"No Diggity" | ||||
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Single by Blackstreet featuring Dr. Dre and Queen Pen | ||||
from the album Another Level | ||||
B-side | "No Diggity - Billie Jean Remix" | |||
Released | July 29, 1996 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1996 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
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Label | Interscope | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Blackstreet singles chronology | ||||
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Dr. Dre singles chronology | ||||
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Queen Pen singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"No Diggity" on YouTube |
"No Diggity" is a song by American R&B group Blackstreet as the first single for their second studio album, Another Level (1996),featuring Dr. Dre and Queen Pen. Released on July 29,1996 by Interscope,the song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and in Iceland and New Zealand. It ended "Macarena "'s 14-week reign atop the Billboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom,the song peaked at number nine. "No Diggity" was the final number-one single of Cash Box magazine. The track sold 1.6 million copies in 1996 and won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. It uses samples from Bill Withers's "Grandma's Hands". The music video for the song was directed by Hype Williams.
"No Diggity" ranked at number 91 on Rolling Stone and MTV's "100 Greatest Pop Songs". It was also ranked at number 32 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the '90s",number 407 on Q Magazine 's "1001 Best Songs Ever", [2] number 33 on Blender 's "Greatest Songs Since You Were Born", [3] and number 43 on NME 's "100 Best Songs of the 1990s". [4]
William "Skylz" Stewart was using the sample of "Grandma's Hands" by Bill Withers in which Teddy Riley asked to use the sample for No Diggity. [5] Co-producer Teddy Riley originally offered the song to Guy as part of their short-lived reunion in 1996. After failing to record any material,he then suggested the song to Guy's lead singer Aaron Hall,who refused to take part in recording the song. [6] He then offered the song to his other group Blackstreet. In a 2010 interview,Riley revealed the song was initially a hard sell among group members. He stated:
"None of the guys liked 'No Diggity'. None of them. They would even say it. That's why I'm singing the first verse. You know how they say they pushed the little one out there to see if it tastes good and see if he would get egged? Well they pushed me out there –and it became a hit. And now they wish they were singing the first verse,so that they can have the notoriety like me. So they trust what I'm saying..." [7]
Upon the release of the finished recording by Blackstreet,Tupac and Death Row responded with a diss track containing numerous insults aimed at Dr. Dre over an instrumental sampling "No Diggity",but were forced to replace the production after Blackstreet issued the label with a cease and desist order stopping them from distributing the song. [8] An updated version of this response,"Toss It Up",would be released under his Makaveli alias just days after his death,featuring Aaron Hall.
The song's musical backing track is an altered sample from the beginning of "Grandma's Hands" by R&B singer Bill Withers. [9]
The song garnered acclaim from music critics. Larry Flick from Billboard wrote,"Finally honing his Boz Scaggs-like vocal style,[Teddy] Riley utilizes his infallible production and recent free agent Dr. Dre to ensure the single's add to several radio formats,as well as club and personal boombox playlists." He added,"As always,other BLACKstreet members perform superbly." [10] James Bernard from Entertainment Weekly felt that "beatwise,it struts confidently,accompanied by a light keyboard action. Voices,including guest Dr. Dre's,croon and rap with a sexual urgency notable even by today's standards." [11] A reviewer from Knight Ridder described it as a "uptempo excursion" and a "pointed,post-hiphop strut". [12] Connie Johnson from Los Angeles Times felt "No Diggity" "is definitely one of this year’s most delectable dance releases." [13] Tony Farsides from Music Week 'sRM Dance Update gave the song four out of five,commenting,"A real grower which is already popular in the clubs,the song features Blackstreet's trademark harmonies interspersed with rap and a killer grand piano sample following the chorus. Unlikely to cross over but a good bet for r&b fans and the lower reaches of the charts." [14]
Malaysian New Straits Times stated that sampling Bill Withers's bluesy "Grandma's Hands" and fitting it with a swingbeat base,"the song is instantly transformed into a hip-hop masterpiece of unimaginable brilliance." [15] Jon Pareles from New York Times noted that the track uses a spiky Bill Withers guitar lick and a rap by Dr. Dre promising that listeners will be "giving up eargasms with my mellow accent." [16] People Magazine 's reviewer said that "by combining R&B vocals with hip hop's aggressive beats","that powerful one-two punch flavors "No Diggity",which takes a nasty Delta blues riff and marries it to lip-smacking lasciviousness. The result is an instant,five-minute pop classic." [17] David Fricke from Rolling Stone felt that "when Blackstreet drop the bomb,though,you feel it. The guttural piano riff [...] is a kick that will not quit". [18] Michael A. Gonzales for Vibe wrote that "with a mellow D-Funk rap intro from Dr. Dre,this track pumps like a Lexus roaring down 125th Street as the Harlem neighborhood hotties look on with glee. "I can't get her outta my mind / I think about the girl all the time",Teddy whines about his object of desire,over haunting keyboards and astonishingly bouncy,minimalist production." [19]
The accompanying music video for the song is directed by Hype Williams [20] and features Blackstreet members in front of a beachhouse standing in the sand,dancers in a wet road surrounded by black limousines,and a marionette playing the piano sample in a club. The music video was released for the week ending on August 11,1996.
Bill Lamb from About.com complimented the song as "the peak of the work" created by Teddy Riley,"a key architect of new jack swing. "No Diggity" is that genre fully refined." [21] Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger remarked that the song "is first of all capitalism in its slinkiest form,in every sense classy. A hymn to money,sex,upward mobility,'No Diggity' triumphs over every other swingbeat anthem because it walks it so much like it talks it." [22] NME called it "such a classy concoction of urban swagger and classic R&B". [23]
Q Magazine ranked it at number 407 in their list of "1001 Best Songs Ever" in 2003. [24] Blender listed "No Diggity" at number 33 on their ranking of "Greatest Songs Since You Were Born" in 2005. [25] Slant Magazine listed the song at number 15 in their ranking of "The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s" in 2011. [26] NME placed it at number 43 on their "100 Best Songs Of The 1990s" list in 2012. [27] Polish Porcys listed the song at number 80 in their ranking of "100 Singles 1990-1999" in 2012,noting that it "probably [is] Riley's most perfect pop moment." [28] Rolling Stone included "No Diggity" in their list of "500 Best Songs of All Time" in 2021 at No. 424. [29] VH1 put it on number 32 in their list of "100 Greatest Songs of the '90s". Billboard magazine ranked it number 91 in their "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time" in October 2023, [30] saying,"No song sounded like it at the time,and no song has re-captured its full effect since."
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This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: This subsection should be formatted as a bulleted list of credits and personnel.(February 2022) |
Published by Donrill Music/Zomba Enterprises, Inc. (ASCAP/Chauncey Black Music for Smokin' Sounds [ASCAP]/Queenpen Music (ASCAP)/Sidi Music (BMI)/Sony Songs Inc./Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But Fuckin' (ASCAP).
Track was mixed by Serban Ghenea and recorded by George Mayers, John Hanes, Sean Poland and Chris Johnson for Future Recording Studios, Virginia Beach, VA. Track mastered by Herb Powers at Hit Factory, New York, NY.
Queen Pen appears courtesy of Funky Mama Productions/Interscope Records. Dr. Dre appears courtesy of Aftermath Entertainment.
Track contains portions of "Grandma's Hands" written by Bill Withers and published by Interior Music Corp./Avant Garde Music Publishing, Inc. performed by Bill Withers, used courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment.
All-Star Remix contains a sample of "As Long As I've Got You", written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter and performed by The Charmels. Will Remix contains a mimic of "Cell Therapy", written by Barnett, Burton, Gipp and Knighton and performed by Goodie Mob.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia (ARIA) [94] | Gold | 35,000^ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [95] | Platinum | 90,000‡ |
Germany (BVMI) [96] | Gold | 250,000‡ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [97] | Platinum | 10,000* |
Norway (IFPI Norway) [98] | Gold | |
Sweden (GLF) [99] | Gold | 25,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [100] | 3× Platinum | 1,800,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [101] | Platinum | 1,600,000 [102] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
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United States | July 23, 1996 | Promotional 12-inch vinyl | Interscope | [1] |
July 29, 1996 | Rhythmic contemporary radio | |||
United States | October 1, 1996 |
| [101] | |
United Kingdom | October 7, 1996 |
| [103] | |
Japan | February 21, 1997 | CD | Universal Music Japan | [104] |
Blackstreet re-recorded their vocals for a house version of "No Diggity" with Dutch DJs Lucas & Steve via Spinnin' Records. [105]
Chart (2021) | Peak position |
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Netherlands (Single Top 100) [106] | 83 |
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders) [107] | 47 |
Blackstreet is an American R&B group founded in 1992 by record producers Chauncey "Black" Hannibal, and Teddy Riley. The group has released four albums with Interscope Records until 2003. They achieved relative commercial success leading up to their 1996 single "No Diggity", which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks.
"Don't Speak" is a song by American rock band No Doubt from their third studio album, Tragic Kingdom (1995). It was released as the third single from Tragic Kingdom in the United States on April 15, 1996, by Interscope Records. Lead singer Gwen Stefani and her brother Eric Stefani, former No Doubt member, wrote the song originally as a love song. The song went through several rewrites and new versions. Gwen modified it into a breakup song about her bandmate and ex-boyfriend Tony Kanal, shortly after he ended their seven-year relationship.
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"California Love" is a song by American rapper 2Pac featuring fellow American rapper-producer Dr. Dre and American singer Roger Troutman of the funk group Zapp. The song was released as 2Pac's comeback single after his release from prison in 1995 and was his first single as the newest artist of Death Row Records. The original version is featured on the UK version of his fourth album, All Eyez on Me (1996), and is one of 2Pac's most widely known and most successful singles. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks and also topped the charts of Italy, New Zealand, and Sweden. The song was posthumously nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1997.
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American singer Mary J. Blige began her career as a backing vocalist for Uptown Records in the early 1990s. In a career spanning more than thirty years, she has released 14 studio albums and 83 singles—including more than 20 as a featured artist. The "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" has sold an estimate of over 100 million records worldwide, and over 20 million in the United States alone. Billboard ranked Blige as the 18th Greatest Billboard 200 Woman of all time, the 45th Greatest Hot 100 Woman of all time and 88th Greatest Artist of all time.
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"Pony" is a song by American singer Ginuwine, released as the debut single from his first album, Ginuwine...The Bachelor (1996). Ginuwine co-wrote the song with Swing Mob associates Static Major and Timbaland; the latter made his breakthrough as a producer with the song. It peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart.
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"I'll Be" is a song recorded by American rapper Foxy Brown for her debut studio album, Ill Na Na (1996), featuring Brooklyn-based rapper Jay-Z. It was released as the second single from the album on March 4, 1997, by Violator and Def Jam Recordings. The song was written by Shawn Carter, Jean-Claude Olivier, Samuel Barnes, Angela Winbush, René Moore, Bobby Watson and Bruce Swedien with production by Trackmasters, and samples René & Angela's 1985 song "I'll Be Good". It was recorded at Chung King Studios in New York City, while the mixing of the track was finished at The Hit Factory. "I'll Be" is a hip hop and R&B song with explicit lyrics that revolve around sex and money.
"Caramel" is a song American hip hop trio City High, released as the second single from their self-titled debut album (2001). The single, released on September 11, 2001, features American rapper Eve. "Caramel" is the group's second-most-successful single, peaking at number 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number nine on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart in January 2002. The track interpolates the song "Silent Treatment" by the Roots.
"Toss It Up" is a song by rapper Tupac Shakur from his fifth studio album, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (1996). Released under the stage name Makaveli, the song served as the lead single to the posthumous album. It was first released in the United States just under two weeks after his death, peaking at number thirty-three on the R&B singles chart. The song is known for including a diss toward Dr. Dre and instrumentally being very similar to the production on the song "No Diggity". It features vocals and singing from Aaron Hall, Danny Boy, and K-Ci & JoJo.
"All My Love" is a song by American rapper Queen Pen featuring vocals from Eric Williams of R&B group Blackstreet. Sampling Luther Vandross's "Never Too Much", the song was written by Queen Pen, Jay-Z, and Teddy Riley, who also produced the track, and was included on Queen Pen's debut studio album, My Melody, in 1997. The following year, on January 20, "All My Love" was issued as the album's second single. Upon its release, the song reached number 28 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. In New Zealand, the single peaked at number one for four weeks and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ).
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