Passin' Me By
"Passin' Me By" is a song by American hip-hop group The Pharcyde, released in March 1993 through Delicious Vinyl Records. The song was the second single released from the group's 1992 debut Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde. The song, produced by J-Swift, utilizes samples from "Summer in the City" by Quincy Jones, "125th Street Congress" by Weather Report and "Are You Experienced?" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. "Passin' Me By" was in turn sampled by Joe for his number 1 single "Stutter". A popular line from the song, "My dear my dear my dear you do not know me but I know you very well now let me tell you," was also repeated in the same manner in "Stutter" (the remix featuring Mystikal) with the only difference between the lines being that the words "about the feelings I have for you" were changed to "that I caught you" in "Stutter."
| "Passin' Me By" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by The Pharcyde | ||||
| from the album Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde and Amongst Friends: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||||
| B-side | "Pork" | |||
| Released | March 23, 1993 | |||
| Recorded | 1991 at Hollywood Sounds, California | |||
| Genre | Hip hop, jazz rap | |||
| Length | 5:03 | |||
| Label | Delicious Vinyl | |||
| Songwriter(s) | R. Robinson, T. Hardson, E. Wilcox, D. Stewart, J. Martinez | |||
| Producer(s) | J-Swift Additional Production and Remix: L.A. Jay | |||
| The Pharcyde singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio sample | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Passin' Me By" on YouTube | ||||
The group's four emcees, Bootie Brown, Slimkid3, Imani, and Fatlip, all use the track to recount schoolboy crushes which all eventually led to heartbreak, and the chorus features a male vocalist singing "She keeps on passin' me by" against a soprano saxophone riff. The song peaked at #1 on the Hot Rap Singles, #52 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #28 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks charts.[1]
Pitchfork Media's included the song at number 41 on their Top 200 Tracks of the 90s.[2]
Music video
The music video (directed by Sanji) is entirely in black and white. The rappers are seen riding in the back seat of a car or rapping behind a fence. They are upside-down compared to the rest of the world throughout the video.
Track listing
A-Side
- "Passin' Me By" (Video Remix)
- "Passin' Me By" (Video instrumental)
- "Passin' Me By" (A capella)
B-Side
- "Pork" (Original version)
- "Pork" (Cosby edit)
- "Pork" (Instrumental)
Other media
The song was featured in the soundtrack for the video game NBA 2K9, and it is also featured in the game Aggressive Inline. A clip from the instrumental of the song was used in the opening of the 1999 Adam Sandler film Big Daddy. The song was remixed and entitled "Rinsing Quince" by Aphrodite in 2003.
During most of the 1990s and early to mid-2000s, the St. Louis Cardinals played the song whenever they lost a home game.
The track is also mentioned by rapper T.I. in the worldwide smash hit single, "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke, also featuring Pharrell. The line is: "In a hundred years, not dare would I / Pull a Pharcyde, let you pass me by."
In 2017, the song was featured in the Netflix Original TV show Atypical in the second episode of the first season.
The song appeared in the "FUBU" episode of the FX series Atlanta.
In January 2019, the single was featured in season two of the Netflix Original comedy Friends from College. It can be located in the second episode of season two.
In October 2018, Jonah Hill debuted his first directed film mid90s which included the single.