"Superthug" is a song by

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

rapper N.O.R.E. (a.k.a. Noreaga) with background vocals from Tammy Lucas during the song's hook. It was released as the second single from his debut solo album, '' N.O.R.E.''. At the time, it became Noreaga's highest charting and most successful single, peaking at No. 36 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reaching No. 1 on the

Hot Rap Songs Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...

chart. However it was later surpassed by his 2002 single "Nothin'" which peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Along with

Mase Mason Durell Betha (born August 27, 1975), better known by his mononym Mase (formerly Murda Mase and stylized as Ma$e), is an American rapper and minister. In the late 1990s, he recorded on the Bad Boy Records label alongside its founder Se ...

's " Lookin' at Me", the single was one of the first high-profile productions done by

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

production team

the Neptunes The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos ...

. It made the Neptunes well known and sought after producers in the music industry, and in the first decade of the 21st century they would become one of the most successful production teams in music history, being named the ''

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 Producer of the Decade for the 2000s. "Superthug" would later be sampled on

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

's "Ruff (I Like It)", recorded for her ''

Damita Jo Damita Jo may refer to: * ''Damita Jo'' (album), a 2004 album by Janet Jackson and her middle name **"Damita Jo", a song from the album above *Damita Jo DeBlanc (1930–1998), aka Damita Jo, American actress, comedian, and singer *Damita Jo Freeman ...

'' album which failed to make the cut, although a snippet was leaked to the Internet in 2010. Jackson also considered including the song on her ''

Discipline Discipline refers to rule following behavior, to regulate, order, control and authority. It may also refer to punishment. Discipline is used to create habits, routines, and automatic mechanisms such as blind obedience. It may be inflicted on ot ...

'' album.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Compilation appearances

*'' All That "Hip Hop" (2005)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Superthug 1998 singles 1998 songs N.O.R.E. songs Song recordings produced by the Neptunes Tommy Boy Records singles Songs written by N.O.R.E.