Back in the Day (Ahmad song)

"Back in the Day"
Single by Ahmad
from the album Ahmad
ReleasedMarch 29, 1994
Recorded1993
GenreWest Coast hip hop
Length5:18
LabelGiant/Reprise/Warner Bros. Records
41416
Songwriter(s)
  • Ahmad A. Lewis, Julian Williams,
  • Stefan K. Gordy
Producer(s)
Music video
"Back in the Day" on YouTube

"Back in the Day" is a 1994 single by Ahmad. Released when Ahmad was only 18, the song is a nostalgic remembrance of childhood and young teenage years, from a somewhat jaded adult perspective. "Back in the Day" was Ahmad's only major hit single, making it to number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 19 on the US R&B chart. The song contains a sample of the Teddy Pendergrass song "Love T.K.O."; and it was the first single of his 1994 self-titled album and was RIAA-certified gold.

The TKO Remix of "Back in the Day" (produced By Maurice Thompson of Barr 9 Productions) is featured as the single and on the soundtrack of The Wood, a 1999 motion picture. The song also appears in the 2018 film Tag.[1]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1994) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[2] 64
UK Dance (OCC)[3] 22
US Billboard Hot 100[4] 26
US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[5] 15
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[6] 19
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[7] 3
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[8] 13

Year-end charts

Chart (1994) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[9] 93
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[10] 92

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[11] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Legacy

Mariah Carey's 12th studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, featured an interpolation of "Back in the Day" on the track "Candy Bling". Travie McCoy's debut studio album Lazarus features a song titled "Akidagain" that interpolates "Back in the Day". On J. Cole's mixtape The Come Up, his song "School Daze" also interpolates "Back in the Day". Cassidy did an interpolation of this song entitled "Back in the day". In 2013, Complex added the song in its list of nineteen great songs made by teenage rappers in the last 19 years. Complex editor Kyle Kramer said "The blueprint for many songs by nostalgic teenagers since, "Back in the Day" perfectly captures the wistful vibe of the rearview look with its warm chorus and deeply descriptive verses. As a result, ever since back in the day, the song's been a classic."[12]

References

  1. ^ "Tag (2018) - Soundtrack.Net". www.soundtrack.net. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
  2. ^ "Ahmad: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  3. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  4. ^ "Ahmad Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  5. ^ "Ahmad - Ahmad | Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  6. ^ "Ahmad Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  7. ^ "Ahmad Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  8. ^ "Ahmad Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  9. ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1994". Archived from the original on March 1, 2009. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
  10. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  11. ^ "American single certifications – Ahmad – Back in the Day". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  12. ^ Kramer, Kyle (July 6, 2013). "Nineteen Great Songs Made By Teenage Rappers in the Last 19 Years: Ahmad "Back In the Day" (1994)". Complex. Complex Media. Retrieved October 11, 2014.