The Message (Cymande song)

"The Message" is a song by British funk band Cymande from their self-titled debut studio album Cymande. Written by the group's members Patrick Patterson and Steve Scipio, it was recorded at De Lane Lea Studios in London, produced by John Schroeder, and released as a 7-inch single through Janus Records in 1972. Released as a lead single, the song peaked at No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 22 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in the United States.

"The Message"
Single by Cymande
from the album Cymande
B-side	"Zion I"
Released	1972
Studio	De Lane Lea Studios (London, England)
Genre	Funk
Length	3:28
Label	Janus Records J 203
Songwriter(s)	Patrick Eaton Patterson Steve Scipio
Producer(s)	John Schroeder
Cymande singles chronology
"The Message" (1972) "Bra" (1973)

The song can be heard in Spike Lee's 2002 film 25th Hour and Seth Gordon's 2011 film Horrible Bosses.[1] British reggae group Aswad recorded a cover version of the song for their 1988 studio album Distant Thunder.

Track listing

The Message 7-inch

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"The Message"	Patrick Patterson Steve Scipio	John Schroeder	3:28
2.	"Zion I"	Mike Rose Pablo Gonzales	John Schroeder	3:29

Personnel

• Ray King – vocals, percussion
• Peter Serreo – tenor saxophone
• Michael "Bami" Rose – alto saxophone, flute, bongos
• Pablo Gonsales – Congas
• Sam Kelly – drums
• Joey Dee – vocals, percussion
• Derek Gibbs – alto and soprano saxophone
• Steve Scipio – bass, songwriter
• Patrick Eaton Patterson – guitar, songwriter
• John Schroeder – producer

Charts

Chart (1973)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100[2]	48
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[3]	22

Sampled credits

The song was sampled by several hip hop recording artists, including:[4]

• Ruthless Rap Assassins in "And It Wasn't a Dream" from Killer Album (1990)
• Masta Ace in "Me and the Biz" from Take a Look Around (1990)
• MC Solaar in "Bouge de là" from Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo (1991)
• King Tee in "On tha Rox" from Tha Triflin' Album (1993)
• GRITS in "Fragmentation" from Factors of the Seven (1998)

References

1. "Cymande". IMDb. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
2. "Cymande Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
3. "Cymande Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
4. "Samples of The Message by Cymande on WhoSampled". WhoSampled. Retrieved 27 April 2019.

External links

• Cymande – The Message at Discogs (list of releases)