Hold It Now, Hit It

"Hold It Now, Hit It"
Single by Beastie Boys
from the album Licensed to Ill
Released	April 15, 1986
Format	7", 12"
Recorded	Spring 1986
Genre	Hip hop
Length	3:27
Label	Def Jam/Columbia
Writer(s)	Michael Diamond, Adam Horovitz, Adam Yauch, Rick Rubin
Producer(s)	Rick Rubin
Beastie Boys singles chronology
"She's on It" (1985) "Hold It Now, Hit It" (1986) "Paul Revere" (1986)

"Hold It Now, Hit It" is a song by American hip hop group the Beastie Boys, released as the first single from their debut album Licensed to Ill. It is also remixed on the album New York State of Mind.

In 2008, it was ranked number 27 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.

Samples and use in sampling

The song contains samples from "The Return of Leroy" by The Jimmy Castor Bunch, "Drop the Bomb" and "Let's Get Small" by Trouble Funk, "Funky Stuff" by Kool & The Gang, "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" by Bob James, "Christmas Rappin'" by Kurtis Blow and "La Di Da Di" by Doug E. Fresh and MC Ricky D.^[1]

The line "Pump it up, homeboy" was sampled by Eric B. & Rakim on their song "As the Rhyme Goes On". The line "Beer drinking, breath stinking, sniffing glue" was sampled by Eazy-E in his song "Boyz-n-the-Hood".

Track listing

7" single

1. "Hold It Now, Hit It" - 3:30
2. "Hold It Now, Hit It" (A cappella) - 3:20

12" single

1. "Hold It Now, Hit It" - 3:30
2. "Hold It Now, Hit It" (Instrumental) - 3:30
3. "Hold It Now, Hit It" (A cappella) - 3:20

Charts

Chart (1986)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[2]	41
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[3]	55

References

1. Beastie Boys' Sample-Based Music
2. "Beastie Boys - Charts & Awards - Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-05-10.
3. "Beastie Boys: Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2011-05-10.

External links

• "Hold It Now, Hit It" Official music video on YouTube
• "Hold It Now, Hit It" A cappella version on YouTube