Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)

"Give it to me baby" redirects here. For the song by Rick James, see Give It to Me Baby.

"Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" is a song by American rock band the Offspring. It is the fourth track from the band's fifth studio album, Americana (1998), and was released as its first single in November 1998. The song peaked at number 53 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number five on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and number three on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. It was successful internationally, reaching number one in 10 countries, including Australia, where it stayed at number one for six weeks and was certified quadruple platinum.

"Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)"
Standard artwork
Single by the Offspring
from the album Americana
B-side	"No Brakes" "All I Want" (live)
Released	November 9, 1998 (1998-11-09)
Genre	Punk rap[1] pop-punk[2] alternative rock[3]
Length	3:07
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Dexter Holland Steve Clark Joe Elliott Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Producer(s)	Dave Jerden
The Offspring singles chronology
"I Choose" (1997) "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" (1998) "Why Don't You Get a Job?" (1999)
Music video
"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" on YouTube

The song appears as the seventh track on the Offspring's 2005 Greatest Hits album. It was parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic in "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi".

Composition and lyrics

Beginning with a sample of the pseudo-German nonsense phrase "Gunter glieben glauchen globen" from Def Leppard's 1983 song "Rock of Ages", chanted as a replacement for the traditional "1, 2, 3, 4" to start the recording, the song ridicules a "wannabe gangsta" who is immersed in hip-hop culture, not because he truly loves or understands it but because it is trendy, makes him feel tough ("Friends say he's tryin' too hard, and he's not quite hip/But in his own mind, he's the, he's the dopest trip") and because he believes it attracts women ("and all the girlies say I'm pretty fly, for a white guy"). The “Give it to me baby” verse was done by voice actress Nika Futterman.^[4]

As summed up by Dexter Holland, the people described in the lyrics "are from, like, Omaha, Nebraska, regular white-bread boys, but who act like they're from Compton. It's so fake and obvious that they're trying to have an identity."^[5] Holland detailed that he meets many teenagers like those in his native Orange County, "going to the mall, where they buy FUBU, Tommy Hilfiger, and Ice Cube's latest record."^[6] Given rap culture is the starting point, Holland clarified that it was not an attack on African-Americans, but "poseurs of any kind",^[7] but without wanting "to be preachy about it... We're getting amusement out of it more than anything else."^[8] When asked about the musical similarities with the Offspring's previous hit "Come Out and Play", Holland said he expected comparisons but added that the band attempted to "take it further than ‘Come Out and Play’", with a particular focus on more percussion.^[9]

Critical reception

Daily Record commented that on "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)", the band "has obviously been inspired by early-Beastie Boys and Run DMC songs."^[10] In Australia, it was ranked at number one on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 1998.^[11]

Music video

The music video for the song, directed by McG, begins with the "white guy" and some girls singing the opening lines, and Offspring guitarist Noodles walking on the pavement with his guitar, playing the introductory riff. The "white guy" drives through town in his lowrider and tries to act cool in front of African-Americans, playing with his car's hydraulic system and interrupting a break dance session to dance himself. He is then carried by a group of girls to a pool party and thrown into the pool. He jumps out of the pool and finds some bikini clad dancers in front of him. These scenes are cut with the band playing. The video ends with the "white guy" returning home and scaring his little sister, who is wearing a fairy costume, because of his dishevelled appearance.^{[citation needed]}

According to Dexter Holland, the band wanted Seth Green to play the "white guy" but he was unavailable. After seeing an audition tape with "five unknowns", they settled on Israeli actor Guy Cohen,^[12] who went on to cameo in the "Why Don't You Get a Job?" video and occasionally appear at Offspring concerts.^[7]

DVD appearances

The music video also appears on the Complete Music Video Collection DVD. It was released in 2005. The DVD also contains a storyboard version of the video, in which the storyboard plays over top of the music video.

Track listings

US 7-inch single and UK cassette single^[13][14][15]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)"	3:08
2.	"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" (The Geek mix)	3:01

Australian CD single^[16]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)"
2.	"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" (The Geek mix)
3.	"No Brakes"

European CD single^[17]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" (album version)	3:08
2.	"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" (The Geek mix)	3:07

UK CD1^[18]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)"	3:08
2.	"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" (The Baka Boyz remix)	3:01
3.	"No Brakes"	2:02

UK CD2^[19]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)"	3:08
2.	"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" (The Geek mix)	3:01
3.	"All I Want" (live)	2:02

Italian 12-inch single^[20]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)"	3:08
2.	"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" (The Geek mix)	3:07
3.	"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" (The Baka Boys remix)	3:01
4.	"All I Want" (live)	2:02

Personnel

The Offspring

• Dexter Holland – vocals, guitar
• Noodles – guitar, backing vocals
• Greg K. – bass
• Ron Welty – drums

Additional musicians

• Chris "X-13" Higgins – additional vocals
• Heidi Villagran and Nika Frost – additional vocals

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1998–1999) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[21] 1 Australia Alternative (ARIA)[22] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[23] 2 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[24] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[25] 3 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[26] 9 Denmark (Tracklisten)[27] 2 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[28] 2 European Radio Top 50 (Music & Media)[29] 14 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[30] 1 France (SNEP)[31] 10 Germany (GfK)[32] 2 Greece (IFPI)[33] 1 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[34] 24 Ireland (IRMA)[35] 1 Italy (Musica e dischi)[33] 1 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[36] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[37] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[38] 1 Quebec (ADISQ)[39] 36 Scotland (OCC)[40] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[41] 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[42] 4 UK Singles (OCC)[43] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[44] 53 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[45] 3 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[46] 5 US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[47] 13 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[48] 31

Year-end charts Chart (1998) Position Australia (ARIA)[49] 16 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[50] 54 US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)[51] 85 US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[52] 76 Chart (1999) Position Australia (ARIA)[53] 5 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[54] 10 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[55] 8 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[56] 31 Brazil (Crowley)[57] 88 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[58] 93 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[59] 8 France (SNEP)[60] 47 Germany (Official German Charts)[61] 18 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[62] 15 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[63] 10 Romania (Romanian Top 100)[64] 12 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[65] 5 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[66] 16 UK Singles (OCC)[67][68] 30 US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)[69] 31 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[70] 52 US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[69] 21

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[71]	4× Platinum	280,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[72]	Gold	25,000*
Belgium (BRMA)[73]	Platinum	50,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[74]	Gold	45,000‡
France (SNEP)[75]	Silver	125,000*
Germany (BVMI)[76]	Gold	250,000^
Italy (FIMI)[77]	Gold	25,000‡
Netherlands (NVPI)[78]	Gold	50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[79]	Platinum	30,000‡
Norway (IFPI Norway)[80]	2× Platinum
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[81]	Gold	30,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[82]	3× Platinum	90,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[83]	Platinum	600,000^
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	October 6, 1998	Mainstream rock modern rock radio	Columbia	[84]
Europe	November 9, 1998	CD		[32]
United States	November 17, 1998	Contemporary hit radio		[85]
United Kingdom	January 18, 1999	CD cassette		[86]

Legacy

• The song was parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic as "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi".