Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) Explained

Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)
Cover:Cantaloop single.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Us3
Album:Hand On the Torch
Released:2 January 1993
Recorded:1992
Genre:
Length:
  • 3:42 (single version)
  • 4:41 (album version)
Label:Blue Note Records
Producer:
  • Geoff Wilkinson
  • Mel Simpson
Next Title:Tukka Yoot's Riddim
Next Year:1993

"Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" is a song by British jazz-rap group Us3, originally released in October 1992 by Blue Note Records as the lead single from the group's 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. "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" did not chart in the group's native UK, but in the US, it reached No. 9 and 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, becoming the group's only top 40 single. It was subsequently re-released in UK where it peaked at No. 23.[1] The song 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 (Flip Fantasia)", "Us3 show how effectively hip-hop and jazz can blend."[2] Another AllMusic editor, Stewart Mason, complimented it as "excellent" and "probably the best acid jazz single ever".[3] Larry Flick from Billboard said, "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."[4] The Daily Vault's Christopher Thelen noted its "trip-hop mood".[5] David Hajdu from Entertainment Weekly named the song "one of the best singles of the year".[6] 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."[7]

The Irish Independent deemed it as "excellent".[8] Calvin Bush from Melody Maker called it "exultant".[9] Another music critic, Peter Paphides, felt "this new colourful little number is piquant yet sweet, adventurous yet convivial, brusque yet somehow inviting."[10] Alan Jones from Music Week named it Pick of the Week, praising it as a "superb" rap and "funky, spunky, tasty, sample-strewn and cool jazz jam".[11] The magazine's Andy Beevers gave it four out of five, noting that the song "is even more catchy than "Tukka Yoot's Riddim". Rahsaan is the rapper this time and the vibe is funky rather than ragga influenced."[12] Neil Spencer from The Observer declared it the "standout" of the album.[13] Dimitri Ehrlich from Rolling Stone found that "Cantaloop" "is as easily digested as the fruit it's named after."[14] Charles Aaron from Spin wrote, "When this gem popped out of the sound system at Madison Square Garden (Knicks 98, Clippers 77, January 11, 1994), even Woody Allen quit slouching. For the 20-second time-out, I could envision a jazz orchestra doing hip-hop repertory in a racially mixed midtown disco. And it was a really good idea."[15] Troy J. Augusto from Variety described it as "a smooth, midtempo jazz track" that heavily samples the Herbie Hancock track.[16]

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Charles Wittenmeier. It earned an award in the category for Best New Artist Clip at the 1994 Billboard Music Video Awards in Los Angeles.[17] The video was later made available on YouTube's Vevo channel in 2009, and had generated more than 14 million views as of early 2024.[18]

Impact and legacy

"Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" was awarded one of ASCAP's Rhythm & Soul Awards in 1995.[19]

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. Us3’s sole pop hit, “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)”, is a cheerfully funky fusion of jazz and hip-hop—nothing more, nothing less. What it lacks in social consciousness it makes up for in musical brinkmanship: The production’s 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. It’s a sweet, slick, funky maelstrom of sound that’s also a time capsule of a gorgeously short-lived musical form. Diddi-diddi bop."[20]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1993-1994)Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[21] 31
Europe (European Dance Radio)[22] 16
Greece (Pop + Rock)[23] 2
UK Airplay (ERA)[24] 41
UK Dance (Music Week)[25] 8
UK Club Chart (Music Week)[26] 49
US Billboard Hot 100[27] 9
US Hot R&B Singles (Billboard)[28] 21
US Cash Box Top 100[29] 7

Year-end charts

Chart (1993)Position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[30] 26
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[31] 86
Germany (Official German Charts)[32] 48
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 24
Chart (1994)Position
US Billboard Hot 100[34] 41
US Cash Box Top 100[35] 42

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),[36] Sisters (2015),[37] 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,[38] and was used as the theme song for The Connection radio program on WBUR.[39] In 2024, the song was used as background music in U.S. TV commercials for Johnsonville Sausage's "Keep It Juicy" campaign.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Official Charts Company: Us3 . Official Charts Company . 2016-08-30.
  2. Web site: Ron . Wynn . Us3 – Hand On the Torch . . 9 November 2020 .
  3. Web site: Stewart . Mason . Us3 – Flip Fantasia: Hits & Remixes . . 9 November 2020 .
  4. Larry . Flick . Single Reviews . . 13 March 1993 . 118 . 26 October 2020 . Larry Flick.
  5. Web site: Christopher . Thelen . Hand On The Torch – Us3 . The Daily Vault . 31 December 1998 . 22 November 2020 .
  6. David . Hajdu . Hand On the Torch . . 14 January 1994 . 11 November 2020 . David Hajdu.
  7. Linda . Ryan . Alternative: New Releases . . 8 October 1993 . 54 . 16 October 2020 .
  8. Irish Independent. 5 October 1993. p. 22.
  9. Calvin. Bush. Albums. Melody Maker. 24 July 1993. 35. 5 June 2023.
  10. Peter. Paphides. Singles. Melody Maker. 18 September 1993. 36. 17 June 2023. Peter Paphides.
  11. Alan . Jones . Market Preview: Mainstream - Singles - Pick of the Week . . 18 September 1993 . 16 . 2 April 2021 .
  12. Andy . Beevers . Market Preview: Dance . . 11 September 1993 . 14 . 2 April 2021 .
  13. [Neil Spencer|Spencer, Neil]
  14. Us3: Hand on the Torch. Rolling Stone. 29 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20090501071046/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/us3/albums/album/283686/review/5943096/hand_on_the_torch. 1 May 2009.
  15. Charles. Aaron. Singles. Spin. April 1994. 96. 27 January 2023. Charles Aaron.
  16. Troy J.. Augusto. Us3. Variety. 5 April 1994. 2 March 2022.
  17. Larry . Flick . Dance Trax: M People's 3rd deConstruction Set To Bear 'Fruit' . . 19 November 1994 . 33 . 10 October 2020 . Larry Flick.
  18. Web site: US3 - Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) [Official Video]]. YouTube. 12 March 2009. 4 January 2023.
  19. Congratulations To Our Winners. Billboard. 1 July 1995. 16. 28 November 2022.
  20. Web site: The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s . . 3 May 2021 . 9 January 2011.
  21. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 10. 11. 13 March 1993. 23. 26 April 2024.
  22. European Dance Radio. Music & Media. 10. 10. 6 March 1993. 17. 3 November 2021.
  23. Top 10 Sales in Europe. Music & Media. 10. 18. 1 May 1993. 24. 23 February 2020.
  24. Airplay 100. Hit Music. 23 October 1993. 23. 6 May 2024.
  25. Dance Singles . . 25 September 1993 . 26 . 9 April 2021.
  26. The RM Club Chart. Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 18 September 1993. 4. 10 May 2023.
  27. Web site: Us3 - Chart history Billboard Hot 100. www.billboard.com. 26 April 2017. en. May 28, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170528063226/http://www.billboard.com/artist/430705/us3/chart. dead.
  28. Web site: Us3 - Chart history Billboard Hot R&B Hip Hop Songs. www.billboard.com. 26 April 2017. en. April 27, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170427134650/http://www.billboard.com/artist/430705/us3/chart?f=367. dead.
  29. Top 100 Pop Singles. Cash Box. LVII. 29. 2 April 1994. 10. 25 April 2024.
  30. Web site: JAHRESHITPARADE 1993. austriancharts.at. de. 28 November 2019.
  31. 1993 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 10. 51/52. 18 December 1993. 15. 27 November 2019.
  32. Web site: Top 100 Singles – Jahrescharts 1993. de. GfK Entertainment. 27 November 2019.
  33. Web site: SWISS YEAR-END CHARTS 1993. 28 November 2019. swisscharts.com.
  34. Web site: Billboard Top 100 - 1994 . March 22, 2022 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090301121519/http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1994 . March 1, 2009 .
  35. The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1994 . . October 10, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121010231529/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/90s_files/1994YESP.html.
  36. Web site: It Takes Two (1995). imdb.
  37. Web site: Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) [Goldfish Remix] Goldfish & Us3 in Sisters Movie]. InSoundtrack.
  38. Web site: Knack 2. Playstation. 2017-09-10.
  39. Book: The Connection. WBUR.