"Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" is the debut

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

of American R&B singer

Blu Cantrell Blu Cantrell (born Tiffany Cobb; March 16, 1976) is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. Cantrell rose to fame in 2001, with the release of her debut single, "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)", which peaked at number two on the US ''Billboa ...

, written and produced by

Dallas Austin Dallas L. Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and film producer. Biography Early life During a 2019 interview with DJ Vlad, Dallas Austin detailed previously unknown or unconfirmed events in ...

and featured on Cantrell's debut album, '' So Blu'' (2001). The song was released in the United States on April 23, 2001, and was issued in other regions later that year. It is Cantrell's most successful single in the US and her only single to enter the top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number two (where it spent two consecutive weeks) on the issue date of July 21, 2001. It enjoyed similar success in Europe and Oceania.

Composition

The lyrics propose that women should take revenge on cheating men by draining them of their available assets, both monetary assets and property. Cantrell has said that she did not particularly care for the song artistically, but the bitter feelings she was experiencing at the time led her to include it on the album anyway. "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" takes a small snippet sample from Frank Sinatra’s " Boys' Night Out". The song is written in the key of

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...

and is written in half time with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

of 90 beats per minute. The song features the chords Fm and Bm6, and Cantrell's vocals span from B₃ to A₅.

Track listings

US CD single # "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (radio mix) – 4:02 # "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (instrumental) – 4:12 # Snippets from '' So Blu'' ## "Till I'm Gone" – 1:01 ## "I'll Find a Way" – 1:03 ## "The One" – 1:09 ## "U Must B Crazy" – 0:59 ## "Waste My Time" (featuring L.O.) – 1:08 European CD single # "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (radio mix) – 4:02 # "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (remix featuring Foxy Brown) – 3:34 # "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (remix featuring

Jazze Pha Phalon Anton Alexander, (born April 15, 1974), professionally known as Jazze Pha ( ), is an American record producer, singer, songwriter and rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Sho'nuff Records, to wh ...

and L.O.) – 4:36 European 12-inch single :A1. "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (radio mix) :B1. "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (remix) :B2. "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (instrumental) UK cassette single # "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (radio mix) – 4:02 # "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (remix featuring Foxy Brown) – 3:34 Australian maxi-CD single # "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (album version radio edit) – 4:02 # "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (remix featuring Foxy Brown) – 4:12 # "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (remix featuring Jazze Pha and L.O.) – 4:38 # "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (album version instrumental) – 4:12

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the US CD single liner notes. Studios * Recorded at D.A.R.P. Studios (Atlanta,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

) * Mixed at Larrabee North Studios (Hollywood, California) Personnel * Blu Cantrell – vocals, background vocals *

– writing, keyboard, bass, production * Kimberly Smith – production coordination * Carlton Lynn – recording * Doug Harms – recording assistant * Kevin "KD" Davis – mixing * Rick Sheppard –

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and ...

and sound design * Antonio "LA" Reid – executive production * C. "Tricky" Stewart – executive production * Tab Nkhereanye – co-executive production * TAB – A&R director * Liz Garner – A&R coordinator * gravillis inc. – design *

Kwaku Alston Kwaku Alston is an American photographer. His editorial work has been featured in ''The New York Times Magazine'', ''Rolling Stone'', ''Time'', ''Men’s Health'', ''Essence'', and ''Men’s Journal,'' among many others. He has photographed ads f ...

– photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2000 songs 2001 debut singles Arista Records singles Blu Cantrell songs Hip hop soul songs Music videos directed by Wayne Isham Song recordings produced by Dallas Austin Songs about infidelity Songs with feminist themes Songs written by Dallas Austin