Cosby Sweater
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| "Cosby Sweater" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Hilltop Hoods | ||||
| from the album Walking Under Stars | ||||
| B-side | "Won't Let You Down" | |||
| Released | 26 October 2014 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 3:37[1] | |||
| Label | Universal Music Australia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Demetrius Christopholus, Barry Francis, John Kelman, Matthew Lambert, Daniel Smith | |||
| Hilltop Hoods singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Cosby Sweater" is a song by Australian hip hop group, Hilltop Hoods. It was released as the third single from the group's seventh studio album, Walking Under Stars (2014). In Australia, "Cosby Sweater" peaked at No. 4 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, becoming Hilltop Hoods' highest-charting single to date and their third top ten hit overall.[2] The song was rated number three in Triple J's Hottest 100 2014. The song's accompanying music video was released on 3 October 2014 via the Australian iTunes Store.[3]
Reference to popular culture[edit]
The track's distinctive riff heavily samples the Wimple Winch track "Save My Soul".
The "Cosby Sweater" is a reference to the colourful and unusual sweaters Bill Cosby used to wear on TV - in particular, such a sweater worn in a press photo by The Notorious B.I.G., AKA Biggie Smalls. In the title and art direction, the Hilltop Hoods confuse the Bill Cosby sweaters designed by Koos Van Den Akker and worn by Cosby on his show The Cosby Show with the similarly expressive Coogi sweater worn by The Notorious B.I.G.[4]
Later, with the sexual assault allegations involving Cosby the group have since stated that they regret naming the song after him and commented:
“To be honest we regret name checking Bill Cosby. Like some of you we’ve only recently become aware of the allegations against him. If he’s guilty of those allegations he can go jump in a fkn lake. A deep icy lake.”.[5]
The song also references actor Tom Cruise, television host Oprah Winfrey, singers Christina Aguilera and Pat Benatar, chess prodigy Bobby Fischer and the elevator fight between rapper Jay Z and Beyoncé’s sister, Solange Knowles (“slap a rapper like Solange Knowles”).[5]
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cosby Sweater" (Trials remix) | 3:37 |
| 2. | "Won't Let You Down" (featuring Maverick Sabre) | 4:27 |
Charts[edit]
| Chart (2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[6] | 4 |
| Australian Urban (ARIA)[7] | 1 |
Year-end charts[edit]
| Chart (2014) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[8] | 47 |
| Chart (2015) | Position |
| Australia (ARIA)[9] | 66 |
| Australia Urban (ARIA)[10] | 13 |
Decade-end charts[edit]
| Chart (2010–2019) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[11] | 100 |
| Australian Artist Singles (ARIA)[11] | 13 |
Certifications[edit]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[12] | 9× Platinum | 630,000‡ |
| ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References[edit]
- ^ "iTunes – Walking Under Stars by Hilltop Hoods". itunes.apple.com. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- ^ "Hilltop Hoods – Cosby Sweater (song)". australiancharts.com. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- ^ "Cosby Sweater Music Video (iTunes)". itunes.apple.com. January 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- ^ Lockwood, Rosemary Feitelberg,Lisa; Feitelberg, Rosemary; Lockwood, Lisa (4 February 2015). "Koos Van Den Akker Dies at 75". WWD. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Unfortunate Cosby song 'not about a sex act'".
- ^ "Hilltop Hoods – Cosby Sweater". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
- ^ "The ARIA Report - Issue #1290" ARIA Top 40 Urban Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ^ "End of Year Charts – ARIA Top 100 Singles 2014". ARIA Charts. Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ "ARIA Top 100 Urban Singles 2015". ARIA. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ^ a b "2019 ARIA End of Decade Singles Chart". ARIA. January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2021 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
