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Funky Cold Medina

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"Funky Cold Medina"
Single by Tone Lōc
from the album Lōc-ed After Dark
ReleasedMarch 18, 1989
GenreRap rock[1]
Length4:08
LabelDelicious Vinyl
Songwriter(s)Marvin Young, Matt Dike, Michael Ross
Producer(s)Matt Dike, Michael Ross
Tone Lōc singles chronology
"Wild Thing"
(1989) 		"Funky Cold Medina"
(1989) 		"I Got It Goin' On"
(1990)
"Funky Cold Medina"
Tone Lōc's "Funky Cold Medina" from Lōc-ed After Dark
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"Funky Cold Medina" is a song written by Young MC, Matt Dike and Michael Ross,[2] and first performed by American rapper, actor and producer Tone Lōc. It was the second single from Tone Lōc's debut album, Lōc-ed After Dark (1989). The single was released on March 18, 1989, and rose to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 the following month where it went platinum, selling over one million copies and becoming the second ever platinum-certified rap single (after "Wild Thing" from the same album being the first). It peaked on the UK Singles Chart at number 13 in May of that year.

Flavor Flav used the phrase "cold medina" a year earlier on It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, and it was adopted by his labelmates Beastie Boys as a nickname for the cocktail known as a "fuzzy navel"; Flav later suggested to Tone Loc that he should use the phrase in a song.[3]

The song contains several samples. The drum break is from "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" by Funkadelic, and the main guitar riff is from "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner. Other samples are taken from "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones (when this song is mentioned in the lyrics), "Christine Sixteen" by Kiss, "All Right Now" by Free and "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" by Bachman–Turner Overdrive. The cowbell sample is from "Honky Tonk Women" by the Rolling Stones.[4]

After the song became popular, several different cocktails were introduced bearing the name "Funky Cold Medina".[5]

Synopsis

[edit]

The song tells of Tone Lōc's experiences with the "Funky Cold Medina", an aphrodisiac beverage. It starts with Lōc drinking at a bar and asking a fellow patron how he is having such success with women. The stranger credits his luck with Funky Cold Medina, which makes anyone who drinks it irresistible.

Lōc tests the formula on his dog, who becomes uncharacteristically affectionate towards Lōc and quickly gets swarmed by female dogs from the neighborhood. Lōc then tries it on a woman named Sheena he's attracted to, but upon returning to Lōc's home Sheena turns out to be a man, whom he ejects from his apartment forthwith. The next day, Lōc makes a celebrity appearance on Love Connection and meets a woman who immediately wants to marry him, which freaks him out. Lōc concludes the formula just brings trouble and resolves not to use it again.[6]

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[23] Gold 35,000^
United States (RIAA)[32] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Tone Loc :: Loc'ed After Dark (Deluxe Edition) :: Delicious Vinyl". RapReviews.
  2. ^ ASCAP Ace System.
  3. ^ Ardell, Jena (2011-06-02). "Flavor Flav on Addiction, Coining the Title of a Tone Loc Song, and How a Crackhead Started His Clock Trend". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  4. ^ "SongFacts - Funky Cold Medina by Tone-Lōc". songfacts.com. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  5. ^ Esther Iverem, "We Think It's Legal: Would You Like a Funky Cold Medina?", Newsday, July 8, 1989, part 2, p. 15.
  6. ^ "Tone Lōc – Funky Cold Medina". genius.com. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  7. ^ "Tone Loc – Funky Cold Medina". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  8. ^ "Tone Loc – Funky Cold Medina" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  9. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 946." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  10. ^ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 6345." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  11. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Tone Loc". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 261. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  12. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 19, 1989" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  13. ^ "Tone Loc – Funky Cold Medina" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  14. ^ "Tone Loc – Funky Cold Medina". Top 40 Singles.
  15. ^ "Tone Loc – Funky Cold Medina". Swiss Singles Chart.
  16. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  17. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. April 29, 1989. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  18. ^ "Dance Singles Sales". Billboard. May 20, 1989. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  19. ^ "Dance Club Songs". Billboard. April 29, 1989. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  20. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. May 6, 1989. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  21. ^ "Hot Rap Songs". Billboard. April 22, 1989. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  22. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Tone Loc – Funky Cold Medina" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  23. ^ a b Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  24. ^ "Top 100 Singles of '89". RPM. Retrieved April 27, 2025 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  25. ^ "Top 25 Dance Singles of '89". RPM. Retrieved April 27, 2025 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  26. ^ "End of Year Top 50 Singles 1989". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  27. ^ "1989 The Year in Music: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 101, no. 51. December 23, 1989. p. Y-22.
  28. ^ "Billboard Top 100 – 1989".
  29. ^ "1989 The Year in Music: Top Dance Sales 12-inch Singles". Billboard. Vol. 101, no. 51. December 23, 1989. p. Y-40.
  30. ^ "1989 The Year in Music: Top Rap Singles". Billboard. Vol. 101, no. 51. December 23, 1989. p. Y-48.
  31. ^ "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 1989" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  32. ^ "American single certifications – Tone Lōc – Funky Cold Medina". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
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