Rockit (instrumental)

"Rockit"
Single by Herbie Hancock
from the album Future Shock
B-side
  • Album version (US 7")
  • "Rough" (UK 7")
ReleasedJuly 1983[1]
Studio
  • O.A.O./BC Studio, Gowanus (Brooklyn)
  • RPM Studios (New York City)
  • Hancock's home studio (West Hollywood)
  • Eldorado Studios (Los Angeles)
Genre
Length
  • 5:25 (album version)
  • 3:54 (US single version)
  • 3:37 (UK & Europe single version)
  • 3:22 (video version)
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Bill Laswell
  • Michael Beinhorn
Herbie Hancock singles chronology
"Gettin' to the Good Part"
(1982)
"Rockit"
(1983)
"Autodrive"
(1983)

"Rockit" is a composition recorded by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock and produced by Bill Laswell and Michael Beinhorn. Hancock released it as a single from his studio album Future Shock (1983). The selection was composed by Hancock, Laswell, and Beinhorn.

The track was driven by its deejay scratch style, performed primarily by DXT, and its music video created by Godley & Creme, featuring the robotic art of Jim Whiting, which was put in high rotation on MTV. "Rockit" won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance in 1983, and it won five MTV Video Music Awards in 1984.

  1. ^ Bacon, Tony (2006). Singles. Backbeat UK. p. 206. ISBN 978-1-871547-73-3.
  2. ^ a b Treble Staff (May 11, 2020). "A History of Synth-Pop in 50 Essential Songs". Treble. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  3. ^ Molanphy, Chris (September 15, 2023). "Inset Lyrics Here Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved October 3, 2023.