“No Diggity” is an R&B/ hip hop song by American R&B group Blackstreet, featuring rapper Dr. Dre and rapper Queen Pen. It was the first single from their second album “Another Level” (1996).
The song was originally offered to another R&B American band (Guy), but they refused to take the song. The co-producer of the track Teddy Riley spoke out about the difficult process in an interview in 2010: “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…”. The song’s musical backing track is a changed simple from the start of the infamous song ·Grandma’s Hands” by Bill Withers, which is why he’s credited in the songwriting credits. The song is essentially an R&B love-but-not-quite-love song, talking about a woman that they do not want to “catch feelings” for, and how Blackstreet hopes that “…maybe in time/baby, I can get you in my ride”. The track is narrative on a romantic chase, put in simpler terms.
The music video was released in 1996, and is directed by Hype Williams. It shows the Blackstreet members in front of a beach house, surrounded by limousines and female dancers. There are the occasional scenes to the band in a nightclub surrounded by women. Queen Pen performs her rap verse in front of the beach house. The music video was uploaded to YouTube in 2009, and has over 175 million views.
Release Date: 30th September 1996
Songwriter/s: Chauncey Hannibal, Teddy Riley, William Stewart, Lynise Walters, Andre Young, Richard Vick & Bill Withers
Producer/s: Teddy Riley & William “Skylz” Stewart
Label/s: Interscope
Music Video Release Date: 1996
Music Video Director: Hype Williams
Chart Rankings, Certifications & Awards: In it’s year of release, the song went to #1 in Canada, Iceland, New Zealand, the UK and the US. It also received Gold certification in Australia, Norway and Sweden; not forgetting it went Platinum in New Zealand, the US and the UK. The track one the 1998 Grammy Award for “Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals”.
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