 Several musicians and groups noted how the track influenced them including Run-DMC, 2 Live Crew, A Guy Called Gerald, Fatboy Slim and Newcleus.The song has been remixed and re-released several times, has been described as one of the definitive electro songs by AllMusic, and has been voted the third greatest hip hop song by "Rolling Stone".Arthur Baker had moved from Boston to New York in 1981 where he had been DJing, producing and mixing records and working as a music journalist as early as 1976.