"Don't Phunk with My Heart" (censored as "Don't Mess with My Heart") is a song recorded by American group the Black Eyed Peas for their fourth studio album Monkey Business (2005). It was written by band members will.i.am and Fergie with Printz Board, George Pajon, Jr. and Full Force; will.i.am also produced and engineered the song. The song is a hip hop song in which the lyrics, according to will.i.am, tell of a situation between a couple when one tries to end the relationship and the other is in disbelief. It features compositional samples of songs derived from two Bollywood films of the 1970s, Apradh (1972) and Don (1978), as well as interpolations of Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam's 1985 single "I Wonder If I Take You Home" and Gucci Crew II's 1988 single "Sally (That Girl)", which effectively credited Kalyanji–Anandji, Indeewar and Full Force as songwriters. The song was released as the lead single from Monkey Business on April 5, 2005, by A&M Records and Interscope Records.
"Don't Phunk with My Heart" was received positively by most contemporary music critics, with many of them naming it one of the album's highlights. It was also met with a positive commercial response, peaking at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100–becoming the group's highest-peaking single on the chart at the time–and at number one in Australia, the Czech Republic, Finland, and New Zealand. At the 48th Annual Grammy Awards (2006), it won Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, while receiving a nomination for Best Rap Song. The song's accompanying music video is a parody of game shows, most notably The Price Is Right, The Dating Game, and Love Connection.
Background
"Don't Phunk with My Heart" is one of two songs on Monkey Business that was written by will.i.am and Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas. Additional writers include George Pajon, Jr. and Printz Board.
The song contains samples of several songs: "I Wonder If I Take You Home", written and composed by Full Force, and "Ae Naujawan Sab Kuchh Yahan" and "Yeh Mera Dil Pyaar Ka Diwana", both recorded by Asha Bhosle, composed by Kalyanji Anandji, and with lyrics written by Indeewar. The former of the latter two was featured in the Hindi film Apradh (1972) while the latter was featured in the Hindi film Don (1978).
Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am, in addition to co-writing the song, produced the track on his own while working with Neil Tucker and Tal Herzberg on engineering it. Co-writer Pajon, Jr. contributed guitars while Keith Harris played the drums. "Don't Phunk with My Heart" features a prominent use of several string instruments, which include the electric violin and Mellotron strings, played by Charlie Baccarat and song co-writer Board. It was then mixed by Mark "Spike" Stent and programmed by Herzberg using Pro Tools technology. The song was recorded at Metropolis Studios in Chiswick, London, England and The Record Plant in Los Angeles, California. "Don't Phunk with My Heart" serves as the first single taken from Monkey Business (2005). Interscope Records solicited the song to mainstream radios on April 11, 2005, in the United States.
Composition
"Don't Phunk with My Heart" is a hip-hop song that runs for 4 minutes and 4 seconds. According to the digital music sheet published at Musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group, it is written in a key of F minor. The song is set in common time and runs through a freely moving tempo of 132 beats per minute. will.i.am described the song to be the lyrical sequel to the band's 2003 single "Shut Up" (Elephunk, 2003). He explained: "When you're on bad terms with a significant other, you don't want to break up. You tell her things and at the time you really mean them. But she's saying, stop f****ing with me." Jason King of The Village Voice called the song a "sassy gender duel" between will.i.am and Fergie, while commenting that it is reminiscent of "Shut Up".