Free Your Mind

"Free Your Mind" is the name of a Grammy Award-nominated hit single released by the all-female R&B group En Vogue in September 24, 1992 from their critically-acclaimed album Funky Divas. The anti-prejudice rock-oriented song reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number sixteen on the UK Singles Chart.

"Free Your Mind" debuted at number eighty-nine on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 the week of September 12, 1992. Within one week, it jumped to number forty-five, then to number twenty-five, and continued to make impressive strides until it eventually peaked at number eight the week of October 31, 1992. Altogether, "Free Your Mind" spent sixteen weeks in the top forty of the Billboard Hot 100.

This song is featured on DANCE! Online, a multiplayer online casual rhythm game.

Song information

"Free Your Mind" was released due to the 1992 uprising that took place in Los Angeles, California from April 29 to May 4, 1992 following the acquittal of the police officers who had beaten Rodney King.

The song is known for its award-winning music video, directed by Mark Romanek. "Free Your Mind" used the chorus line of a George Clinton song with his permission.^{[citation needed]} It was certified gold by the RIAA in late 1992. It is one of several songs to feature all four members of the group on lead vocals.

The opening line: "Prejudice, wrote a song about it. Like to hear it? Here it go!", is adapted from a line originally used by David Alan Grier's character Calhoun Tubbs from FOX's In Living Color.

On January 21, 1993, En Vogue performed the song on a sixth-season episode of the NBC sitcom A Different World (where they guest-starred as Vernon Gaines' nieces).

Janet Jackson included the video in the Countdown of her twenty-five favorite videos of all-time at number eleven.[1]

The track has been included in Les Mills' most recent BodyVive class.

The guitar and bass tracks for the song were written and recorded by now San Francisco-based guitarist Jinx Jones (http://www.jinxjones.com/jinxjones.html).

The song was covered by The Band on their 1996 album High on the Hog.

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards of 1993

• Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group (nominated)
• Best Music Video, Short Form (nominated)

MTV Video Music Awards 1993

• Video of the Year (nominated)
• Best Group Video (nominated)
• Best R&B Video (won)
• Best Dance Video (won)
• Viewer's Choice Award (nominated)
• Best Direction – Mark Romanek (nominated)
• Best Choreography – Travis Payne, Frank Gatson, and Lavelle Smith (won)
• Best Cinematography – (nominated)

Charts

See also

• 1992 Los Angeles riots
• 1992 in music

References

External links

• Listen to the song at Amazon.com