Synopsis

Cibo Matto perform amid a deliberately artificial, chaotic landscape populated by oversized props and a giant chicken puppet. The bird lurches through the set with a wind-up, almost cartoon-like energy while the duo deliver the song's funky, rap-inflected commands. The video builds toward a collision between the chicken and a wire tower, turning the band's food-centered surrealism into a miniature piece of anarchic performance art.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was released in 1996, during the promotional cycle for Cibo Matto's debut album, "Viva! La Woman." The song had first appeared as a single in 1995 and was reissued in July 1996.

• The giant chicken was performed by Joey Garfield, who later recalled the role while discussing his other work in oversized creature costumes.

• The chicken's collision with a wire-tower prop became an incidental point of connection with the Beastie Boys' "Intergalactic": the same performer and prop were involved in both productions.

• Contemporary commentary described the clip as a collision of an arty soap opera and a deliberately rough rap video, with visual references to wind-up toys, anarchy, and the realities behind the food people eat.

• "Viva! La Woman" established Cibo Matto's recurring food imagery. The band's name is an Italian phrase meaning "crazy food," while the album also includes songs titled "Beef Jerky," "Birthday Cake," "White Pepper Ice Cream," and "Artichoke."

• The album version of "Know Your Chicken" features Bernie Worrell, the Parliament-Funkadelic keyboardist, as a guest musician.

• The video helped make Cibo Matto a recognizable MTV-era act alongside the more formally experimental video for "Sugar Water."