Just A Friend

Album

Straight from the Heart

Label

Cold Chillin'

Genre

Comedy hip hop

Duration

6:00

Composer(s)

Marcel Hal

Entered Chart

Jan 20, 1990

Peak Date

Mar 17, 1990

Released

September 26, 1989

Recorded

1989

Catalog #

Cold Chillin 7-22784

B-Side

(instrumental)

In 1989, rap songs could still be goofy and fun, and some rappers who weren't so concerned about establishing street cred were happy to record self-deprecating songs with a wide appeal. On this track, Biz Markie raps about a girl he meets at a show. When he asks her if she has a man, she says she doesn't, and that she only has a friend. He enters into a relationship with her where it would become apparent to most people that her man is much more than a friend, but poor, hapless Biz doesn't figure this out until he surprises her one day and finds her kissing her "friend." Biz Markie sings on this song - very poorly. About 10 years later, it became a trend for rappers to sing on their records, as Ja Rule and Nelly had hits where they were singing poorly, but without irony. This is based on Freddie Scott's 1968 R&B song "(You) Got What I Need," which was written by the Philadelphia songwriting/production team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Biz used the piano medley and the phrasing of the line, "You got what I need," but changed the subject matter completely. Despite the obvious influence, Biz Markie (real name: Marcel Hall) is the only songwriter credited on this track. This was common practice at the time, as most samples and interpolations were not cleared. On his next album, Markie did a similar interpretation of "Alone Again (Naturally)" by Gilbert O'Sullivan for the track "Alone Again." At the time, rappers could sample without consequence, as there was no legal precedent. This changed when O'Sullivan sued Biz Markie in 1991, resulting in a landmark decision that unauthorized samples were considered theft. Markie was forced to pull the album and re-issue it without "Alone Again." >> This song entered the Hot Digital Songs chart for the first time in 2009 thanks to its inclusion in a Heineken TV commercial, "Let a Stranger Drive You Home." This was used in episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and in the movies The Wackness (2008), The Sitter (2011) and The Book of Life (2014). Andy Samberg sings some of it in the 2012 movie Celeste & Jesse Forever - later in the film, the song it was based on, "(You) Got What I Need" by Freddie Scott, was used.

Have you ever met a girl that you tried to date
But a year to make love she wanted you to wait?
Let me tell ya a story of my situation
I was talkin' to this girl from the U.S. nation
The way that I met her was on tour, at a concert
She had long hair and a short miniskirt
I just got on stage, drippin', pourin' with sweat
I was walkin' through the crowd and guess who I met
I whispered in her ear, "Come to the picture booth
So I can ask you some questions to see if ya hundred proof"
I asked her her name, she said, "Blah, blah, blah"
She had 9/10 pants and a very big bra
I took a couple of flicks and she was enthused
I said, "How do you like the show?" She said, "I was very amused"
I started throwin' bass, she started throwin' back mid range
But when I sprung the question, she acted kind of strange
Then when I asked, "Do you have a man?", she tried to pretend
She said, "No, I don't, I only have a friend"
Come on
I'm not even goin' for it, this is what I'm goin' sing

You, you got what I need
But you say he's just a friend
And you say he's just a friend, oh baby
You got what I need
But you say he's just a friend
But you say he's just a friend, oh baby
You got what I need
But you say he's just a friend
But you say he's just a friend

So I took blah blah's word for it at this time
I thought just havin' a friend couldn't be no crime
'Cause I have friends and that's a fact
Like Agnes, Agatha, Germaine, and Jack
Forget about that, let's go into the story
About a girl named "blah, blah, blah" that adored me
So we started talkin', gettin' familiar
Spendin' a lot of time, so we can build a
Relationship or some understanding
How it's gonna be in the future we was plannin'
Everything sounded so dandy and sweet
I had no idea I was in for a treat
After this was established, everything was cool
The tour was over and she went back to school
I called every day to see how she was doin'
Every time that I called her, it seemed somethin' was brewin'
I called her room, a guy picked up, and then I called again
I say, "Yo, who was that?" "Oh, he's just a friend"
Don't gimme that, don't even gimme that
Jus' bust this

You, you got what I need
But you say he's just a friend
And you say he's just a friend, oh baby
You got what I need
But you say he's just a friend
But you say he's just a friend, oh baby
You got what I need
But you say he's just a friend
But you say he's just a friend

So, I came to her college on a surprise visit
To see my girl, that was so exquisite
It was a school day, I knew she was there
The first semester of the school year
I went to a gate to ask where was her dorm
This guy made me fill out a visitor's form
He told me where it was and I was on my way
To see my baby doll, I was happy to say
I arrived in front of the dormitory
"Yo, could you tell me where is door three?"
They showed me where it was for the moment
I didn't know I was in for such an event
So, I came to her room and opened the door
Oh, snap, guess what I saw?
A fella tongue kissin' my girl in her mouth
I was so in shock, my heart went down south
So please, listen to the message that I send
Don't ever talk to a girl who says she just has a friend
(Has a friend, has a friend)