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Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)
| cover = Cantaloop single.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Us3
| album = Hand On the Torch
| released = 2 January 1993
| recorded = 1992
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Jazz rap, acid jazz
| length = 4:41
| label = Blue Note Records
| writer = Herbie Hancock, Rahsaan Kelly, Geoff Wilkinson, Mel Simpson
| producer = Geoff Wilkinson, Mel Simpson
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = Tukka Yoot's Riddim
| next_year = 1993
| misc =
}}
"'Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)'" is a song by British jazz-rap group Us3. It was originally released in October 1992 as the lead single from their debut album, 'Hand On the Torch' (1993). The song was recorded as a demo a year before the group's first release and features a sample of Herbie Hancock's song "Cantaloupe Island". Another sample, the announcement by Pee Wee Marquette, is taken from the Blue Note album 'A Night at Birdland, Vol. 1' by The Art Blakey Quintet. It did not chart in their native UK, but in the US, "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" reached No. 9 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100, becoming the group's only top 40 single. It was subsequently re-released in UK where it peaked at No. 23. "Cantaloop" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on March 25, 1994 for selling over 500,000 copies.
Critical reception
Ron Wynn from AllMusic stated that "when words and music mesh", as on "Cantaloop", "Us3 show how effectively hip-hop and jazz can blend." Another editor, Stewart Mason called it "excellent" and "probably the best acid jazz single ever". Larry Flick from 'Billboard' wrote, "Tired of the same old urban grind? Here's just what you need: a zesty stew of traditional jazz-fusion, hip-hop, and classic funk. Live horns (with a trumpet solo that works!), imaginative use of samples from Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloop Island", and diggy-diggy-bop rapping render this an essential playlist addition." The Daily Vault's Christopher Thelen noted its "trip-hop mood". David Hajdu from 'Entertainment Weekly' described the 'Hand On the Torch' album as "a compelling, danceable delight", and stated that the song is "one of the best singles of the year".
Linda Ryan from the 'Gavin Report' commented, "It just doesn't get cooler than this! US3 combine jazz, hip-hop and house grooves for a fresh sound that begs to be discovered in a big way. If you thought Guru's Jazzmatazz was phat and all that, wait 'til you hear US3's "Cantaloop!" I prefer either the Radio Edit or the Groovy Mix. Aw, yeah." A reviewer from 'Irish Independent' deemed it as "excellent".'Irish Independent'. 5 October 1993. p. 22. Retrieved 26 November 2020. Alan Jones from 'Music Week' called it a "funky, spunky, tasty, sample-strewn and cool jazz jam", adding that the rap is "superb". Another editor, Andy Beevers gave it four out of five, noting that the single "is even more catchy than Tukka Yoot's Riddim. Rahsaan is the rapper this time and the vibe is funky rather than ragga influenced." Troy J. Augusto from 'Variety' described it as "a smooth, midtempo jazz track" that heavily samples the Herbie Hancock track.
Music video
A music video was made to accompany the song, directed by Charles Wittenmeier. It earned an award in the category "Best New Artist Clip" at the 1994 'Billboard' Music Video Awards in Los Angeles. The video was later published on YouTube's Vevo channel in March 2009. It has amassed more than 11,6 million views as of October 2021.
Impact and legacy
American online publication 'Slant Magazine' listed the song at number 76 in their ranking of "The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s" in 2011, writing, "They got the beats. They got the rhymes. Us3s sole pop hit, Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia), is a cheerfully funky fusion of jazz and hip-hopnothing more, nothing less. What it lacks in social consciousness it makes up for in musical brinkmanship: The productions exciting explosion of frenetic horn riffs, interrupted only by a sick trumpet solo by Gerard Presencer, samples Herbie Hancock and Lou Donaldson, among others, and grooves in scary synchronicity with the uncannily delivered lyrics by one-time member Rahsaan Kelly. The mood is creative, idealistic, and laidback, suggesting the good vibes of A Tribe Called Quest and Digable Planets. Its a sweet, slick, funky maelstrom of sound thats also a time capsule of a gorgeously short-lived musical form. Diddi-diddi bop."
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable"!Chart (1993-1994)
!Peak
position
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|Europe Dance ('Music & Media')
|align="center"|16
|-
|-
|-
|Greece ('Pop + Rock')
|align="center"|2
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|UK Dance ('Music Week')
|align="center"|8
|-
|US 'Billboard' Hot 100
|align="center"|9
|-
|US Hot R&B Singles ('Billboard')
|align="center"|21
|-
|-
|}
Year-end charts
Appearances in other media
"Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" is played in the films 'Super Mario Bros.' (1993), 'Jimmy Hollywood' (1994), 'Renaissance Man' (1994), 'It Takes Two' (1995), 'Sisters' (2015), and 'The Incredible Burt Wonderstone' (2013), and in the TV shows 'New York Undercover', 'Hindsight', the Baywatch episode "Someone to Baywatch Over You" (1994) and the Australian news satire 'Frontline.' It is also featured in the PlayStation 4 video game 'Knack II' (2017), during the end credits showing Knack in his various sizes dancing to the song, and was used as the theme song for 'The Connection' radio program on WBUR.
References
Category:1992 debut singles
Category:Us3 songs
Category:Jazz rap songs
Category:1992 songs
Category:Songs written by Herbie Hancock
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