O.P.P. (song)
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"O.P.P." is a song by American
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
group Naughty by Nature, released in August 1991 by
Tommy Boy ''Tommy Boy'' is a 1995 American buddy comedy film directed by Peter Segal, written by Bonnie and Terry Turner, produced by Lorne Michaels, and starring soon-to-be former ''Saturday Night Live'' castmates and close friends Chris Farley and D ...
as the lead single from the group's self-titled second album (1991). It was one of the first
rap Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...
songs to become a
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
hit when it reached No. 6 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart. Rodd Houston and
Marcus Raboy Marcus Raboy (born November 30, 1965) is an American film director, film and music video director. Since the early 1990s, Raboy has amassed a large number music video credits directing music videos for Mary J. Blige, Dixie Chicks, Rihanna, Lu ...
directed the music video for the song. Its declaration, "Down wit' O.P.P." was a popular catchphrase in the US in the early 1990s. The song was a hugely successful single; ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' magazine named it one of the greatest singles of the 1990s, offering a brief verdict with the
rhetorical question A rhetorical question is a question asked for a purpose other than to obtain information. In many cases it may be intended to start a discourse, as a means of displaying or emphasizing the speaker's or author's opinion on a topic. A simple example ...
, "Ever wonder where Puffy came from?" It also made some media outlets' lists of one of the best rap songs of all time: including ''
The Source The Source may refer to: Film and television * ''The Source'' (1918 film), 1918 American drama directed by George Melford * ''The Source'' (1999 film), a 1999 documentary film about the Beat generation * ''The Source'' (2002 film), a 2002 scienc ...
'',
VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...
(No. 22), and ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' (No. 80). The song was also ranked No. 20 in VH1's "40 Greatest Hip Hop Songs of the '90s" in 2012 and No. 96 in ''Billboard'' magazine's "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time" in 2023.


Content

The song samples
Melvin Bliss Melvin McClelland (June 1, 1945-July 26, 2010) was a rhythm and blues singer known for his 1973 song " Reward/Synthetic Substitution", the B-side of which was heavily sampled
' "
Synthetic Substitution "Synthetic Substitution" is a 1973 song by Melvin Bliss. Originally starting life as a throwaway B-side, with "Reward" as the A-Side, the song failed to chart anywhere on its initial release because of the collapse of Opal Productions, the parent c ...
" and
The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...
's "
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
". Its lyrics concern sexual infidelity, with "O.P.P." standing for "other people's pussy" and "other people's penis".
Treach Anthony Shawn Criss (born December 2, 1970), better known by his stage name Treach, is an American rapper and actor. He is perhaps best known as the lead rapper of the hip hop group Naughty by Nature. Early life, family and education Criss atte ...
told in an interview with ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', "'O.P.P.' is about crazy messing with other people's girls. Everybody knows about that, girls messing, guys messing, you know the bit. It goes on, so everybody could relate, the fellas and the girls, and it's got a hook for the party and everybody can crazy groove to it."Watrous, Peter (August 14, 1991). "The Pop Life". ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''.


Critical reception

Upon the single release,
Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...
from ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' remarked that here, the act drops samples of the
Jackson Five The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Tito ...
's "
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
" onto "a rousing hip-hop beat-base. Anthemic rhymes are icing on the cake. Have a taste." James Bernard from ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' described it as "a sly, body-rocking tune with a melodic pop hook and plenty of cute double entendres". Dennis Hunt from ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' viewed it as a "lively, lewd hit single", "which is cleverly constructed on the framework of the Jackson 5’s bubble-gum soul classic".
David Bennun David Bennun (born 1968) is an English writer, journalist and music critic. Career Bennun started his career in music journalism in the 1990s. Notable publications he has written for include ''Melody Maker'', ''The Guardian'' and ''The Quie ...
from ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' called it "a genitally-fixated rap on the joys of infidelity". A reviewer from ''
Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...
'' felt "It's further proof of the new direction in rap heading more towards a normal pop song. The combination of the piano hook and the female backup makes this funky rhyme memorable." Peter Watrous from ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' wrote, "There are a couple of signs that "O.P.P.", an old-fashioned cheating song by Naughty by Nature ..is shaping up as one of the summer's hits on local streets. The first indication is the sound of "O.P.P" coming from the back of Jeeps; the second is that bootleg T-shirts advertising the band—Trech (Trech Criss), Vin Rock (Vinnie Brown) and Kay Gee (Keir Gist) -- are being sold all over lower
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
." Johnny Lee from ''
Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...
'' declared the song as "everso jumpy".
Scott Poulson-Bryant Scott Poulson-Bryant is an American journalist and author. One of the co-founding editors of ''Vibe'' magazine in 1992 (and the editor who gave the magazine its name), Poulson-Bryant's journalism, profiles, reviews, and essays have appeared in ...
from ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' said, "I'm definitely down with "O.P.P."—you will be too."


Retrospective response

German rock and pop culture magazine '' Spex'' included "O.P.P." in their "The Best Singles of the Century" list in 1999. In a 2021 retrospective review, Jesse Ducker from Albumism said about the song, "It's one of the most light-hearted songs about infidelity this side of
Clarence Carter Clarence George Carter (born January 14, 1936) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. His most successful songs include "Slip Away (Clarence Carter song), Slip Away", "Back Door Santa" (both released 1968), "Patches (Ch ...
's " Back Door Santa", as
Treach Anthony Shawn Criss (born December 2, 1970), better known by his stage name Treach, is an American rapper and actor. He is perhaps best known as the lead rapper of the hip hop group Naughty by Nature. Early life, family and education Criss atte ...
gleefully lists the virtues of engaging in sexual congress with someone else's girl." Stanton Swihart of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
felt it's "a song that somehow managed the trick of being both audaciously catchy and subversively coy at the same time." He added, "Its irrepressible appeal was so widespread, in fact, that it played just as well to the hardcore heads in the hood as it did to the
hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
dabblers in the suburbs." Jean Rosenbluth from
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
stated, "The fabulously wicked chant "O.P.P." masterfully captured hip-hop's silly side even better than that genre's prime exponent,
Digital Underground Digital Underground is an American alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California. Its lineup grows with each album and tour. Digital Underground's leader and mainstay was Gregory "Shock G" Jacobs (also known as Humpty Hump). Shock G forme ...
." In October 2023, ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' magazine ranked it number 96 in their "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time", saying, "Three decades later, all it takes is the opening piano plinks to remind even the most conservative ‘90s kid that deep down, damn skippy, they’re still a card-carrying member." Same year, '' Time Out'' ranked "O.P.P." number 60 in their "The 100 Best Party Songs Ever Made".


Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Rodd Houston and
Marcus Raboy Marcus Raboy (born November 30, 1965) is an American film director, film and music video director. Since the early 1990s, Raboy has amassed a large number music video credits directing music videos for Mary J. Blige, Dixie Chicks, Rihanna, Lu ...
. It begins with a man removing his wedding ring and dropping it. The group raps at a club behind a fence and people dance behind them. The video was later made available on Naughty by Nature's official
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel in 2010, and had generated more than 19 million views as of January 2023.


Track listing

# "O.P.P." (vocal) # "Wickedest Man Alive" (vocal) # "O.P.P." (Sunny Days remix) # "Wickedest Man Alive" (instrumental) # "O.P.P." (instrumental)


Official versions

* "O.P.P." (album version) * "O.P.P." (vocal) * "O.P.P." (instrumental) * "O.P.P." (Sunny Days remix)


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


In popular culture

The song has been used as a soundtrack to various films as well as television series, including the TV sitcoms ''
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz that aired on NBC from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart ...
'' and ''
The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...
'', and the films ''
La Haine (, ; released in the United States as ''Hate'') is a 1995 French social thriller film written, co-edited, and directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. Starring Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé and Saïd Taghmaoui, the film chronicles a day and night in ...
'', '' Jarhead'', and '' Up in the Air''. In the film '' Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit'', the song was parodied as 'Down With G.O.D'. In the video game ''
Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a 2011 sandbox game developed and published by the Swedish video game developer Mojang Studios. Originally created by Markus Persson, Markus "Notch" Persson using the Java (programming language), Java programming language, the ...
'', the phrase "Down with O.P.P.!" was used as a splash text which appeared on the game's menu screen. The splash was added on February 7, 2010 in Java Edition version Indev 20100207-1 but was later removed in version 1.16 Release Candidate 1 on June 18, 2020. The song was also featured in Dexter: Original Sin.


References

{{Authority control 1991 singles Songs written by Berry Gordy Songs written by Freddie Perren Naughty by Nature songs Music videos directed by Marcus Raboy Songs written by Deke Richards Songs written by Alphonzo Mizell 1991 songs Songs written by Treach Songs written by KayGee Songs written by Vin Rock Tommy Boy Records singles Song recordings produced by Naughty by Nature Songs about infidelity