"Ego Trippin′" is a 1986 song by Ultramagnetic MCs. The group made a stylistic breakthrough with it; the song boasted dense, minimalist production, featuring erratic lyricism by Ced-Gee and Kool Keith, synthesizer riffs[2] and was the first song to sample Melvin Bliss's "Synthetic Substitution",[3] now one of the most sampled songs of all time.[4]

Lyricism

The Anthology of Rap, published by Yale University Press, makes note of such pseudoscientific terminology in Ced-Gee's lyricism on "Ego Trippin'", particularly the lines "Usin' frequencies and data, I am approximate / Leaving revolutions turning, emerging chemistry / With the precise implications, achieved adversively".[5] Kool Keith's rhymes are manic and expressed in a staccato pace.[5] His lyrics on "Ego Trippin'" also criticize the musical aesthetic of old school hip hop artists at the time: "They use the simple back and forth, the same old rhythm / That a baby can pick up and join right with them / But their rhymes are pathetic, they think they copasetic / Using nursery terms, at least not poetic".[5]

Use in popular culture

• In 1994, De La Soul paid tribute to it by calling their single Ego Trippin' (Part Two), which charted at #47 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales,[6] #74 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[6] chart and #39 on the Hot Rap Singles.[6]
• Ego Trippin' was also paid tribute to by Sway & King Tech on their album This or That, as there was a song on it called "Ego Trippin' '99" which featured Kool Keith and Motion Man.[7]
• "Why R U" by Amerie from the album In Love & War samples this song.[8]

References