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Let's Get It Started
LetsGetItStarted BEP
Single by The Black Eyed Peas
From the album Elephunk
Released: 8 May 2004
Recorded: 2002
Genre: Hip Hop, R&B, Funk
Length: 3:34 (album)
3:39 (video)
Labels: A&M
will.i.am
Interscope
Writers: will.i.am
Apl.de.ap
Taboo
Pajon Jr.
Fratantuno
Yoshiaki
Producers: will.i.am
Single by The Black Eyed Peas

Hey Mama
(2004)

Let's Get It Started
(2004)

Don't Phunk with My Heart
(2005)

Elephunk tracklist

Labor Day (It's a Holiday)
(2005)

Let's Get It Started
(2004)

Hey Mama

"Let's Get It Started" is the edited radio version of the Black Eyed Peas song "Let's Get Retarded", which appears on their 2003 album Elephunk.

It was edited because many people find this usage offensive, making the song unsuitable for play at some radio stations and sports games until it was censored. Beside included in album Elephunk, it was also included on the Barbershop 2: Back in Business and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle soundtracks. It gained popularity as the theme song for the 2004 NBA Playoffs on ABC.

Meaning[]

The phrase "Let's Get Retarded" is a term used on the West Coast of the United States that means to go crazy on the dance floor, synonymous with "Go Dumb," and "Get Stupid." The colloquial meaning of "retarded", as used in this song, refers to being very carefree and having a good time - and sometimes meaning intoxicated, similar to the colloquial use of getting "blind", "wasted", or "smashed". The phrase is chanted at clubs and dances and used in everyday slang, but the word "Retarded" is offensive to people who see it as put-down of those who are mentally challenged, even though the first line of the verse says “In this context, there’s no disrespect.”

Music video[]

the music video was shot in April 2004. directed by Francis Lawrence The music video takes place in a nighttime setting on a Los Angeles street. It features the Black Eyed Peas, particularly will.i.am, performing energetic dances while singing the song, while varying objects in the background (including a grand piano) smash against the ground in real-time, slow and fast motion, and in reverse. The choruses feature the band on stage singing to a large crowd.

Media appearances[]

  • The song has been featured in the films White Chicks (2004), Spanglish (2004), Kicking & Screaming (2005), It's a Boy Girl Thing (2006), and Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World (2017).
  • In DreamWorks' Monsters vs. Aliens (2009), a character President Hathaway (voiced by Stephen Colbert) references the song in the post-credits scene.

Facts and trivia[]

  • Radio-friendly version of "Let's Get Retarded," which appeared on the album, and explaining the (unchanged) line "In this context, there's no disrespect"
  • The line "Let's get ignant..." is often written as "let's get pregnant" online. It instead is slang for "ignorant," as mirrored by the word "stupid"
  • The line "Bob your head like me, Apl.de" is "Bob your head like epilepsy" in the original.

See Also[]

References[]

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