"No Sex (in the Champagne Room)" is a
comedicComedy as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse generally intended to amuse, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in Ancient Greece...
spoken wordSpoken word is a form of literary art or artistic performance in which lyrics, poetry, or stories are spoken rather than sung. The category of spoken-word that is often done with a musical background is performance poetry...
track released by
Chris RockChristopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted by Comedy Central as the fifth greatest stand-up comedian of all time....
on his 1999 album,
Bigger & BlackerBigger & Blacker is an album by Chris Rock, originally released on July 13 1999, on the Dreamworks label. The album features live, stand-up comedy tracks recorded for an HBO special at the Apollo Theater in Harlem and studio-recorded comic sketches, featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard, Biz Markie, Gerald...
. Intended as a
parodyA parody , in contemporary usage, is a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of
Baz LuhrmannMark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is a Golden Globe and Academy award-nominated Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy.- Personal life :...
's "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)", Rock gives one-line tidbits of advice purportedly aimed at "the
GEDGeneral Educational Development tests are a group of five subject tests which, when passed, certify that the taker has American or Canadian high school-level academic skills...
class of 1999".
For example, Rock says:
- If a woman tells you she's 20/and looks 16/she's 12
- If she tells you she's 26/and looks 26/she's damn near 40
He also contends:
- If a homeless
Homelessness is the condition and social category of people who don't have a regular house or dwelling because they cannot afford, pay for, or are otherwise unable to maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or they lack "fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence" The actual legal...
person/has a funny sign/he hasn't been homeless that long
- A real homeless person/is too hungry/to be funny
...
- No one goes to Hooters
Hooters is the trade name of two privately held American restaurant chains: Hooters of America, Incorporated, based in Atlanta, Georgia, and Hooters, Incorporated, based in Clearwater, Florida....
for wings
...
- Cornbread
Cornbread is a generic name for any number of quick breads containing cornmeal.-History:...
.
"No Sex (in the Champagne Room)" is a
comedicComedy as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse generally intended to amuse, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in Ancient Greece...
spoken wordSpoken word is a form of literary art or artistic performance in which lyrics, poetry, or stories are spoken rather than sung. The category of spoken-word that is often done with a musical background is performance poetry...
track released by
Chris RockChristopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted by Comedy Central as the fifth greatest stand-up comedian of all time....
on his 1999 album,
Bigger & BlackerBigger & Blacker is an album by Chris Rock, originally released on July 13 1999, on the Dreamworks label. The album features live, stand-up comedy tracks recorded for an HBO special at the Apollo Theater in Harlem and studio-recorded comic sketches, featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard, Biz Markie, Gerald...
. Intended as a
parodyA parody , in contemporary usage, is a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of
Baz LuhrmannMark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is a Golden Globe and Academy award-nominated Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy.- Personal life :...
's "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)", Rock gives one-line tidbits of advice purportedly aimed at "the
GEDGeneral Educational Development tests are a group of five subject tests which, when passed, certify that the taker has American or Canadian high school-level academic skills...
class of 1999".
For example, Rock says:
- If a woman tells you she's 20/and looks 16/she's 12
- If she tells you she's 26/and looks 26/she's damn near 40
He also contends:
- If a homeless
Homelessness is the condition and social category of people who don't have a regular house or dwelling because they cannot afford, pay for, or are otherwise unable to maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or they lack "fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence" The actual legal...
person/has a funny sign/he hasn't been homeless that long
- A real homeless person/is too hungry/to be funny
...
- No one goes to Hooters
Hooters is the trade name of two privately held American restaurant chains: Hooters of America, Incorporated, based in Atlanta, Georgia, and Hooters, Incorporated, based in Clearwater, Florida....
for wings
...
- Cornbread
Cornbread is a generic name for any number of quick breads containing cornmeal.-History:...
. Ain't nothin' wrong with that.
...
- If you go to a movie theater and someone steps on your foot, let it slide. Why spend the next twenty years in jail cause' someone smudged your Puma
PUMA AG Rudolf Dassler Sport is a large German multinational company that produces high-end athletic shoes, lifestyle footwear and other sportswear....
.
...
- No matter what a stripper tells you, there is no sex in the champagne room.
Other targets of Rock's wit include parties with
metal detectorA metal detector is a device which uses electromagnetic induction to detect metal.The simplest form of a metal detector consists of an oscillator producing an alternating current that passes through a coil producing an alternating magnetic field...
s,
Ol' Dirty BastardRussell Tyrone Jones was an American rapper and occasional producer, who went by the stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard . He was one of the founding members of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan.Ol' Dirty Bastard simultaneously brought a measure of humor and a touch of the absurd to the Wu-Tang Clan...
and
CoolioArtis Leon Ivey, Jr. , better known by the stage name Coolio, is a Grammy Award-winning American rapper and actor. He rose to fame in 1994 with his debut single "Fantastic Voyage", and later in 1995 with the hit single "Gangsta's Paradise", which appeared on the soundtrack for the film Dangerous...
, horoscopes, people with
tongue piercingA body piercing through the tongue, usually directly through its center, is one of most popular piercing sites in the western world. Only the ear is more popular.-History and culture:...
s, and "that silly-ass hat". The chorus is sung by
Gerald LevertGerald Levert was an American R&B singer. Gerald Levert sang with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon in the R&B trio LeVert. He was also a part of LSG, an R&B supergroup comprising Keith Sweat, Johnny Gill, and Levert...
, who also makes some responses timed to Rock's remarks. When Rock suggests that a girl with a pierced tongue will "probably suck your dick," Levert sings "That'd be great!" Rock continues to observe that a guy with a pierced tongue will also "probably suck your dick," to which Levert responds "Don't want that, noooooo."
The most recognizable feature of the song may be the chorus, repeated several times, affirming that "no matter what a stripper tells you/There's no sex in the Champagne Room." This line was later quoted by
Wyclef JeanWyclef Neluset Jean is a multiplatinum Haitian-American musician, actor, producer and former-member of the hip hop trio The Fugees...
in his own missive on exotic dancers, "
Perfect Gentleman"Perfect Gentleman" is the fourth track released from Wyclef Jean's 2000 album The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book. It is sometimes referred to as "The Stripper song."...
".
It is also referenced in the remix to Pop Champagne by Juelz Santana.
Just as "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" has been compared to "
Desiderata"Desiderata" is an inspirational prose poem by Max Ehrmann about attaining happiness in life. It begins: Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. Ehrmann first copyrighted it in 1927, but it was widely circulated in the 1960s without attribution...
," so might Rock's parody be considered a 1990s update of the
National LampoonNational Lampoon, Inc. is a company formed in 2002 in order to use the recognized brand name "National Lampoon" in comedy and entertainment....
's
Deteriorata"Deteriorata" is a famous parody of San Francisco radio and television personality Les Crane's spoken word recording of Desiderata. It was written by Tony Hendra and recorded by National Lampoon as part of their National Lampoon Radio Dinner album of 1972.The parody earned a great deal of cultural...
.
Rock's song received frequent play on the radio, and as a
music videoA music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music/song. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Although the origins of music videos go back much further, they came into their own in the...
on
MTVMTV is a cable television network based in New York City and launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs...
, where it ranked 43rd on
TRLTotal Request Live was the flagship television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
's "Top 99 of '99" after premiering on July 13, 1999.