Tipsy

Album: Hood Hop (2004)
Charted: 4 2
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In this song, J-Kwon makes a statement on underage drinking: He's all for it!

    The song takes place in a club where he and his pals are living it up, getting drunk and hitting the dance floor hard. We learn in the song's spoken intro how he gained admission:

    [sarcastically] Teen drinking is very bad
    Yo, I got a fake ID though


    J-Kwon really was underage, just 17 when the song was released in January 2004.
  • "Tipsy" was J-Kwon's first single. He was based in St. Louis, which thanks to Nelly was a hip-hop hotbed in the early '00s, so labels were looking for talent in the area. J-Kwon made enough of a stir to get the attention of L.A. Reid at Arista Records, which signed him to the So So Def imprint run by Jermaine Dupri.

    "Tipsy" was a huge hit and got J-Kwon off to a strong start with his debut album, Hood Hop, but he wasn't able to follow it up. His next single, "You & Me," stalled at #58. That was his last chart entry.
  • There are two versions of "Tispy." The radio edit replaces "E'rybody in this bitch gettin' tipsy" with "E'rybody in this club gettin' tipsy." The album version, also called the "club mix," ironically removes the club reference. The video uses the radio edit and also removes the spoken intro.
  • The music video changes the setting from a club to a houseparty, which is more age appropriate. We don't see any actual drinking in the video, which was necessary to get it on TV (it did very well on BET). Instead, there's lots of dancing and some shenanigans like a guest stinking up the bathroom. At the end, we see J-Kwon's parents come home to find the place in disarray with red Solo cups all over the floor, but nothing to indicate there was alcohol at this party.

    J-Kwon's So So Def labelmate Da Brat shows up in the video, as does Lavell Crawford, who plays his dad.
  • The song was produced by The Trackboyz - the team of Joe Kent and Mark Williams. They also have songwriting credits on the track along with J-Kwon.

    Trackboyz bring the kind of beats that rattle the china. Some of their other productions include "Air Force Ones" by Nelly and "Po' Folks" by Nappy Roots.
  • "Tipsy" went all the way to #2 in April 2004 when "Yeah!" by Usher was in the middle of a 12-week run at the top.
  • Movies to use this song include:

    Rough Night (2017)
    Sisters (2015)
    Project X (2012)
    White Chicks (2004)
    Soul Plane (2004)
    Breakin' All the Rules (2004)

    It was also used in the 2004 episode of The Wire, "Moral Midgetry."
  • J-Kwon performed "Tipsy" on the May 15, 2004 episode of Saturday Night Live, when the Olsen twins hosted.
  • Shaboozey interpolated parts of "Tipsy" for his 2024 country track "A Bar Song (Tipsy)," which took off after he appeared on Beyoncé's album Cowboy Carter. According to J-Kwon, Shaboozey paid a substantial royalty rate to clear the interpolation.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Frankie Valli

Frankie ValliSong Writing

An interview with Frankie Valli, who talks about why his songs - both solo and with The Four Seasons - have endured, and reflects on his time as Rusty Millio on The Sopranos.

The Girl in That Song

The Girl in That SongFact or Fiction

Billie Jean, Delilah, Sara, Laura and Sharona - do you know who the girls in the songs really are?

Michael Schenker

Michael SchenkerSongwriter Interviews

The Scorpions and UFO guitarist is also a very prolific songwriter - he explains how he writes with his various groups, and why he was so keen to get out of Germany and into England.

Actors With Hit Songs

Actors With Hit SongsMusic Quiz

Many actors have attempted music, but only a few have managed a hit. Do you know which of these thespians charted?

Charles Fox

Charles FoxSongwriter Interviews

After studying in Paris with a famous composition teacher, Charles became the most successful writer of TV theme songs.

Rock Revenge Songs

Rock Revenge SongsMusic Quiz

John Lennon, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of the artists who have written revenge songs. Do you know who they wrote them about?