911 (Gorillaz and D12 song)

"911" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz and American hip-hop group D12 and features guest vocals from The Specials member Terry Hall.^[2] The song was recorded without Eminem during 2001 in West London, when D12 were left stranded in England after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York City.

"911"
Single by Gorillaz and D12 featuring Terry Hall
from the album Bad Company: Music from the Motion Picture
Released	7 December 2001
Recorded	12 September 2001
Studio	Studio 13
Genre	Hip hop^[1]
Length	5:50 (single version) 5:00 (edit)
Label	EMI Parlophone Hollywood
Songwriter(s)	Damon Albarn Jamie Hewlett Terry Hall Denaun Porter Von Carlisle Ondre Moore Rufus Johnson DeShaun Holton
Producer(s)	Gorillaz D12 Tom Girling Jason Cox
Gorillaz singles chronology
"Rock the House" (2001) "911" (2001) "Tomorrow Comes Today" (2002)
D12 singles chronology
"Fight Music" (2001) "911" (2001) "My Band" (2004)
Terry Hall singles chronology
"I Saw the Light" (1997) "911" (2001) "Problem Is" (2003)
Audio
"911" (reupload) on YouTube

Background

The song was recorded without Eminem by Gorillaz and D12^[3] in Damon Albarn's personal studio in West London. The track came about after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City, leaving the band stranded in England; Albarn invited the band to his studio while they were there and played them an early demo of the track. Albarn had always wanted to experiment with Middle-Eastern music, and felt that this song would be perfect. D12 added additional production to the song, before laying down their verses. Terry Hall appears on the song as a vocal harmony with Albarn for the song's chorus. Albarn and Hall had previously spoken about collaborating together, however when Hall revealed that he had been taking singing lessons from a Middle-Eastern singer, it inspired Albarn to take the song in a different direction.

Music video

The video features the same visuals as "Clint Eastwood" and "19-2000", but with a different background. The track features D12 running towards the camera. Terry Hall does not appear in the music video.

Live performances

Played live only twice, at the New York City Hammerstein Ballroom concert of Gorillaz Live in 2002.^[4] The song was also performed with Luton-based rap group, Phi Life Cypher, at the Isle of MTV Festival in Lisbon, Portugal.^[5]

Track listing

1. "911" – 05:50
2. "911" (Clean Version) – 05:50
3. '911' (Short Version Ultra-Clean) – 05:00

Song credits

• Gorillaz – vocals
• Terry Hall – vocals
• Mr. Porter – vocals
• Von Carlisle – vocals
• Ondre Moore – vocals
• Bizarre – vocals
• Proof – vocals
• Tom Girling – engineering, Pro Tools
• Jason Cox – engineering, Pro Tools

References

1. Lifton, Dave (29 June 2018). "GORILLAZ' HIP-HOP HISTORY: REVISITING 27 DARING COLLABORATIONS". The Boombox. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
2. "Gorillaz, D12 Join Forces For '911'". billboard.com. 27 November 2002. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
3. Browne, Cass (2006). Gorillaz: Rise of the Ogre. Riverhead Books. p. 99.
4. "Gorillaz - 911 (Live at Hammerstein Ballroom)". 28 February 2002. Retrieved 25 April 2017 – via YouTube.
5. "Gorillaz - 911 (Live at Isle of MTV)". 20 July 2002. Retrieved 25 April 2017 – via YouTube.