Songoftheday 9/22/18 - You drew a picture of my morning but you couldn't make my day, I'm rockin' and you're yawning But you never look my way...
from the album 19 Naughty III (1993)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #8 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 20
Today's song of the day comes from the rap trio from New Jersey, Naughty By Nature, whose breakthrough hit "O.P.P." reached the top five on the American pop chart in the fall of 1991. Two years later, the group released their third album (and second under the "NBN" name), 19 Naughty III. The lead single from the set, "Hip Hop Hooray", relies on a mix of samples instead of the prominent Jackson Five hook on "O.P.P.", but it did sport a chorus you can chant behind, and stood out as a positive celebration of the genre instead of bragging or beefing. It still brought them more endearment from the classic rap crowd, many of whose artists appear in the video, which was directed by Spike Lee...
"Hip Hop Hooray" became Treach, Vin Rock, and DJ Kay Gee's second top ten pop hit in March of 1993. The song was the sole track to reach #1 on Billboard's R&B chart, staying for a week (surprisingly, it stopped at #3 on their Rap Singles chart). The remixes on the 12" vinyl/CD Single helped it go to #9 on their Dance Club Play list as well. Internationally, the single peaked at #6 in New Zealand, and reached the top 40 in Germany (#19), the UK (#20), the Netherlands (#21), Ireland (#23), and Australia (#33). Like "O.P.P.", "Hip Hop Hooray" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Duo/Group Performance, losing to the Digable Planets' "Rebirth Of Slick".
The second single from 19 Naughty III, "It's On", rode ably on a jazz sample, but wasn't as mainstream radio friendly, and missed the top-40 on the pop (#74) and R&B chart (#43) in the U.S., though it did get to #34 in New Zealand. That was followed by the salacious "Written On Your Kitten", which slipped on to the pop Hot 100 at #93, got to #53 on the R&B list, and made it to #30 Down Under in New Zealand.
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Here's the trio performing live at Showtime At The Apollo in 1993...
Next up, one of the extended mixes that helped the track rise to the top ten on the dance chart...
Back to another televised performance from 1993...
In 2008, Naughty By Nature got the VH1 Hip Hop Honors treatment, and performed "Uptown Anthem" with "Hip Hop Hooray" (the latter starts at around 1:35)...
And lastly, the trio live in 2016...
Up tomorrow: Hip-Hop Canadian brings some frozen precipitation.
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