"Say No Go" is a single by De La Soul

De La Soul

De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...

 from their influential 1989 album 3 Feet High and Rising

3 Feet High and Rising

3 Feet High and Rising is the debut album from American hip hop trio De La Soul, released in 1989.The album marked the first of three full-length collaborations with producer Prince Paul, which would become the critical and commercial peak of both parties. It is consistently placed on 'greatest...

. It reached number 18 in the UK charts.

Background

The song is a cautionary tale about the use of drugs

Psychoactive drug

A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior...

, in particular "base" (otherwise known as crack cocaine

Crack cocaine

Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...

); a topic they would tackle on their follow up album, De La Soul Is Dead

De La Soul Is Dead

De La Soul Is Dead is De La Soul's second full-length album, released in 1991 . The album was produced by Prince Paul, whose work on 3 Feet High and Rising was highly praised by music critics. The album was one of the first to receive a five mic rating in the Hip hop magazine The Source...

, albeit from
a different perspective, on the song "My Brother's a Basehead".

In the opening line, Posdnuos raps: "Now let's get right on down to the skit / A baby is brought into a world of pits / And if it could've talked that soon / In the delivery room / It would've asked the nurse for a hit".

The song's relevance in 1989, and indeed at present time, was tremendous as it dealt with what had become a new phenomenon in largely urban neighborhoods. This phenomenon later came to be known as the Crack Epidemic

Crack Epidemic

The United States crack epidemic refers to the surge of crack houses and crack cocaine use in major cities in the United States between 1984 and 1990...

.

Other rap artists who rallied against the spread of crack included Public Enemy ("Night Of The Living Baseheads") and Boogie Down Productions

Boogie Down Productions

Boogie Down Productions was a hip hop group that was originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, months after the release of BDP's debut album, Criminal Minded. The name of the group, Boogie Down, derives from a nickname for the...

.

"Say No Go" was also a popular dance song and the instrumental for the song has been used on TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 10, 1990 to May 20, 1996. The show stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his aunt and uncle in their...

.

Track listing

1. "Say No Go (Say No Dope Mix)" - 6:15
2. "Say No Go (New Keys Vocal)" - 4:51
3. "Say No Go (Radio Mix)" - 4:21
4. "The Mack Daddy on the Left" - 2:33
   • Guest Appearance: Chi Ali
     Chi Ali
     Chi-Ali Griffith professionally known as Chi-Ali, is an American rapper, best known musically for his album The Fabulous Chi-Ali, which he recorded at the age of 14.-Music career:...
     
     
5. "Say No Go (New Keys Instrumental)" - 5:01

Samples
"Say No Go" includes samples from the following songs:

• Hall & Oates: "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)
  I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)
  "I Can't Go for That " is a 1981 song recorded by Daryl Hall and John Oates.It was the fourth number-one hit single of their career on the Billboard Hot 100 and the second hit single from their album Private Eyes...
  
  "
• Sly Stone: "Crossword Puzzle"
• Detroit Emeralds: "Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms)"
• Emotions: "Best of My Love
  Best of My Love (The Emotions song)
  "Best of My Love" is a disco song by the band The Emotions released as a single from their album Rejoice . The song was composed by Maurice White and Al McKay of Earth, Wind & Fire. Earth, Wind & Fire would later team up with the Emotions for the 1979 hit "Boogie Wonderland"...
  
  "
• The Funky Four Plus One More: "That's The Joint"

Charts

Chart (1989)	Peak Position
U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...	32
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...	3
U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Singles	11
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	13
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	18