Trivia / What's Going On

• Referenced by...: The album has had its fair share of shout-outs throughout the years.
  • "Future Shock", the title track on "Future Shock" by Herbie Hancock, contains the phrase "What's Going On?"
  • The phrase "What's Going On?" in "Fugee-La-La", off The Fugees' The Score, also references the album.
  • Janelle Monáe's "Q.U.E.E.N." references the album with the line "I'm tired of Marvin asking me what's going on".
  • The Title Track of David Bowie's 1993 album Black Tie White Noise includes the phrase "what's going on?" as a reference to the Gaye album and its themes of social commentary; the Bowie song is a reflection on the 1992 Los Angeles race riots, which were seen as vivid proof of What's Going On's continuing relevancy in the years after its release.
  • The Commodores use the phrase "what's going on?" in their 1985 hit single "Nightshift," which was released in tribute to Gaye after his death the previous year.

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