Wale Samples Shabba Ranks’ ‘Ting A Ling’ On New Song

In another win for 90’s Dancehall, American rapper Wale has sampled the Shabba Ranks classic Ting A Ling (1992) on his new song Name Ring Bells. Produced by Trizzy Track—the mastermind behind Nicki Minaj’s Seeing Green—Name Ring Bells also samples Nicole Wray, Missy Elliott and Mocha’s Make It Hot (1998) for an incredibly illustrious instrumental.

In the three-minute song, which appears as the second track on his new album Folarin II, Wale triumphantly takes aim at his critics while tackling his come up and decorated, decade-long career. “Anyway, you catch me any day/ Sippin’ Hennessey, all of my peeps got heavy chains/ Who name bell ring? Like (Ting-a-ling-a-ling),” he sings on the hook, which includes a high-pitched Shabba sample.

Though the song title reads Name Ring Bells, Wale, who’s of Nigerian heritage, twists the lyrics as he raps in his own take on the Jamaican dialect.  In a recent interview, Wale admitted that he not only grew up on Dancehall, but is still a fan to this day.

“You gotta remember, when we was kids, dancehall was the only alternative to anything hip hop in the parties. Dancehall still going crazy. That stuff is in our blood, them rhythms and stuff. Them patterns, those come from home. That’s why you like it so much, that’s why you adapt to the music, that’s why you feel it,” the On Chill rapper said on Hot 97’s Ebro in The Morning.

“When I made Name Ring Bells, I was just in the zone.” he continued, adding that the song was placed at the top of the tracklist to set a particular tone for the project. “That was very intentional,” Wale told Ebro. “They had to know I’m coming. This don’t sound like nothing that’s out.”

The track also features the Dancehall pioneer’s rude-boy toasting on the outro: “Ting-a-ling a ling, schoolbell a ring, knife and fork ah fight fi dumplin/ Booyaka! Booyaka! Call for Shabba Rankin/ Shabba Ranks jus’ appear and tear anodda man chin.”

Folarin II is Wale’s seventh studio album, and the sequel to his 2012 mixtape.  The rapper is best known for songs like Bad featuring Tiara Thomas, Matrimony featuring Usher, MY P.Y.T., and On Chill featuring Jeremih.

Produced by Steely & Clevie and released in 1992 on their Gigi Riddim, Shabba Ranks’ Ting A Ling is among the era and the genre’s most sampled tracks.

It famously appeared on Patra and Yo-Yo’s Romantic Call, Drake and PARTYNEXTDOOR’s Wednesday Night Interlude, A$AP Ferg and A$AP Rocky’s Shabba, Nicki Minaj’s The Pinkprint Freestyle, Spice‘s Needle Eye, Burna Boy’s Don Gorgon and many more.