"Whoa!" is the lead single released from

Black Rob Robert Ross (June 8, 1968 – April 17, 2021), known professionally as Black Rob, was an American rapper who was signed to Bad Boy Records. He was best known for his 1999 single " Whoa!", which peaked at number 43 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. ...

's debut album, ''

Life Story Life story work is a social work intervention with children and adults designed to recognise their past, present, and future. It is prominently used with children who will be adopted, and older adults as part of reminiscence therapies. Life stor ...

''. The song was produced by

Diggin' in the Crates Crew The Diggin' in the Crates Crew, commonly known as D.I.T.C., is an American hip hop collective formed in 1992 in New York City. The collective's name derives from the act of seeking out records to sample for production. The collective is compos ...

member Buckwild. Released in early 2000, "Whoa!" became Black Rob's highest chart appearance. It narrowly missed the top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number 43, and reached the top 10 on both the R&B and Rap charts. To date, it remains Rob's only solo single to have reached the Hot 100, and his only solo single to have charted during his lifetime. In addition to ''Life Story'', "Whoa!" has also appeared on the compilations '' The Source Hip Hop Music Awards 2000'', '' Bad Boy's 10th Anniversary... The Hits'', and ''

Bad Boy 20th Anniversary Box Set Edition ''Bad Boy 20th Anniversary Box Set Edition'' is a box set compilation of songs by the American record label Bad Boy Records released on August 12, 2016, and distributed by Rhino in both digital and physical formats. The collection, curated by Ba ...

''.

Music video

The video for “Whoa!” was directed by

Jeff Richter Jeff Richter is an American music video director and editor. He has worked for Intuitive Entertainment, MTV Networks, Trans-Siberian Orchestra and is the owner of Earthquake Productions, a production company where he directs and edits his own mu ...

. It features Rob along with Diddy and a mob of people near a New York street. It then shows Rob entering a strip club complete with TV screens and strippers dancing as he's partying with the people around him. Midway through, Black Rob gets a call from Diddy telling him that he's bringing in the truck, with Black Rob and the other strippers replying to pull up near the fire escape. Diddy is driving he turns up the radio volume to listen to the aforementioned song, unaware that he's driving up to a one-way street. He panics as he tries to turn the truck away from incoming cars, spinning it around as it almost hits a man carrying groceries (with both him and Diddy saying the aforementioned title in response to what happened). The truck ends up under the fire escape where Black Rob is waiting as he jumps onto the flatbed with fireworks exploding from it. The truck continues to drive along the streets with both Black Rob and Diddy on the flatbed. Intercut are scenes of Rob near a brick background and driving other vehicles at high speed along with his friends.

Sample

The song's sample comes from the instrumental version of

François Valéry François Valéry (real name : Jean-Louis Mougeot, born on 4 August 1954, in Oran, French Algeria) is a French singer-songwriter and composer. Biography He became famous for his romantic songs and his disco hits of the 1970s and for having comp ...

's song Joy.

Remix

The "Whoa" remix, which is 8:17 long, features (in the order):

Rah Digga Rashia Tashan Fisher (born December 18, 1974), known professionally as Rah Digga, is an American rapper and actress. She is best known as a longtime member of the Flipmode Squad, a hip hop group led by Busta Rhymes. Her debut album, ''Dirty Ha ...

Lil' Cease James Lloyd (born August 20, 1977), better known by his stage name Lil' Cease, is an American rapper and former member of hip hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A. Early life, family and education James Lloyd was born in New York City. Career As pa ...

G-Dep Trevell Gerald Coleman (born November 19, 1974), better known by his stage name G. Dep (which stands for "Ghetto Dependent"), is an American rapper from Harlem, New York City. He joined Bad Boy Records in 1998 and released his debut album '' Chil ...

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 ...

Beanie Sigel Dwight Equan Grant (born March 6, 1974), better known by his stage name Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper from South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He first became known for his association with Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella Records, releasing his debut ...

and

with the intermission from Diddy, Sin (of Da Hoodfellaz),

Petey Pablo Moses Barrett III (born July 22, 1973), known by the stage name Petey Pablo, is an American rapper from Greenville, North Carolina. He is best known for his 2003 Crunk hit single "Freek-a-Leek". Biography Born in Greenville, North Carolina, Barre ...

and Madd Rapper.

Formats and track listing

*;US 12" Vinyl **A1. "Whoa!" (Radio Mix) – 4:07 **A2. "Whoa!" (Club Mix) – 4:10 **B1. "Whoa!" (Instrumental) – 4:07 **B2. "Whoa!" (Acappella) – 4:10 *;US CD maxi-single **1. "Whoa!" (Radio Mix) – 4:07 **2. "Whoa!" (Instrumental) – 4:10 **3. "Call Out Research Hook" – 0:10 *;Europe CD **1. "Whoa!" (Radio Edit) – 3:05 **2. "Whoa!" (Album Version) – 4:05 **3. "I Love You Baby" – 3:39

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Black Rob 1999 songs 2000 debut singles Arista Records singles Bad Boy Records singles American hip hop songs Music videos directed by Jeff Richter Song recordings produced by Buckwild (music producer)