"Not Tonight" is a song performed by the American rapper

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and reality television personality. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, she lived much of he ...

featuring

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

for her debut studio album '' Hard Core'' (1996). A remix was released the following year featuring female rappers

Da Brat Shawntae Harris-Dupart (born April 14, 1974), better known by her stage name Da Brat, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, she began her career in 1992, the year she signed with So So Def Records. Her debut album ''Funkda ...

, Missy "Misdeameanor" Elliott,

Angie Martinez Angela Martinez (born January 9, 1971) is an American radio personality, rapper, singer, and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice of New York" during her two-decade tenure at New York City station HOT 97 (WQHT), she left that position in 2014 to join ...

, and

Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes Lisa Nicole Lopes (May 27, 1971 – April 25, 2002), better known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper and singer. She was a member of the R&B girl group TLC, alongside Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. Besid ...

for the ''Nothing to Lose'' soundtrack. It was released on June 24, 1997, by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. The remix became a hit in the U.S., peaking at number six on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number two on the

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, and was nominated for

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group was awarded between 1991 and 2011, alongside the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. The award was discontinue ...

at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards. Internationally, "Not Tonight" peaked at number four in New Zealand and entered the top 20 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, reaching number 11.

Background

The original version of "Not Tonight" was featured on Lil' Kim's first album ''Hard Core''. It was produced by Jermaine Dupri, who was also featured on the song. This version samples "

Turn Your Love Around "Turn Your Love Around" is a pop/ R&B single by George Benson. The song was written by Grammy winners Bill Champlin of Chicago, Steve Lukather of Toto and producer and guitarist Jay Graydon to help fill out Benson's 1981 greatest hits album, '' ...

" by

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, pla ...

. The song is about Lil' Kim having blasé feelings about traditional vaginal intercourse and would prefer a man perform cunnilingus on her, presumably at least for that evening. The remix, known as "Not Tonight (Ladies Night Remix)" was released as a single and was performed by Lil' Kim, Da Brat, Missy Elliott, Angie Martinez and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes" and was featured on the ''Nothing to Lose'' soundtrack. This version samples "

Ladies' Night A ladies' night is a promotional event, often at a bar or nightclub, where female patrons pay less than male patrons for the cover charge or drinks. In the United States, state courts in California, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have rule ...

" by

Kool & the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. T ...

. The remix became a top 40 hit in the US, the UK, Canada, New Zealand and the Netherlands. It was produced by Rashad "Ringo" Smith.

Music video

The video was shot in

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populati ...

, from June 27 to 28, 1997. The video starts showing the girls on a boat and eventually in a jungle setting. The music video shows clips from the movie '' Nothing to Lose''. It also features guest appearances from other female celebrities including

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

T-Boz Tionne Tenese Watkins (born April 26, 1970), better known by her stage name T-Boz, is an American singer and actress. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Watkins rose to fame in the early 1990s as a member of the girl-group TLC. She has won four Grammy ...

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

SWV SWV (Sisters with Voices) is an American R&B vocal trio from New York City whose members are Cheryl (Coko) Gamble, Tamara (Taj) Johnson, and Leanne (Lelee) Lyons. Formed in 1988 as a gospel group, SWV became one of the most successful R&B g ...

, Xscape,

Blaque Blaque is an American girl group that charted from 1999 to 2004. Outside of the United States, they are known as Blaque Ivory. Their self-titled debut album ''Blaque'' sold more than 1 million copies and was certified Platinum. The group's d ...

, Changing Faces, Total,

Leslie Segar Leslie Segar (born December 11, 1967), also known as "Big Lez", is a dancer, choreographer, radio and television personality, and fitness specialist. She is known as a host of '' Rap City'' and as the dancer in the opening credits of ''Living Sin ...

and

Maia Campbell Maia Campbell is an American former film, television actress, singer and model. She is best known for her role as Nicole on the 1994 Fox comedy-drama series '' South Central'' and her portrayal of Tiffany Warren in the NBC/UPN sitcom '' In t ...

Formats and track listings

*U.S. CD/cassette single # "Not Tonight" (Remix) # "Not Tonight" (Instrumental) *U.S. maxi-single # "Not Tonight" (Remix) # "Crush On You" (Remix) # "Drugs" # "Not Tonight" # "Crush On You" # "Not Tonight" (Remix instrumental) # "Drugs" (Instrumental) # "Not Tonight" (Original instrumental) *U.S. 12" vinyl # "Not Tonight" (Remix) # "Not Tonight" (Instrumental remix) # "Drugs" # "Crush on You" (Remix) # "Crush on You" (Remix instrumental) # "Drugs" (Instrumental) *Europe CD single # "Not Tonight" (Remix) # "Not Tonight" (Remix Instrumental) # "Drugs" (Album Version) # "Drugs" (Instrumental) *UK cassette single # "Not Tonight" (Remix) # "Drugs" (Album Version)

Credits and personnel

Credits from "Not Tonight" are taken from the single's liner notes. Recording *Recorded at Sound-On-Sound, The Hit Factory & Capitol Recording Studio *Recorded by Ed Raso, Andy Cardenas & Bill Smith Personnel *

Vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

– Lil' Kim, Da Brat, Missy Elliott, Angie Martinez, and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes *

Songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

– K. Jones, M. Elliott, L. Lopes, S. Harris, A. Martinez, R. Bell, G. Brown, M. Muhammed, C. Smith, J. Taylor, D. Thomas, E. Toon * Producer – Armando Colon, Rashad Smith * Mixing – Rick Travali and L. Lopes

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 1997 singles Lisa Lopes songs Lil' Kim songs Missy Elliott songs Da Brat songs Songs written by Missy Elliott Songs written by Lisa Lopes Songs written by Da Brat 1996 songs Atlantic Records singles Tommy Boy Records singles Songs written by Lil' Kim