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"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. Its declaration, "Down wit' O.P.P", was a popular catchphrase in the US in the early 1990s.

"O.P.P."
Single by Naughty by Nature
from the album Naughty by Nature
B-side	"The Wickedest Man Alive"
Released	August 24, 1991
Recorded	1991
Studio	Unique Recording Studios (New York, New York, U.S.)
Genre	Golden age hip hop
Length	4:31 (album version) 6:41 (Ultamix remix)
Label	Tommy Boy
Songwriter(s)	Vincent Brown Anthony Criss Keir Gist The Corporation Herb Rooney
Producer(s)	Naughty by Nature
Naughty by Nature singles chronology
"Scuffin' Those Knees" (1989) "O.P.P." (1991) "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" (1992)
Music video
"O.P.P." on YouTube

The song was a hugely successful single; Spin magazine named it one of the greatest singles of the 1990s, offering a brief verdict with the rhetorical question, "Ever wonder where Puffy came from?"[1] It also made some media outlets' lists of one of the best rap songs of all time: including The Source,[2]^{[better source needed]} VH1 (No. 22),[3] and Rolling Stone (No. 80).[4] The song was also ranked No. 20 on VH1's 40 Greatest Hip Hop Songs of the '90s.[5]

Content

The song samples Melvin Bliss' "Synthetic Substitution" and The Jackson 5's "ABC". 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’s “Back Door Santa”, as Treach gleefully lists the virtues of engaging in sexual congress with someone else’s girl."[6] Stanton Swihart from AllMusic 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."[7]

Larry Flick from Billboard noted that the act "drops samples of the Jackson Five's "ABC" onto a rousing hip-hop beat-base. Anthemic rhymes are icing on the cake. Have a taste."[8] James Bernard from Entertainment Weekly described it as "a sly, body-rocking tune with a melodic pop hook and plenty of cute double entendres".[9] A reviewer from Music & Media commented, "It's further proof of the new direction in rap heading more towards a normal pop song. The combination of the piano hook and the female backup makes this funky rhyme memorable."[10]

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Rodd Houston and Marcus Raboy.[11] 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

1. "O.P.P." (Vocal)
2. "Wickedest Man Alive" (Vocal)
3. "O.P.P." (Sunny Days Remix)
4. "Wickedest Man Alive" (Instrumental)
5. "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

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 and The Office, and the films La Haine, Jarhead, and Up in the Air. In the video game Minecraft, 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.[28][29]

References

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