DontGetIt

Album: Tha Carter III (2008)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This 10-minute album cut takes on civil rights and Wayne's arrests, and finishes with a rant against the Reverend Al Sharpton and others who have protested against hip-hop music.
  • This samples Nina Simone's "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" from her 1964 album Broadway-Blues-Ballads . It is not the first rap track to borrow from it, "Misunderstood" from Common's Finding Forever album also samples this song. English R&B act The Animals recorded the best known version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" in 1965.
  • This was produced by Rodnae & Mousa. Rodnae spoke to Rhapsody about producing this track: "Nobody else ever heard it. It was made for Wayne. I took my time because most of the music sampled was played live so it's not necessarily all the way on beat. I had to make sure everything lined up to where it was one tempo."

    Mousa added: "I listen to Nina Simone a lot. We got the sample from her song 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood.' By the time we sent it, [Wayne] was about to leave to go to Europe for this tour, and the album was going to be turned in before he got back. I sent the song three days before he was leaving. He recorded it and while he was in Europe, Baby was calling for the files [for mixing and mastering]. When I first heard it, I felt like I wished [Wayne] had rapped more. But then I realized that if he's talking, consumers are going to listen more."

Comments: 1

  • Alejandro from Sacramento, CaI like 99.99% of tha songz on THA CARTER III and this song is included! But who sings the intro to this song?
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Sarah Brightman

Sarah BrightmanSongwriter Interviews

One of the most popular classical vocalists in the land is lining up a trip to space, which is the inspiration for many of her songs.

George Harrison

George HarrisonFact or Fiction

Did Eric Clapton really steal George's wife? What's the George Harrison-Monty Python connection? Set the record straight with our Fact or Fiction quiz.

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.

Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors Examined

Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors ExaminedSong Writing

Doors expert Jim Cherry, author of The Doors Examined, talks about some of their defining songs and exposes some Jim Morrison myths.

Kip Winger

Kip WingerSongwriter Interviews

The Winger frontman reveals the Led Zeppelin song he cribbed for "Seventeen," and explains how his passion for orchestra music informs his songwriting.

Philip Cody

Philip CodySongwriter Interviews

A talented lyricist, Philip helped revive Neil Sedaka's career with the words to "Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood."