"No Scrubs" is a song recorded by American girl group TLC as the lead single from their third studio album, ''

FanMail ''FanMail'' is the third studio album by American girl group TLC, released on February 23, 1999, by LaFace and Arista Records. The album title is a tribute to TLC's fans who sent them fan mail during their hiatus. ''FanMail'' debuted at numbe ...

'', on February 2, 1999, by LaFace Records and Arista Records. The song was written by producer

Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs is an American record producer, known for producing the TLC #1 hit "No Scrubs" and various Destiny's Child songs from the album ''The Writing's on the Wall''. Briggs' then girlfriend, former Xscape singer Kandi Burruss ...

, former Xscape members Kandi Burruss and Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, and TLC member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. The song lyrics describe the role of a man in a relationship. Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas sings the lead vocals for the first time on a TLC single. "No Scrubs" became TLC's third number-one single and eighth top 10 single on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, where it peaked for four consecutive weeks. It was ranked number two on '' Billboard's'' year-end Hot 100 singles chart of 1999, behind

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

's "

Believe Believe may refer to: *Belief, a psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true, with or without proof for such proposition *Faith, a belief in something which has not been proven Arts, entertainment, and me ...

" (1998). The song won Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal and Best R&B Song at 42nd Annual Grammy Awards. The

Hype Williams Harold Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video director, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Early life Williams was born in Queens, New York. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Ade ...

-directed

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

was released in 1999, which depicted the three members dancing inside of a space station. It was compared to other music videos such as " Scream" (1995) and " What's It Gonna Be?!" (1999). "No Scrubs" received divisive attention following its release; several radio stations aired answer songs as a response, while the word "scrub" became prominently used worldwide.

Background and development

"No Scrubs" was initially written by Kandi Burruss on an envelope while sitting in her car, then she free-styled the entire song while driving on a highway. The song's lyrics stemmed from a previous relationship Tameka Cottle was involved in which she described as a "screw-up". "No Scrubs" was meant for Burruss and Cottle to record together; however Dallas Austin decided to give the song to TLC as their first single for ''

'', with Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas singing the lead vocals. Austin emphasized that the song was a breakthrough for Thomas as he believed that "It was a great way to expose her; being a secondary vocalist was not just her purpose". "No Scrubs" was written by Burruss, Cottle and producer

, with background vocals provided by Thomas, Burruss, Cottle and Debra Killings. A few lyrics from the original song were changed in order to firmly describe a "scrub", such as "fat" being replaced by "broke". In addition, the changes reflected on the persona of TLC, who were described as "confident, bold, independent women" by American radio program ''

Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 A ...

''. Two versions of the song were released in order to boost airplay despite its format; one was described as straight R&B, while the other contained a rap verse from TLC member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. "No Scrubs" was released on February 2, 1999, as the lead single of ''FanMail''.

Composition and lyrics

"No Scrubs" is an R&B and

hip-pop Pop rap (also known as pop hip-hop, hip pop, melodic hip-hop or melodic rap) is a genre of music fusing the Rapping, rhythm-based lyricism of hip hop music with pop music's preference for Melody, melodious vocals and Catchiness, catchy tunes. Th ...

song. Natelegé Whaley of '' Vibe'' stated that the song is "a scathing critique on men at the bottom of the dating pool". It contains "airy remnants of an electronic guitar", which begins with Chilli's angelic vocals. The word "scrub" originated from

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, where it was initially used as a slang term for a person who could not get their life together. "No Scrubs" is based on common time, the

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 ...

is 100 beats per minute and is played in the key of G# minor. According to the

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed books or pamphlets in English, ...

published at Musicnotes.com by

EMI Music Publishing EMI Music Publishing Ltd. is a British multinational music publishing company headquartered in London, owned by parent company Sony Corporation of America. In May 2018, Sony Music Publishing agreed to increase its stake in EMI to 90%, pendi ...

, the vocal range of TLC spans from the low note F#₃ to the high note of C#₅.

Critical reception

John Dingwall from '' Daily Record'' described "No Scrubs" as a "slinky, acoustic R&B smash". Stevie Chick from '' NME'' stated that the song is "the best song ever about not wanting to sleep with someone you're not attracted to in the first place", acknowledging that it is "soulful, simple and quietly witty". In 1999, it was listed on ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

''s annual poll Pazz & Jop at number one. "No Scrubs" placed at number two on '' NMEs Top Tracks of 1999 list, and at number 45 on their list of 100 Best Songs of the 1990s. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the song at number 10 in their list of the 50 Best Songs of the Nineties, and at number 303 on their list of the Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Additionally, VH1 listed "No Scrubs" at number 22 in their list of the 40 Greatest R&B Songs of the 90s, ranking behind the band's 1995 international single " Waterfalls", which placed at number 6. '' Billboard'' ranked "No Scrubs" at number 42 on their listicle of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.

Commercial performance

"No Scrubs" was commercially released on March 23, 1999, after it was distributed to radio. It peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 upon the single's release on the ''Billboard'' issue dated April 3, 1999, where it remained for four weeks from April 10, 1999, to May 7, 1999. The song charted in the top-ten of the Hot 100 for 17 consecutive weeks. The song's airplay was at the time, the first to peak with over 140 million audience impressions, and was crowned the Top Airplay Song of 1999. It holds the record for most weeks at number one on the Rhythmic Top 40 with 15 weeks, as well as being ranked at number two on ''Billboards Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1999, only behind

's 1998 song "

". In Australia, "No Scrubs" spent seven consecutive weeks at the summit of the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

from May 2, 1999, to June 20, 1999. In the United Kingdom, it peaked at number three 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 ...

, becoming TLC's highest-charting single. The song was certified triple platinum by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...

(BPI) in March 2021 for sales and streams exceeding 1,800,000.

Music video

Background

The

-directed

was set in a futuristic space station, where the trio wore silver and blue metallic outfits. The Main Mix, which includes a rap verse by Left Eye, is used in the video in place of the album version. Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins described how the group went all out during production of the video, with her being specifically excited about "wearing the all-white outfit", while Thomas initially felt apprehensive about going on the swing, constantly practicing before the shoot until she did not want to get off afterwards. The scene at the end of the video showing the three fighting each other and being silly was a result of the tube moving and the group attempting to fight against the moving set, with Thomas and Lopes hitting each other by accident. American drag queen

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series '' RuPaul's Drag Race ...

also appeared off-camera without drag to see them, as his makeup artist Mathu Andersen was in charge of makeup for the group, placing rhinestones on the lips of each member. The music video is stylistically similar to

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

and

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 music video " Scream" (1995), as well as the Busta Rhymes and Janet Jackson music video " What's It Gonna Be?!" (1999), which was also directed by Williams.

Synopsis

The video features the women in three different colored space-suits: white, black, silver, and Left Eye in blue. When there are shots of the women together they have two different outfits: black and silver. T-Boz's hair is fuchsia in the video. It includes a dance sequence where the women dance in front of the "TLC" logo, and also features several scenes of Chilli on a swing. As Left Eye's rap begins, she is positioned in a garage wearing white clothes, and practicing martial arts in a futuristic blue outfit in a separate scene. She is filmed by a drone as she continues rapping; "Can't forget the focus on the picture in front of me/You as clear as DVD on digital TV screens." The final scene shows TLC fighting each other, while also dancing and having fun.

Reception

The futuristic music video allowed TLC to win the MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video at the

1999 MTV Video Music Awards The 1999 MTV Video Music Awards (stylized as 9999 MTV Video Music Awards) aired live on September 9, 1999, honoring the best music videos from June 13, 1998, to June 11, 1999. The show was hosted by Chris Rock at the Metropolitan Opera House in N ...

over all-male nominees such as the Backstreet Boys and

NSYNC NSYNC (, ; also stylized as *NSYNC or 'N Sync) was an American boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. Their 'N Sync (album), self-titled debut album was successfully rele ...

. As of March 2022, the video has over 300 million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

Legacy

Reactions

Following the immediate release of "No Scrubs" in 1999, the song received a divisive response about labeling a new term for males "with limited money, ambitions and romantic vocabulary, and who mostly still live at home with Mom", with several debates on radio stations, and airplay of

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record, is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer so ...

s. Such songs included "No Hoochies" in San Francisco, and " No Pigeons" by rap group Sporty Thievz in New York throughout April 1999. Thomas acknowledged that the latter group were threatened by the song's success, stating that "they can't take the heat!". The use of the word "scrub" rapidly spread worldwide, which was commonly used by women. Writing for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'', Lonnae O'Neal Parker noted that "No Scrubs" served as social commentary in the vein of previous songs such as

Madonna's Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

1985 song " Material Girl" and Gwen Guthrie's 1986 song " Ain't Nothin' Goin' On but the Rent", stating that it culminated from 20 years of misogyny in rap music.

Covers and samples

American singer-songwriter Avi Wisnia performed a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

of "No Scrubs", which was included on his 2010 studio album ''Something New''. Pop duo Karmin covered the song in 2011, shortly before releasing " Crash Your Party", which integrated the former song to the retro

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of ...

of " The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)" in the latter song.

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of '' American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her de ...

performed "No Scrubs" during her 2012 Summer Tour on August 23, 2012. The cast of American television series '' Glee'' covered the song in the " Sadie Hawkins" episode of the show's fourth season, by members Kevin McHale,

Chord Overstreet Chord Paul Overstreet (born February 17, 1989) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his role as Sam Evans on the Fox television series '' Glee'' (2009–2015). He has starred in the Apple TV+ comedy series ''Acapulco'' since ...

, Blake Jenner, Samuel Larsen and Darren Criss. English singer

Scout Niblett Emma Louise Niblett (born 29 September 1973), better known by the stage name Scout Niblett, is an English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Niblett debuted in 2001 with her first full-length studio album '' Sweet Heart Fever'', and ...

included a cover of "No Scrubs" on her sixth studio album '' It's Up to Emma'' (2013).

Pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

band Bastille released a

mashup Mashup may refer to: * Mashup (culture), the rearrangement of spliced parts of musical pieces as part of a subculture * Mashup (education), combining various forms of data and media by a teacher or student in an instructional setting * Mashup (m ...

of "No Scrubs" and " Angels" by

the xx The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft (guitar, vocals), Oliver Sim (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC, record production), an ...

titled "No Angels", which was included on their second mixtape, ''

Other People's Heartache ''Other People's Heartache'' is a series of mixtapes by Bastille. The first was released in February 2012, the second in December 2012, the third in December 2014, and the fourth in December 2018. Part one ''Other People's Heartache'' is a co ...

'' (2012). They performed the former song at the 2014 Governors Ball Music Festival. American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

singer Kacey Musgraves performed the song during her 2014 tour "Same Tour, Different Trailer". In January 2019,

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing ...

included a cover of "No Scrubs" on their twelfth studio album, '' Teal Album''. The song "BasicBitchTearGas" from JPEGMafia's third studio album ''

All My Heroes Are Cornballs ''All My Heroes Are Cornballs'' is the third studio album by American rapper JPEGMafia, released on September 13, 2019 by EQT Recordings. After the release of his record ''Veteran'' (2018), he began recording tracks for its follow-up, with a tota ...

'' (2019), is a cover of "No Scrubs". American EDM producer XXYYXX sampled "No Scrubs" on "Good Enough", which was included on his album ''XXYYXX'' (2012). Producer Le Youth sampled it on the 2013 song " Dance with Me", which peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. The "No Scrubs" writers were credited on Ed Sheeran's 2017 song "

Shape of You "Shape of You" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released on 6 January 2017 as one of the double lead singles from his third studio album '' ÷'' (2017), along with " Castle on the Hill". The dancehall and R&B-infus ...

", as it contained a similar lyrical rhythm. The song was sampled on "Bobo" in 2021, which was performed by American singer Mariah Angeliq, Spanish singer Bad Gyal, and Argentine singer María Becerra. According to ''Billboard'' writer Jessica Roiz, it gave "No Scrubs" a " reggaeton twist" with perreo, urban-pop sounds and

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The R ...

vibes. The song peaked at number 41 in Spain, and at number 96 in Argentina.

Track listings

US CD and cassette single US

12-inch single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

International maxi single European 12-inch single UK CD1 UK CD2 French CD single

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the back cover of "No Scrubs". Production * Produced by Kevin "Shekspere" Briggs for Shekspere Productions, Inc. and D.A.R.P. Inc. * Recorded by Carlton Lynn at D.A.R.P. Studios, Atlanta, Georgia * Assisted by Ty Hudson * Mixed by Leslie Braithwaite at D.A.R.P. Studios * Assisted by Vernon J. Mungo * Background vocals by Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Debra Killings, Kandi Burruss and Tameka "Tiny" Cottle *

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 by Shekspere for Shekspere Productions, Inc. * Mastered by Herb Powers at Powers House of Sound, New York Executive producers * Antonio M. Reid * Kenneth B. Edmonds * Dallas Austin * TLC Artwork * Art director – Darrick "O.L." Warfield * Creative coordinator – Cherie O'Brien * Photography –

Seb Janiak Seb Janiak is a French photographer and video director of Polish origin. In 2009, after an international career making music clips and working as a fashion photographer, he turned to artistic and scientific research in the field of art photograp ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1999 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Songs written by Kandi Burruss Songs written by Lisa Lopes 1998 songs LaFace Records singles Arista Records singles TLC (group) songs Music videos directed by Hype Williams Songs with feminist themes Songs written by Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs Songs written by Tameka Cottle Dance-pop songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles