You Know How We Do It

1994 single by Ice Cube

"You Know How We Do It"

Single by Ice Cube
from the album  Lethal Injection
Released| 1994
Recorded| 1993
Genre|

* West Coast hip-hop
* G-funk

Length| 3:52
Label|

* Lench Mob
* Priority

Songwriter(s)|

* O'Shea Jackson
* Quincy Jones III
* Dexter Wansel
* Theodore Life Jr.

Producer(s)| QDIII
Ice Cube singles chronology
| "Really Doe"
(1993)  | "You Know How We Do It"
(1994)  | "Bop Gun (One Nation)"
(1994)

|
|

Music video
"You Know How We Do It" on YouTube

"You Know How We Do It" is a song by American rapper, actor and filmmaker Ice Cube, released as the second single from his fourth studio album, Lethal Injection (1993). The song was released in 1994 by Lench Mob and Priority Records, and was a No. 30 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100. Its music video was directed by Marcus Raboy and filmed in Las Vegas. Musically, the song is in the G-funk genre,[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] "You Know How We Do It" samples "The Show Is Over" by Evelyn "Champagne" King, "Summer Madness" by Kool & the Gang, and "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson.[8]

## Critical reception

[edit]

Larry Flick from Billboard magazine wrote, "Latest single from Cube's current album, Lethal Injection, is a laid-back jam in which he traces what life in his old neighborhood has become. Follow-up to 'Really Doe' has the juice to easily sate the tastes of purists, but is also smooth enough to make considerable noise at pop and urban radio."[9] Everett True from Melody Maker said, "This is more of that gorgeously smooth East Side/West Side funk that surely even the most staid of you are spending all your waking hours with by now, with sequenced vocals, gentle scratchin', a mutha of a rhythm track and a vocal as drop-dead-and-f***-me-as-you-fall cool as you'd ever want."[10] Alan Jones from Music Week gave it three out of five, describing it as "another mellow musical experience, [with] his assured and rhythmic rap being intoned over a relaxing backwash enlivened by a squirting synth. Some dubious lyrics, but a nice summery track which deserves to score."[11]

Paul Moody from NME named it Big Funky Single of the Week, adding, "A deep, oven-baked rhythm, a sample stolen from the wonderful 'The Show Is Over' by Evelyn Champagne King and then Ice himself, grumbling about how ...They wanna have me in stripes, like Dennis the Menace and mumbling incoherently about the 'West Side'. [...] A funk record for people scared to funk and a rap record for people who... yeah, yeah, you know. A monster hit."[12] Tim Jeffery from the Record Mirror Dance Update wrote, "A cool and lazy groove with lightly wailing vocals provide an excellent backdrop for Ice Cube's laconic rapping style. Not dancefloor material but this evokes a great atmosphere."[13] James Hamilton described it as "Evelyn King sampling pleasant jazz-funkily rolling 92.7bpm mellow LA rap" in his weekly Record Mirror dance column.[14]

## Music video

[edit]

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

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The accompanying music video for "You Know How We Do It" was directed by American film and music video director Marcus Raboy and filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada. It features Ice Cube and his crew taking a trip to Las Vegas in a convertible Jaguar XJS and gambling in several Vegas Casinos.

## In popular culture

[edit]

The song first appeared on the soundtrack of the 1993 film Surf Ninjas. Mariah Carey sampled "You Know How We Do It" in her song "Irresistible (West Side Connection)" from her 2002 album Charmbracelet; it features Ice Cube as part of the hip hop supergroup the Westside Connection, which also included Mack 10 and WC. The song was also featured in the film Sonic The Hedgehog 2 and Grand Theft Auto V.

## Track listing

[edit]

1. "You Know How We Do It"
2. "You Know How We Do It (Instrumental)"
3. "2 n the Morning"
4. "2 n the Morning (Instrumental)"

## Charts

[edit]

Chart (1994)  | Peak
position

|

UK Singles (OCC)[15] | 41
UK Dance (Music Week)[16] | 11
UK Club Chart (Music Week)[17] | 48
US Billboard Hot 100[18] | 30
US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[19] | 16
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[20] | 21
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[21] | 5

## Certifications

[edit]

Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

United Kingdom (BPI)[22] | Gold  | 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Juon, Steve 'Flash'. "Ice Cube :: Lethal Injection". RapReviews. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
2. ^ "Ice Cube Bell Stage, Quebec City QC, July 9". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
3. ^ "The top 5 G-funk songs of all time, according to Buddy". The FADER. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
4. ^ "Ice Cube, IndigO2, LondonFriendly Fires, Roundhouse, London". The Independent. 2011-10-23. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
5. ^ Fitzgerald, Trent (February 21, 2016). "Kendrick Lamar & Ice Cube Appear on Funkadelic's 'Ain't That Funkin' Kinda Hard On You?' (Remix)". The Boombox. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
6. ^ "The 9 Best DJ Mixes of June 2021". Pitchfork. July 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
7. ^ "Lethal Injection - Ice Cube | Songs, Reviews, Credits", AllMusic, retrieved 2021-07-06
8. ^ "55 Hip-Hop Songs That Sample Michael Jackson". XXL Mag. August 29, 2013. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
9. ^ Flick, Larry (1994-02-12). "Single Reviews: Rap" (PDF). Billboard. p. 93. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
10. ^ True, Everett (1994-12-17). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 31. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
11. ^ Jones, Alan (1994-03-19). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 12. Retrieved 2025-04-25.
12. ^ Moody, Paul (1994-03-19). "Singles". NME. p. 35. Retrieved 2023-08-17.
13. ^ Jeffery, Tim (1994-03-12). "Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 6. Retrieved 2025-04-25.
14. ^ Hamilton, James (1994-03-26). "DJ directory" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 4. Retrieved 2025-04-25.
15. ^ "officialcharts.com". officialcharts.com. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
16. ^ "Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 26 March 1994. p. 24. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
17. ^ "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 19 March 1994. p. 4. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
18. ^ "Ice Cube Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
19. ^ "Hot Dance Music: Maxi-Singles Sales" (PDF). Billboard. 26 February 1994. p. 28. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
20. ^ "Ice Cube Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
21. ^ "Ice Cube Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard.
22. ^ "British single certifications – Ice Cube – You Know How We Do It". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 10, 2024.

* v
* t
* e

Ice Cube

Discography

Studio albums|

* AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
* Death Certificate
* The Predator
* Lethal Injection
* War & Peace Vol. 1 (The War Disc)
* War & Peace Vol. 2 (The Peace Disc)
* Laugh Now, Cry Later
* Raw Footage
* I Am the West
* Everythang's Corrupt
* Man Down

Extended plays|

* Kill at Will

Compilations|

* Bootlegs & B-Sides
* Featuring...Ice Cube
* Greatest Hits
* In the Movies
* The Essentials
* Icon

Singles|

* "Steady Mobbin'"
* "True to the Game"
* "Wicked"
* "It Was a Good Day"
* "Check Yo Self"
* "Really Doe"
* "You Know How We Do It"
* "Bop Gun (One Nation)"
* "Natural Born Killaz"
* "Friday"
* "The World Is Mine"
* "Men of Steel"
* "We Be Clubbin'"
* "Pushin' Weight"
* "You Can Do It"
* "Hello"
* "Until We Rich"
* "Why We Thugs"
* "Go to Church"
* "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It"
* "Do Ya Thang"
* "I Rep That West"
* "Good Cop, Bad Cop"
* "Arrest the President"

Featured singles|

* "Connected for Life"

Other songs|

* "No Vaseline"

Related articles|

* N.W.A
* Westside Connection
* C.I.A.
* Da Lench Mob
* Lench Mob Records
* Cube Vision
* O'Shea Jackson Jr.

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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