Tags
"broaden the definition of beauty", #1 single, 1990s, Amylia Dorsey, Baby Got Back, blatant sexual lyrics, controversy, full figured women, Hip Hop, Mack Daddy, Music, music video briefly banned, ont hit wonder, second best-seller, Sir Mix-A-Lot
Baby Got Back (Reprise, 1992)
Baby Got Back is a 1992 hip hop song written and recorded by American rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot, which appeared on his album Mack Daddy. The song samples the 1986 Detroit techno single Technicolor by Channel One. At the time of its original release, the song caused controversy with its outspoken and blatantly sexual lyrics about women, as well as specific references to the female buttocks which some people found objectionable. The song’s music video was briefly banned by MTV. It was the second best-selling song in the US in 1992, behind Boyz II Men’s End of the Road. The song debuted at number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated April 11, 1992 and hit number one twelve weeks later. The single spent five weeks at the top of the chart.
The song came from a meeting between Sir Mix-a-Lot and Amylia Dorsey who saw little representation of full figured women in media. The idea came from the 1980s Budweiser commercial featuring very thin, valley girl-esque models. They decided to dedicate a song to the very opposite, featuring curvy women of color. Mix and Dorsey sought to, “Broaden the definition of beauty.”