"911" | ||||
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Single by Gorillaz and D12 featuring Terry Hall | ||||
from the album Bad Company: Music from the Motion Picture | ||||
Released | 7 December 2001 | |||
Recorded | 12 September 2001 | |||
Studio | Studio 13, London, UK | |||
Genre | Hip hop[1] | |||
Length |
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Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | ||||
Gorillaz singles chronology | ||||
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D12 singles chronology | ||||
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Terry Hall singles chronology | ||||
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Audio | ||||
"911" (reupload) on YouTube |
"911" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz and American hip-hop group D12 and features guest vocals from the Specials member Terry Hall.[2] The song was recorded without Eminem during 2001 in West London, when D12 were left stranded in England after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York City. Bizarre re-named the song “London” on one of his compilation albums.
Background
[edit]The song was recorded without Eminem by Gorillaz and D12[3] in Damon Albarn's personal studio in West London. The track came about after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City, leaving the band stranded in England; Albarn invited the band to his studio while they were there and played them an early demo of the track. Albarn had always wanted to experiment with Middle-Eastern music, and felt that this song would be perfect. D12 added additional production to the song, before laying down their verses. Terry Hall appears on the song as a vocal harmony with Albarn for the song's chorus. Albarn and Hall had previously spoken about collaborating together, however when Hall revealed that he had been taking singing lessons from a Middle-Eastern singer, it inspired Albarn to take the song in a different direction.
Music video
[edit]The video features the same visuals as "Clint Eastwood" and "19-2000", but with a different background. The track features D12 running towards the camera. Terry Hall does not appear in the music video.
Live performances
[edit]Played live only twice, at the New York City Hammerstein Ballroom concert of Gorillaz Live in 2002.[4] The song was also performed with Luton-based rap group Phi Life Cypher, at the Isle of MTV Festival in Lisbon, Portugal.[5]
Track listing
[edit]- "911" – 05:50
- "911" (Clean Version) – 05:50
- '911' (Short Version Ultra-Clean) – 05:00
Song credits
[edit]- Gorillaz – vocals
- Proof – vocals
- Kuniva – vocals
- Bizarre – vocals
- Swifty McVay – vocals
- Mr. Porter – vocals
- Terry Hall – vocals
- Tom Girling – engineering, Pro Tools
- Jason Cox – engineering, Pro Tools
References
[edit]- ^ Lifton, Dave (29 June 2018). "GORILLAZ' HIP-HOP HISTORY: REVISITING 27 DARING COLLABORATIONS". The Boombox. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ^ "Gorillaz, D12 Join Forces For '911'". billboard.com. 27 November 2002. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
- ^ Browne, Cass (2006). Gorillaz: Rise of the Ogre. Riverhead Books. p. 99.
- ^ "Gorillaz - 911 (Live at Hammerstein Ballroom)". 28 February 2002. Retrieved 25 April 2017 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Gorillaz - 911 (Live at Isle of MTV)". 20 July 2002. Retrieved 25 April 2017 – via YouTube.