| "O.P.P." | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byNaughty by Nature | ||||
| from the albumNaughty by Nature | ||||
| B-side | "The Wickedest Man Alive" | |||
| Released | August 24, 1991 | |||
| Recorded | 1991 | |||
| Studio | Unique Recording Studios (New York, New York, US) | |||
| Genre | Golden age hip-hop | |||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | Tommy Boy | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Naughty by Nature | |||
| Naughty by Nature singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "O.P.P." onYouTube | ||||
"O.P.P." is a song by Americanhip hop groupNaughty by Nature, released in August 1991 byTommy Boy as the lead single from the group'sself-titled second album (1991). It was one of the firstrap songs to become apop hit when it reached No. 6 on the USBillboard Hot 100 and No. 35 on theUK Singles Chart. Rodd Houston andMarcus Raboy directed the music video for the song. 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 magazine named it one of the greatest singles of the 1990s.[1] It also made some media outlets' lists of one of the best rap songs of all time: includingThe Source,[2][better source needed]VH1 (No. 22),[3] andRolling Stone (No. 80).[4] The song was also ranked No. 20 in VH1's "40 Greatest Hip Hop Songs of the '90s" in 2012[5] and No. 96 inBillboard magazine's "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time" in 2023.[6]
The song samplesMelvin Bliss' "Synthetic Substitution" andThe Jackson 5's "ABC". Its lyrics concern sexual infidelity, with "O.P.P." standing for "other people's pussy" and "other people's penis".Treach told in an interview withNew York Times, "'O.P.P.' is about crazy messing with other people's girls. Everybody knows about that, girls messing, guys messing, you know the bit. It goes on, so everybody could relate, the fellas and the girls, and it's got a hook for the party and everybody can crazy groove to it."[7]
Upon the single release,Larry Flick fromBillboard magazine remarked that here, theact drops samples of theJackson Five's "ABC" onto "a rousing hip-hop beat-base. Anthemic rhymes are icing on the cake. Have a taste."[8] James Bernard fromEntertainment Weekly described it as "a sly, body-rocking tune with a melodic pop hook and plenty of cute double entendres".[9] Dennis Hunt fromLos Angeles Times named it a "lively, lewd hit single", "which is cleverly constructed on the framework of the Jackson 5’s bubble-gum soul classic".[10]David Bennun fromMelody Maker called it "a genitally-fixated rap on the joys of infidelity".[11] A reviewer fromMusic & Media felt "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."[12]
Peter Watrous fromNew York Times wrote, "There are a couple of signs that 'O.P.P.', an old-fashioned cheating song by Naughty by Nature [...] is shaping up as one of the summer's hits on local streets. The first indication is the sound of 'O.P.P' coming from the back of Jeeps; the second is that bootleg T-shirts advertising the band—Trech (Trech Criss), Vin Rock (Vinnie Brown) and Kay Gee (Keir Gist) -- are being sold all over lowerManhattan."[7] Johnny Lee fromSmash Hits declared the song as "everso jumpy".[13]Scott Poulson-Bryant fromSpin said, "I'm definitely down with 'O.P.P.'—you will be too."[14]
German rock and pop culture magazineSpex included "O.P.P." in their "The Best Singles of the Century" list in 1999.[15] In a 2021 retrospective review, Jesse Ducker from Albumism said about the song, "It's one of the most light-hearted songs about infidelity this side ofClarence Carter's 'Back Door Santa', asTreach gleefully lists the virtues of engaging in sexual congress with someone else's girl."[16] Stanton Swihart ofAllMusic felt 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 thehip-hop dabblers in the suburbs."[17] Jean Rosenbluth fromLos Angeles Times stated, "The fabulously wicked chant 'O.P.P.' masterfully captured hip-hop's silly side even better than that genre's prime exponent,Digital Underground."[18] In October 2023,Billboard magazine ranked it number 96 in their "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time",[6] saying, "Three decades later, all it takes is the opening piano plinks to remind even the most conservative ‘90s kid that deep down, damn skippy, they’re still a card-carrying member." Same year,Time Out ranked "O.P.P." number 60 in their "The 100 Best Party Songs Ever Made".[19]
A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Rodd Houston andMarcus Raboy.[20] 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 later made available on Naughty by Nature's officialYouTube channel in 2010, and had generated more than 29 million views as of September 2025.
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[38] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
The song has been used as a soundtrack to various films as well as television series, including the TV sitcomsThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Air andThe Office, and the filmsLa Haine,Jarhead, andUp in the Air. In the filmSister Act 2: Back In The Habit, the song was parodied as 'Down With G.O.D'. In the video gameMinecraft, 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.[39][40] The song was also featured inDexter: Original Sin.
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