Dangerous (Busta Rhymes song)

"Dangerous" is a song by American rapper Busta Rhymes. It was released as the second single from his second studio album When Disaster Strikes... on November 18, 1997, by Flipmode Entertainment and Elektra Records. The song was written by Rhymes and its producer Rashad Smith. Since the song contains a sample of the Extra T's 1982 song "E.T. Boogie", two of the song's writers, Henry Stone and Freddy Stonewall, are also credited as songwriters on "Dangerous".

"Dangerous"
Single by Busta Rhymes
from the album When Disaster Strikes...
B-side	"You Won't Tell, I Won't Tell " "Coming Off"
Released	November 18, 1997
Recorded	1997
Studio	Soundtrack Studios, New York City
Genre	Hip hop
Length	3:37
Label	Flipmode Elektra
Songwriter(s)	Trevor Smith Rashad Smith Henry Stone Freddy Stonewall
Producer(s)	Rashad Smith
Busta Rhymes singles chronology
"Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" (1997) "Dangerous" (1997) "Curious" (1998)
Music video
"Dangerous" on YouTube

Peaking at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, it was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 41st Grammy Awards in 1999, but lost to "Gettin' Jiggy wit It" by Will Smith. The video was directed by Hype Williams.^[1]

Composition and lyrics

"Dangerous" was composed in ⁴
₄ time and the key of B-minor, with a tempo of 103 beats per minute. It has a duration time of three minutes and thirty-seven seconds.^[2] The chorus of the song (This is serious/We could make you delirious/You should have a healthy fear of us/'Cause too much of us is dangerous) was taken from a 1980s PSA produced by Kids Corner Ltd of Colorado Springs, Colorado that warned children about the danger of loose prescription medications, called We’re Not Candy.^[3][4] The rhythm track was sampled from the 1982 song "E.T. Boogie" by the Extra T's.

Music video

The video, directed by Hype Williams, takes several cues from Lethal Weapon with Busta made to look like Mel Gibson (Riggs) and Spliff Star to look like Gary Busey (Mr. Joshua). The second verse also references the scene where Riggs is electrocuted, and ends with a confrontation between Busta and himself, this time dressed as Sho'nuff from The Last Dragon.

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Dangerous".

• CD single

1. "Dangerous" (album version)
2. "Dangerous" (instrumental)
3. "Dangerous" (a cappella)
4. "You Won't Tell, I Won't Tell" (unavailable on album)
5. "Coming Off" (unavailable on album)
6. "You Won't Tell, I Won't Tell" (instrumental)
7. "Coming Off" (instrumental)

• UK CD single

1. "Dangerous" (album version)
2. "Dangerous" (Soul Society remix)
3. "Dangerous" (album dirty version)
4. "Dangerous" (Natural Born Chillers remix)

Credits and personnel

• Vocals: Busta Rhymes, Rachelle Weston
• Audio mixing: Dominick Barbera, Busta Rhymes, DJ Scratch, Vinny Nicoletti
• Mixing assistant: Rich Tapper, Floyd Nixon
• Engineer: Vinny Nicoletti
• Assistant engineers: Tom Passetti, Dave Raythatha

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1997—1998) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[5] 92 Germany (GfK)[6] 65 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[7] 84 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8] 33 Scotland (OCC)[9] 71 UK Singles (OCC)[10] 32 UK Dance (OCC)[11] 6 UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[12] 5 US Billboard Hot 100[13] 9 US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[14] 1 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[15] 4 US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[16] 1 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[17] 31 Year-end charts Chart (1997) Position UK Urban (Music Week)[18] 35 Chart (1998) Position US Billboard Hot 100[19] 80 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[20] 40 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales United States (RIAA)[21] Gold 600,000[22]