Recorded 1999 Label Universal Records | Genre Hip hop | |
Released February 29, 2000 (2000-02-29) Format CD singledigital download Length 4:48 (album version)4:19 (edit) | ||
"Country Grammar (Hot Shit)" is the debut single by American rapper Nelly. The song was produced by Jason "Jay E" Epperson. It was released in 2000, taken from Nelly's debut album Country Grammar. It peaked at #7 in both the US and UK and hit #56 in Sweden. The drum pattern is based on the song "Soul Love" by David Bowie from his 1973 album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.
Composition
The song's melody and chorus were taken from a song popularly sung by children with clapping games called "Down Down Baby". On the clean version, the word "shit" is backmasked, and most of the explicit words are replaced by radio-friendly words and/or bleep-related sound effects. For instance, the lyrics "street sweeper baby cocked" in the chorus are replaced with "boom boom baby" due to its reference to a shotgun. Fellow St. Louis rapper Jibbs would later use the same tactic employed by Nelly in creating his first hit single. He would go on to imitate the popular children's song "Do Your Ears Hang Low?", with his song, "Chain Hang Low". The song also references Beenie Man's 1998 dancehall single "Who Am I (Sim Simma)" with the line, "Keys to my beemer, man, holla at Beenie Man".