Party On Fifth Ave

Album: Blue Slide Park (2011)
Charted: 64
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This celebratory song contains a second generation sample. In 1987 DJ Mark the 45 King lifted the baritone sax solo from Marva Whitney's "Unwind Yourself" and made a breakbeat called "The 900 Number." DJ Mark's tune has subsequently been resampled by many artists including Miller's producer ID Labs for "Party." Another well known use of the track was by Washington, D.C.-based go-go artist DJ Kool for his 1996 hit, "Let Me Clear My Throat."

    DJ Mark went on to become a successful producer, providing the beats for Eminem's "Stan" and Jay-Z's "Hard Knock Life.
  • Miller told Billboard magazine how he had to force I.D. Labs to use DJ Mark's sample. He said: "I was like 'Yo, we got to flip this and do a new version of this. Man, it'd be so dope.' Everyone was like, 'That's one of your corny ideas, man. That's corny.' I was like 'E [E Dans of I.D. Labs], make this beat, please, man. Trust me, just make it. It will be the jam.' So he made it."
  • The song's music video features Mac Miller and his crew dressed as elderly men, complete with mobility scooters and canes. Miller recalled to Billboard magazine: "For the video, I told E, 'we should all be old people.' We decided to do it more tongue in cheek so we went and hit the costume store and got some gray wigs. We all had a blast. The song's called 'Party On Fifth Ave' but rarely do you see a party in the video. It's more [of] the feeling you get. It's an old school sample so I felt like, that's old people, it works."

Comments: 1

  • Med Scooters from CanadaIt is nice with mobility scooters as a setup.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Ian Astbury of The Cult

Ian Astbury of The CultSongwriter Interviews

The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.

Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root

Michael Glabicki of Rusted RootSongwriter Interviews

Michael tells the story of "Send Me On My Way," and explains why some of the words in the song don't have a literal meaning.

Tom Waits Lyrics Quiz

Tom Waits Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

Pool balls, magpies and thorns without roses - how well do you know your Tom Waits lyrics?

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Krishna Das

Krishna DasSongwriter Interviews

The top chant artist in the Western world, Krishna Das talks about how these Hindu mantras compare to Christian worship songs.

Church Lyrics

Church LyricsMusic Quiz

Here is the church, here is the steeple - see if you can identify these lyrics that reference church.