The Payback ( song ) - wikipedia The Payback ( song ) `` The Payback -- Part I '' Single by James Brown from the album The Payback B - side `` The Payback -- Part II '' Released February 1974 ( 1974 - 02 ) Format 7 '' Recorded August 4, 1973, International Studios, Augusta, GA ( basic tracks ) September 1973, Advantage Studios, New York, NY ( brass and female vocal overdubs ) Genre Funk Length 3 : 30 ( Part I ) 4 : 07 ( Part II ) Label Polydor 14223 Songwriter ( s ) James Brown Fred Wesley John Starks Producer ( s ) James Brown James Brown charting singles chronology `` Stoned to the Bone -- Part 1 '' ( 1973 ) `` The Payback -- Part I '' ( 1974 ) `` My Thang '' ( 1974 ) `` Stoned to the Bone -- Part 1 '' ( 1973 ) `` The Payback -- Part I '' ( 1974 ) `` My Thang '' ( 1974 ) `` The Payback '' is a funk song by James Brown, the title track from his 1973 album of the same name. The song 's lyrics, originally written by trombonist and bandleader Fred Wesley but heavily revised by Brown himself soon before it was recorded, concern the revenge he plans to take against a man who betrayed him. The song is notable for its spare, open arrangement and its use of wah - wah guitar -- a relative rarity in Brown 's previous funk recordings. Released as a two - part single ( featuring a radio announcer at the beginning of part one ) in February 1974, it was the first in an unbroken succession of three singles by Brown to reach # 1 on the R&B charts that year -- the last chart - toppers of his career. It also peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was his second, and final, single to be certified gold by the RIAA. Contents 1 Background 2 Samples 3 Appearances in other media 4 References 5 External links Background The song and the album of the same name were originally recorded by Brown as the accompanying soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Hell Up in Harlem ( 1973 ), but was rejected by the movie 's producers as `` the same old James Brown stuff. '' An incensed Brown decided to release the album and let it stand on its own merits. The subsequent soundtrack was then recorded by Motown Records artist Edwin Starr. Later, Brown recorded `` Rapp Payback ( Where Iz Moses ) '', a reworking of `` The Payback '', in 1980. It was also remade in 1988, remixed and released as `` The Payback Mix ( Part One ) '' in the United Kingdom. This version was one of Brown 's biggest hits in the UK, reaching # 12 on the UK singles chart. Samples `` The Payback '' song has been sampled by many musical artists, including numerous hip hop and R&B producers. The group En Vogue recorded two different R&B hits, `` Hold On '' and `` My Lovin ' ( You 're Never Gonna Get It ) '', that were both based on loops from the song 's rhythm track. LL Cool J sampled `` The Payback '' in his 1990 song `` The Booming System ''. Guy used the enthusiastic whoops for Dog Me Outin 1991. Mary J. Blige sampled the song for her 1997 hit `` Everything ''. The group Total ( featuring Notorious BIG ) sampled the song in their 1995 hit `` Ca n't You See ''. Keith Sweat 's group Silk, in the song `` Happy Days '' sampled `` The Payback '' from their 1992 debut album, Lose Control, which was produced by Sweat and featured on the track. Big Black released a loose cover of the song on their 1984 Racer - X EP. Massive Attack also sampled the song on their track `` Protection '' from the 1995 album of the same name. Eboni Foster sampled the song on the single, `` Crazy for You '' in 1998. Rapper Kendrick Lamar used elements of the song on his 2015 track `` King Kunta ''. Also sampled in Compton 's Most Wanted 's `` Final Chapter '' off of the album Straight Check'n Em. Appearances in other media The song was used tn the Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas soundtrack on the Rare groove radio station Master Sounds 98.3. The song was used in the Guy Ritchie film Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. The song was used on the original soundtrack album for When We Were Kings ( 1997 ) The song was used in the 2001 Jesse Dylan film How High. The song was used in the 2002 Mars Callahan film Poolhall Junkies. A sample of the song is used in the theme for ESPN 's NBA Countdown. The song was used in a season two episode of Everybody Hates Chris. The song was used in season three of The Wire, the song is playing in the poolhall that the deacon frequents, when Cutty comes to him to discuss the boxing gym. The song was used in the Hughes Brothers film Dead Presidents. The song was used in season three episode 10 of The Blacklist. The song was used in the first - season finale of the FX television show Damages. The song was used in an episode of Scrubs, during one of J.D. 's fantasies about how cool it is to enter the hospital as a surgeon. The song was used in the movie Hollywood Shuffle, the melody of the song is used during the dress rehearsal of the movie `` Jivetime Jimmy 's Revenge '' -- the movie in which Bobby ( Robert Townsend ) won the lead role as `` Jimmy. '' Jimmy also uses the lyrics `` I 'm mad, I want revenge '' when his brother dies in his arms. The song is used in many professional boxing ring entrances, but most notably used by Lennox Lewis during the ringwalk prior to his heavyweight championship rematch with Hasim Rahman in 2001, which Lewis won by knockout. The song was used in an episode of The Bernie Mac Show. The song was used in the television show The Cleveland Show in the episode entitled `` The Curious Case of Jr. Working at The Stool ''. In May 1995, the song was featured prominently in the opening scene of `` Catman Comes Back '', the first - season finale of the FOX police drama television series New York Undercover. The song was used in the 2012 Quentin Tarantino film Django Unchained, the songs was remixed in a mashup with the 2Pac song `` Untouchable ''. The lyrics `` I do n't know karate, but I know crazy '' was used by Magneto in the 2014 Bryan Singer film X-Men : Days of Future Past. References Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 2004 ). Top R&B / Hip - Hop Singles : 1942 - 2004. Record Research. p. 85. Jump up ^ White, Cliff ( 1991 ). `` Discography ''. In Star Time ( pp. 54 -- 59 ) ( CD booklet ). New York : PolyGram Records. Jump up ^ Bloom, Steve. `` Anything Left in Papa 's Bag ? '' Down Beat September 1, 1980. Rpt. in The James Brown Reader : Fifty Years of Writing About the Godfather of Soul. Ed. Nelson George and Alan Leeds. New York : Plume, 2008. 160 - 170. Jump up ^ Smith, RJ. The One : The Life and Music of James Brown, 290. New York : Gotham Books, 2012. Jump up ^ Natalie Chaidez ( writer ) ; Frederick King Keller ( director ) ( 1995 - 05 - 11 ). `` Catman Comes Back ''. New York Undercover. Season 1. Episode 26. FOX. External links Song review at Allmusic List of hip hop songs that sample `` The Payback '' James Brown singles Billboard charting singles ( R&B and Pop ) 1950s 1956 `` Please, Please, Please '' 1958 `` Try Me '' 1959 `` I Want You So Bad '' 1960s 1960 `` I 'll Go Crazy '' `` Think '' `` You 've Got the Power '' `` This Old Heart '' `` The Bells '' 1961 `` Bewildered '' `` I Do n't Mind '' `` Baby, You 're Right '' `` Just You and Me, Darling '' `` Lost Someone '' 1962 `` Night Train '' `` Shout and Shimmy '' `` Mashed Potatoes U.S.A. '' `` Three Hearts in a Tangle '' `` I 've Got Money '' 1963 `` Like a Baby '' `` Every Beat of My Heart '' `` Prisoner of Love '' `` These Foolish Things '' `` Signed, Sealed, and Delivered '' 1964 `` Oh Baby Do n't You Weep '' `` Please, Please, Please '' `` Caldonia '' `` The Things That I Used to Do '' `` Out of Sight '' `` Have Mercy Baby '' 1965 `` Papa 's Got a Brand New Bag '' `` Try Me '' `` I Got You ( I Feel Good ) '' 1966 `` Lost Someone '' `` I 'll Go Crazy '' `` Ai n't That a Groove '' `` It 's a Man 's Man 's Man 's World '' `` Money Wo n't Change You '' `` Do n't Be a Drop - Out '' `` Sweet Little Baby Boy '' 1967 `` Bring It Up '' `` Kansas City '' `` Think '' `` Let Yourself Go '' `` Cold Sweat '' `` Get It Together '' `` I Ca n't Stand Myself ( When You Touch Me ) '' `` There Was a Time '' 1968 `` You 've Got to Change Your Mind '' `` I Got the Feelin ' '' `` Licking Stick -- Licking Stick '' `` America Is My Home '' `` I Guess I 'll Have to Cry, Cry, Cry '' `` Say It Loud -- I 'm Black and I 'm Proud '' `` Goodbye My Love '' `` Tit for Tat ( Ai n't No Taking Back ) '' 1969 `` Give It Up or Turnit a Loose '' `` Soul Pride '' `` I Do n't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing ( Open Up The Door, I 'll Get It Myself ) '' `` The Popcorn '' `` Mother Popcorn ( You Got to Have a Mother for Me ) '' `` Lowdown Popcorn '' `` World '' `` Let a Man Come In and Do the Popcorn '' `` Ai n't It Funky Now '' 1970s 1970 `` It 's a New Day '' `` Funky Drummer '' `` Brother Rapp '' `` Get Up ( I Feel Like Being a ) Sex Machine '' `` Super Bad '' `` Santa Claus Is Definitely Here to Stay '' `` Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved '' 1971 `` Spinning Wheel '' `` Soul Power '' `` I Cried '' `` Escape - ism '' `` Hot Pants '' `` Make It Funky '' `` I 'm a Greedy Man '' 1972 `` Talkin ' Loud and Sayin ' Nothing '' `` King Heroin '' `` There It Is '' `` Honky Tonk '' `` Get on the Good Foot '' `` I Got a Bag of My Own '' `` What My Baby Needs Now Is a Little More Lovin ' '' 1973 `` I Got Ants In My Pants ( And I Want to Dance ) '' `` Down and Out in New York City '' `` Think '' `` Sexy, Sexy, Sexy '' `` Stoned to the Bone '' `` The Payback '' `` My Thang '' `` Papa Do n't Take No Mess '' `` Funky President ( People It 's Bad ) '' `` Coldblooded '' `` Reality '' `` Sex Machine '' `` Hustle ! ! ! ( Dead on It ) '' `` Superbad, Superslick '' `` Hot ( I Need To Be Loved, Loved, Loved, Loved ) '' 1976 `` ( I Love You ) For Sentimental Reasons '' `` Get Up Offa That Thing '' `` I Refuse to Lose '' `` Bodyheat '' 1977 `` Kiss in 77 '' `` Give Me Some Skin '' `` If You Do n't Give a Doggone About It '' 1978 `` Eyesight '' `` The Spank '' `` For Goodness Sakes, Look at Those Cakes '' 1979 `` It 's Too Funky in Here '' `` Star Generation '' 1980s 1980 `` Regrets '' `` Rapp Payback ( Where Iz Moses ) '' 1981 `` Stay with Me '' `` The Night Time Is the Right Time ( To Be With the One That You Love ) '' 1984 `` Unity '' 1985 `` Living in America '' 1986 `` Gravity '' `` How Do You Stop '' 1988 `` I 'm Real '' `` Static '' 1989 `` Gimme Your Love '' 1990s 1991 `` ( So Tired of Standing Still We Got to ) Move On '' `` Ca n't Get Any Harder '' UK - only charting singles `` Hey America '' ( 1970 ) `` Bring It On... Bring It On '' ( 1983 ) `` Froggy Mix '' ( 1985 ) `` She 's the One '' ( 1988 ) `` The Payback Mix '' ( 1988 ) `` I Got You ( I Feel Good ) ( James Brown v. Dakeyne ) '' ( 1992 ) `` Funk on Ah Roll '' ( 1999 ) Notable productions `` The Grunt '' ( 1970 ) `` Gimme Some More '' ( 1971 ) `` I Know You Got Soul '' ( 1971 ) `` Pass the Peas '' ( 1972 ) `` Think ( About It ) '' ( 1972 ) `` Doing It to Death '' ( 1973 ) `` Soul Power 74 '' ( 1973 ) Other songs `` ( Do the ) Mashed Potatoes '' ( 1960 ) `` Maybe the Last Time '' ( 1964 ) `` Old Landmark '' ( 1980 ) `` Killing Is Out, School Is In '' ( 2001 ) `` Gut Bucket '' ( 2006 ) NBA on TBS Related programs NBA on TNT NBA All - Star Weekend NCAA Men 's Division I Basketball Championship Related articles Ratings Atlanta Hawks broadcasters Key figures Marv Albert Tim Brando Kevin Calabro Chip Caray Skip Caray Jim Durham Mike Gorman Kevin Harlan Verne Lundquist Bob Neal Mel Proctor Dick Stockton Ron Thulin Pete Van Wieren Color commentators Danny Ainge John Andariese Rick Barry Hubie Brown Quinn Buckner Doug Collins Chuck Daly Mike Fratello Walt Frazier Jack Givens Mike Glenn Rod Hundley Steve Jones John MacLeod Don Nelson Bill Raftery Doc Rivers Oscar Robertson Bill Russell John Thompson Dick Versace Bill Walton Studio hosts Vince Cellini Fred Hickman Ernie Johnson Jr. Studio analysts Scott Hastings Kenny Smith Reggie Theus Peter Vecsey Sideline reporters Kevin Kiley Cheryl Miller Craig Sager Contributors Bryan Burwell Jim Huber NBA Drafts 1985 1986 1988 1989 Music `` The Payback '' `` Catch Us If You Can '' `` Takin ' Care of Business '' `` Bad '' `` Higher Ground '' Lore Christmas Day Celtics -- Pistons rivalry Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Payback_(song)&oldid=847127931 '' Categories : James Brown songs 1974 singles Billboard Hot R&B / Hip - Hop Songs number - one singles Songs written by James Brown Songs written by Fred Wesley Songs written by John `` Jabo '' Starks Polydor Records singles 1973 songs Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Português Edit links This page was last edited on 23 June 2018, at 04 : 09 ( UTC ). 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Question: what is james brown the big payback about
Answer: the revenge he plans to take against a man who betrayed him