriki , better known by his stage name Chamillionaire, is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He is the CEO of Chamillitary Entertainment. Chamillionaire is also the founder and an original member of The Color Changin' Click...
's verse did. Another unofficial remix has been produced by Lil Jon
Lil Jon
Jonathan Mortimer Smith , better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and occasional disc jockey who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004...
and the Swedish composer Jay Orpin
Jay Orpin
Jay Orpin is a Swedish and Finnish songwriter and producer. He also writes songs and produced for The Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Robyn, Ace of Base, Bon Jovi, 2gether and Britney Spears, and later he produced songs for Good Charlotte, Sum 41, Simple Plan, Hawthorne Heights, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, My...
, who also wrote the first remix, but had Lil' Jon make changes for the beat for this remix. That remix has been unofficially called the Orpinz Old Duff WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
Remix because some feel it resembles a professional wrestlers entrance music
Music in professional wrestling
Music in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...
. There is also a freestyle version by J. R. Writer of Dipset
The Diplomats
The Diplomats, also popularly known as Dipset, are a Harlem-based hip hop group founded by Cam'ron and Jim Jones in 1997. The original members of the group were Cam'ron, Freekey Zekey, and Jim Jones ; who all grew up together in Harlem...
as well as a remix by Trina
Trina
Katrina Laverne Taylor , better known by her stage name Trina, is an American rapper, songwriter and model from Miami, Florida. Trina first gained notoriety in 1998 with her appearance on Trick Daddy's second studio album www.thug.com to the single "Nann Nigga"...
and another one by rapper Bow Wow.
The song gained some airplay in the UK on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
, and was added to the B-List on its playlist.
Music video
The video opens with a clip of the group performing doughnutsDoughnut (driving)
A doughnut or donut is a maneuver performed while driving a vehicle. Performing this maneuver entails rotating the rear or front of the vehicle around the opposite set of wheels in a continuous motion, creating a circular skid-mark pattern of rubber on a roadway and possibly even cause the tires...
in a black 1968 Pontiac GTO
Pontiac GTO
The Pontiac GTO is an automobile built by Pontiac Division of General Motors in the United States from 1964 to 1974, and by GM subsidiary Holden in Australia from 2004 to 2006. It is considered an innovative, and now classic muscle car of the 1960s and 1970s...
. It then progresses to show the group performing at a crowded concert, with inter-mixed clips of an actual rock band playing and clips of the group performing in a hotel room reminiscent of Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1999, the group consists of vocalist M. Shadows, lead guitarist Synyster Gates, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, bassist Johnny Christ....
's hit song Bat Country
Bat Country
"Bat Country" is a song by American metal band Avenged Sevenfold. The song was released as the second single from their third album, City of Evil. Avenged Sevenfold won 'Best New Artist' at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards for "Bat Country" and on October 1, 2009, the single was certified gold by...
.
Cristal Athena Steverson from VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's "Flavor of Love
Flavor of Love
Flavor of Love is an American reality television dating game show parody starring Flavor Flav of the rap group Public Enemy.While not a direct spin-off, the show was a result of Brigitte Nielsen and Flavor Flav's failed relationship on Strange Love, as well as The Surreal Life...
" and Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School
Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School
Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School, known as Charm School: Flavor of Love Girls in Europe, is the first season of the VH1 reality show Charm School. It is a spin-off of Flavor of Love created by the producers of The Surreal Life and Flavor of Love spin-off I Love New York...
appears in the song's music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
.
Chart performance
"Party Like a Rockstar" was a mid-charting hit in the United States as an airplay-only single. Confusion ensued, however, when a similarly titled song by hip hop artist Freak NastyFreak Nasty
Eric Timmons, better known by his stage name Freak Nasty is a hip-hop music recording artist....
titled "Do It Just Like a Rock Star", was erroneously listed in the U.S. iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
with the title "Party Like a Rockstar". This led to Freak Nasty's song, recorded in 2005, selling approximately 30,000 digital downloads
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
even though his track was completely different. In the Billboard issue dated May 26, 2007, the Shop Boyz were at number 54 on the Hot 100 due to strong airplay while Freak Nasty was number 56 due to strong sales. The following week, after the Shop Boyz had an official digital release of their single, "Party Like a Rockstar" shot to number two while Freak Nasty dropped completely off the chart.
Amid accusations of Freak Nasty taking advantage of the popularity of the Shop Boyz song, he responded in Billboard magazine's letters to the editor, stating in part, "I expect any artist that's signed to a major to do far better than any independent artist. Unlike Shop Boyz, I don't have a video. I also don't have any radio play or marketing. They do. My song sounds totally different from theirs, and our names are distinctly different. So how can consumers be confused? I have much love and respect for Shop Boyz, and I would never do anything to block their shine." The song was prevented from reaching the top spot on the Hot 100 by Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
's seven-week run with her hit, "Umbrella
Umbrella (song)
"Umbrella" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna, featuring a rap verse by Jay-Z. The song was written by The-Dream, Christopher Stewart, Kuk Harrell and Jay-Z, and was produced by Stewart and The-Dream for Rihanna's third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad...
".
Chart positions
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|