I Ain't Goin' Out Like That

Album: Black Sunday (1993)
Charted: 15 65
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Songfacts®:

  • "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That" is signature Cypress Hill – drugs and ultra-violence delivered with singalong vibe that makes both things sound like good, clean fun. Cheery even. The song is about selling narcotics and taking out police officers rather than going to jail. It hit airwaves during the Golden Age of gangsta rap when such subject matter was relatively common.
  • "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That" appears on Black Sunday, the second album by Latino hip-hoppers Cypress Hill. It was released as the third of four singles off the record, following "Insane In The Brain."
  • In an October 25, 2018 New York Post interview, Cypress Hill co-founder B-Real said that the group had been peaking on mushrooms when they recorded the vocals for "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That." It was the last piece needed for Black Sunday, so as soon as they were done they had a private listening party with the lights off, still high.
  • Saturday Night Live (SNL) permanently banned Cypress Hill after co-founder DJ Muggs lit up a joint while they performed this song on the show. SNL cut the broadcast out and ejected the band.
  • The UK promotional releases of the album were designed to look like a packet of Rizla rolling papers, which kicked off widespread fan production of bootleg T-shirts. The idea came from Ollie Wealt, the product manager that Columbia assigned to the band. They avoided getting sued but did receive a stern letter from Rizla lawyers.
  • Outlaw, kicking like Billy Ray Cypress Hill

    This is a play on country star Billy Ray Cyrus, who unleashed the cultural phenomenon of "Achy Breaky Heart" in 1992, a little over a year before "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That."
  • "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That" appears in the 2023 Blue Beetle film starring Xolo Maridueña. It's played during the movie's second fight scene while Blue Beetle is rescuing his sister.
  • The industrial band 16Volt covered "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That" on the 1996 Operation Beatbox album, which is composed of electronic and industrial covers of hip-hop songs.
  • "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That" samples "The Wizard" by Black Sabbath.

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