You know the voice. It’s booming, authoritative, and honestly, a little bit intimidating. It’s that massive shout of "I've got the power!" that has soundtracked every sporting event, movie trailer, and 90s throwback party for the last three decades. But if you try to figure out who sings the song I got the power, the answer is actually a lot more complicated than just one name on a record sleeve.
It wasn't a solo artist. It wasn't even a traditional "band" in the way we think of them.
The track, officially titled "The Power," was released in 1990 by a German Eurodance group called Snap!. But here’s the kicker: the person you see in the music video isn't the person singing that famous hook. In fact, the history of this song is a wild mix of legal battles, uncredited samples, and a bit of lip-syncing drama that would make Milli Vanilli blush.
The Mystery Behind the Voice
When "The Power" first exploded onto the scene, the face of the group was a rapper named Turbo B (Maurice Durron Butler) and a singer named Penny Ford. If you watch the original music video, Penny is the one moving her lips to that iconic powerhouse vocal.
But it wasn’t her.
The original vocal sample—the one that defined the entire track—actually belongs to an American R&B singer named Jocelyn Brown. The producers of Snap!, Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti (working under the pseudonyms Benito Benites and John "Virgo" Garrett III), basically swiped the line from Brown's 1985 song "Love's Gonna Get You." Sampling was the Wild West back then. They didn't ask. They didn't pay. They just took that soaring "I've got the power!" line and layered it over a heavy hip-house beat.
Why Jocelyn Brown Didn't Get the Credit Initially
It’s kind of a sad story, honestly. Because the sample was unauthorized, Jocelyn Brown didn't see a dime of the initial royalties from a song that went Number 1 in the UK and Top 5 in the US. The producers had also sampled a rap from Chill Rob G’s "Let the Words Flow."
When the song started getting huge, the legal threats started flying.
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To avoid a total meltdown, Snap! had to scramble. They re-recorded the rap sections with Turbo B to replace the Chill Rob G samples. However, they kept the Jocelyn Brown vocal sample because, let’s be real, no one else could hit it quite like that. Eventually, legal settlements were reached, but for years, if you asked who sings the song I got the power, people would mistakenly point to Penny Ford.
Penny is a phenomenal singer in her own right. She actually sang on other Snap! hits like "Oops Up." But for "The Power," she was essentially "ghost-syncing" a sample of a woman who wasn't even in the room.
The Recipe for a 90s Anthem
What made this song so inescapable? It wasn’t just the vocal. It was the "snapping" sound—hence the group's name—and that gritty, industrial drum loop.
The drums were sampled from "King of the Beats" by Mantronix. If you’re keeping count, that’s at least three different major artists whose work was stitched together to create one "new" song. This is the essence of early 90s dance music. It was a collage.
- The Hook: Jocelyn Brown's powerhouse belt.
- The Rap: Turbo B's aggressive, deep-voiced verses.
- The Beat: Mantronix’s breakbeat.
- The Vibe: Pure German techno-production.
Turbo B's contribution shouldn't be overlooked, though. His delivery of lines like "Quality I possess, and some say I’m fresh" gave the track a ruggedness that helped it cross over from dance clubs to mainstream radio. He hated the song at first, by the way. He reportedly thought it was too "pop," which is hilarious considering it became his legacy.
The Many Versions of Snap!
The lineup of Snap! changed more times than a chameleon in a bag of Skittles. After Turbo B and Penny Ford, the group rotated through several different vocalists, including Thea Austin (who sang "Rhythm is a Dancer") and Niki Haris.
This creates a lot of confusion for fans trying to identify who sings the song I got the power during live performances. If you see Snap! performing today, it might be Penny Ford on stage, finally singing the part she once mimed. Or it might be a different vocalist entirely.
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A Quick Reality Check on the Lyrics
People often mishear the lyrics. Aside from the main hook, there’s a line in the intro that sounds like gibberish to many English speakers. It’s actually Russian: "Американская фирма Transceptor Technology приступила к производству компьютеров 'Персональный спутник'."
Translation? "The American company Transceptor Technology has started production of 'Personal Companion' computers."
Why? Because the producers thought it sounded "techy" and cool. It had absolutely nothing to do with the song’s theme of empowerment. It was just 1990, and Russian tech talk felt futuristic.
The Legacy of "The Power"
Why does this song still work?
It’s the tension. That long, synthesized intro builds and builds until the beat drops and Jocelyn Brown's voice shatters the silence. It’s a shot of adrenaline.
It has been covered and sampled by everyone from H-Blockx to Chill Rob G (who released his own version to reclaim his rap). It’s been in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Bruce Almighty, and roughly ten thousand car commercials.
How to Tell Who is Actually Singing
If you're listening to the radio today, you’re almost certainly hearing the version with:
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- Jocelyn Brown on the "I've got the power" hook.
- Turbo B on the rap verses.
- Penny Ford (sometimes) providing backing vocals or appearing in the video.
If you hear a version where the rap is different—specifically with more "old school" flow—you might be listening to the rare original version featuring Chill Rob G, which was quickly pulled from shelves due to those pesky copyright issues.
Actionable Takeaways for Music Nerds
If you’re looking to explore this sound further or use it in your own creative projects, here is how you should handle the history of this track:
Check the Credits Properly
Don't just trust Spotify or YouTube titles. If you are a DJ or content creator, acknowledge Jocelyn Brown as the vocalist. She is a legend of house and R&B, and she deserves the recognition that was withheld from her in 1990.
Understand the Legal Evolution
"The Power" is a case study in why the music industry changed its sampling laws. If you are an aspiring producer, let this be a lesson: clear your samples first. Snap! got lucky and became a global sensation, but they also spent a significant portion of their earnings on legal settlements.
Differentiate the "Snap! Sound"
If you like "The Power," you’ll likely enjoy the "Eurodance" genre, but don't expect it all to sound like this. "The Power" was unique because it leaned heavily on hip-hop. For a more "pure" dance experience from the same group, listen to "Rhythm is a Dancer," which features Thea Austin and has a much more melodic, trance-like feel.
Support the Original Artists
Go back and listen to Jocelyn Brown’s "Love's Gonna Get You." You’ll hear the exact moment at the 2:43 mark where Snap! took the sample. Hearing it in its original context—a soulful, groovy R&B track—gives you a whole new appreciation for how a single vocal line can be transformed into a global stadium anthem.
The story of who sang "The Power" is really the story of the 1990s music industry: messy, collaborative, a little bit shady, but undeniably electric. Next time you hear it, you'll know exactly whose lungs are behind that legendary shout.
Next Steps for Music Discovery:
To see how this vocal style evolved, look up the "Powerhouse Vocalists" of the 90s, specifically Martha Wash and Loleatta Holloway. Like Jocelyn Brown, these women provided the uncredited "voice" for dozens of dance hits, often while models or other performers took the spotlight in the music videos. Understanding their contribution is the first step to becoming a true connoisseur of electronic music history.