"O.P.P." is a song by American rap group Naughty by Nature. It was released in August 1991 as the lead single from their self-titled second album, '' Naughty by Nature'' (1991). It was one of the first rap songs to become a pop hit when it reached No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 35 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 ...

. Its declaration, "Down wit' O.P.P", was a popular catchphrase in the US in the early 1990s. The song was a hugely successful single; ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' magazine named it one of the greatest singles of the 1990s, offering a brief verdict with the

rhetorical question A rhetorical question is one for which the questioner does not expect a direct answer: in many cases it may be intended to start a discourse, or as a means of displaying or emphasize the speaker's or author's opinion on a topic. A common example ...

, "Ever wonder where Puffy came from?" It also made some media outlets' lists of one of the best rap songs of all time: including ''

The Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...

'', VH1 (No. 22), and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' (No. 80). The song was also ranked No. 20 on VH1's 40 Greatest Hip Hop Songs of the '90s.

Content

The song samples Melvin Bliss' "

Synthetic Substitution "Synthetic Substitution" is a 1973 song by Melvin Bliss. Originally starting life as a throwaway B-side, with "Reward" as the A-Side, the song failed to chart anywhere on its initial release because of the collapse of Opal Productions, the parent c ...

" and

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

's "

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

". Its lyrics concern sexual infidelity, with "O.P.P." standing for "other people's pussy" and "other people's penis".

Critical reception

Jesse Ducker from Albumism wrote, "It’s one of the most light-hearted songs about infidelity this side of

Clarence Carter Clarence George Carter (born January 14, 1936) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. His most successful songs include " Slip Away", "Back Door Santa" (both released 1968), " Patches" (1970) and "Strokin" (1986). Ear ...

’s “ Back Door Santa”, as

Treach Anthony Criss (born December 2, 1970), better known by his stage name Treach, is an American rapper and actor. He is perhaps best known as the lead rapper of the hip hop group Naughty by Nature. Career With Naughty by Nature, Treach worked ...

gleefully lists the virtues of engaging in sexual congress with someone else’s girl." Stanton Swihart from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

said it's "a song that somehow managed the trick of being both audaciously catchy and subversively coy at the same time." He added, "Its irrepressible appeal was so widespread, in fact, that it played just as well to the hardcore heads in the hood as it did to the hip-hop dabblers in the suburbs."

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' noted that the act "drops samples of the

Jackson Five The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

's "

" onto a rousing hip-hop beat-base. Anthemic rhymes are icing on the cake. Have a taste." James Bernard from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' described it as "a sly, body-rocking tune with a melodic pop hook and plenty of cute double entendres". A reviewer from ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' commented, "It's further proof of the new direction in

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

heading more towards a normal pop song. The combination of the piano hook and the female backup makes this funky rhyme memorable."

Music video

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 promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was produced to promote the single, directed by Rodd Houston and

Marcus Raboy Marcus Raboy (born November 30, 1965) is an American film director, film and music video director. Since the early 1990s, Raboy has amassed a large number music video credits directing music videos for Mary J. Blige, Dixie Chicks, Rihanna, Lut ...

. It begins with a man removing his wedding ring and dropping it. The group raps at a club behind a fence and people dance behind them. The video was uploaded to Naughty by Nature's YouTube channel on July 13, 2010.

Track listing

# "O.P.P." (Vocal) # "Wickedest Man Alive" (Vocal) # "O.P.P." (Sunny Days Remix) # "Wickedest Man Alive" (Instrumental) # "O.P.P." (Instrumental)

Official versions

* "O.P.P." (Album Version) * "O.P.P." (Vocal) * "O.P.P." (Instrumental) * "O.P.P." (Sunny Days Remix)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

In popular culture

The song has been used as a soundtrack to various films as well as television series, including the TV sitcoms ''

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart t ...

'' and ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series of ...

'', and the films ''

La Haine ''La Haine'' (, ; released in the United States as ''Hate'') is a 1995 French crime drama film written, co-edited, and directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. Starring Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé and Saïd Taghmaoui, the film chronicles a day and nig ...

'', '' Jarhead'', and '' Up in the Air''. In the video game ''

Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before being ...

'', the phrase "Down with O.P.P.!" was used as a splash text which appeared on the game's menu screen. The splash was added on February 7, 2010 in Java Edition version Indev 20100207-1 but was later removed in version 1.16 Release Candidate 1 on June 18, 2020.

References

{{Authority control 1991 singles Songs written by Berry Gordy Songs written by Freddie Perren Naughty by Nature songs Music videos directed by Marcus Raboy Songs written by Deke Richards Songs written by Alphonzo Mizell 1991 songs Songs written by Treach Songs written by KayGee Songs written by Vin Rock Tommy Boy Records singles Song recordings produced by Naughty by Nature Songs about infidelity