"Nothin" is the lead single from American rapper

N.O.R.E. Victor James Santiago Jr. (born September 6, 1977), better known by his stage name, stage names N.O.R.E. (an acronym for Nigga On the Run Eating) and Noreaga, is an American rapper, singer and podcaster. Santiago first rose to prominence as one ...

's third studio album, '' God's Favorite'' (2002). The song was produced by

the Neptunes The Neptunes were an American record production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provided backing vocals and music video appearances on the duo's productions, while H ...

and features Neptunes member

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...

performing the song's hook. "Nothin" reached 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, surpassing his 1998 hit "

Superthug "Superthug" is a 1998 song by American rapper 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 ...

" (also produced by the Neptunes) as his biggest solo hit. At the end of 2002, "Nothin" was ranked No. 37 on the ''Billboard'' Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2002.

Ja Rule Jeffrey Bruce Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule (), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. Born and raised in New York City, Ja Rule became known for blending gangsta rap with pop rap, pop and contempo ...

, Mike Epps, Capone, comedian Alex Thomas, and video model Liza Rivera make cameo appearances.

Composition

Produced by

, "Nothin" was recorded by N.O.R.E. for his third studio album '' God's Favorite'' (2002), with songwriting being credited to N.O.R.E. and Neptunes members

and Chad Hugo. Williams performs the song's hook. The lyrics contain a nod to

Smash Mouth Smash Mouth is an American Rock music, rock band from San Jose, California. The band was formed in 1994 and was originally composed of Steve Harwell (lead vocals), Kevin Coleman (drums), Greg Camp (guitar), and Paul De Lisle (bass). Harwell's ...

's 1999 song " All Star"; the song's writer, Smash Mouth guitarist Greg Camp, was later credited as an additional songwriter on "Nothin".

Remix

The official remix was later released and features

, P. Diddy, Foxy Brown, Capone, Final Chapter, & Musaliny-N-Maze.

Legacy

In 2022, '' Spin'' listed "Nothin" as the 44th best song of 2002. The same year, it was sampled on rapper Armani White's song "

Billie Eilish Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell ( ; born December 18, 2001) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single "Ocean Eyes (song), Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her broth ...

" from his EP ''Road to Casablanco''. White and N.O.R.E. performed a medley of both songs at the 2022 edition of the BET Hip Hop Awards.

Track listing

A-side # "Nothin" (album version) # "Nahmeanuheard" (remix) (featuring

Cam'ron Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), known Mononym, mononymously as Cam'ron, is an American rapper. Beginning his career in the early 1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed with Lance Rivera, Lance "Un" Rivera's Lance Rivera, Untertainment, a ...

, Capone, Cassidy and

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of Hip-hop, hip hop group D.I.T.C., Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a sol ...

) B-side # "Nothin" (instrumental) # "Nahmeanuheard" (remix instrumental)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

2002 singles 2002 songs Def Jam Recordings singles N.O.R.E. songs Song recordings produced by the Neptunes Songs written by Greg Camp Songs written by Chad Hugo Songs written by N.O.R.E. Songs written by Pharrell Williams {{2000s-US-single-stub