Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)

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"). Holland also got inspiration from a time he went to Starbucks and saw the example of a wannabe gangster the song portrays. The “Give it to me baby” verse was done by voice actress Nika Futterman and Heidi Villagran. 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." 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." Given rap culture is the starting point, Holland clarified that it was not an attack on African-Americans, but "posers of any kind", 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.

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." In Australia, it was ranked at number one on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 1998.

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.

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, who went on to cameo in the "Why Don't You Get a Job?" video and occasionally appear at Offspring concerts.

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

Australian CD single

European CD single

UK CD1

UK CD2

Italian 12-inch single

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

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Legacy

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

References

References

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