Daryl Hall and John Oates have launched the “I Can Go For That” contest, a play off of their 1982 hit “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do),” which was resampled and turned into “Say No Go,” an anti-drug hit for rap group De La Soul in 1989.
Fans of the group must submit a homemade video, lip-synching the words to any of the songs Hall and Oates have released during their 35-plus-year career to enter the contest.
The winner will be judged on “creativity, originality and visual aesthetic.”
The grand prize is a trip to see the RIAA-certified best-selling duo of all-time perform live at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday, Sept. 8.
Hall and Oates is one of the earliest pop groups to allow rappers to sample their works and according to Daryl Hall, he has been a long time supporter of Hip-Hop music.
“I have gratitude for De La Soul, because they were the first to sample one of our songs,” Hall told AllHipHop.com exclusively. “Whenever my music gets sampled by a Hip-Hop artist, I’m always flattered.”
Hall and Oates have dubbed their brand of music “Rock and Soul” and “I Can’t Go For That” hit #1 on Billboard’s R&B and Pop charts upon its release in 1982.
The group embraced the early electronic sounds being used in Hip-Hop in hit songs like “I Can’t Go For That,” “One on One” and others and their roots in urban music stretch back to the 1960’s.
Both Hall and Oates were members of various Philadelphia based soul groups, which included Hall’s stint with The Romeos, a shortlived 1960’s group that featured R&B architects Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Thom Bell.
De La Soul’s#### “Say No Go” was released seven years after the original version and helped introduce Hall and Oates’ music to new group listeners.
“Most people don’t know that the first format that embraced my music was Urban Radio,” Hall told AllHipHop.com. “So, having Hip-Hop artists sample me is like coming back home.”
Hall said the idea for the “I Can Go For That” contest was launched when a sexy video of a user named suicidegirl lip synching their 1982 smash “Maneater” hit YouTube and was viewed over a half-a-million times.
Submitted videos must be under 5 minutes in length, and cannot contain nudity, obscenity, racially offensive material or illegal activities, with entrieslimited to one per person.
For more information visit www.hallandoates.com.