Released May 1999 | ||
B-side "Cheapskate (You Ain't Gettin' Nada)" Format CD single, cassette single, 12" single, 7" single Recorded March 1999; D.A.R.P. Studios
(Atlanta, Georgia) Genre Hip hop, R&B, Dance-pop Length 4:24 (album version)
3:26 (mix version) | ||
"No Pigeons" is the second and final single by Sporty Thievz, released from their 1999 album Street Cinema.
Contents
It was a rebuttal to TLC's smash hit single "No Scrubs" and received much radio play at the time of its release. It peaked at #12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, at about the same time the TLC single was enjoying a successful chart run. The music video also features female rapper Eve.
Song information
"No Pigeons" was originally written & recorded by rap artist "Mr. Wood$" alongside of one New York's highly respected mix tape DJs, DJ Rhude. Mr. Wood$ & Dj Rhude wanted to create a male-aimed response after the widespread international success of TLC's song "No Scrubs," a song that discusses the unwillingness of women to engage in a relationship with men who are unemployed, grimy, unsophisticated, or poorly-mannered. The song then was titled "No Vultures" and released independently via "DJ Rhude mix tape" that DJ Rhude was known for in the early to late 90's.
The record "No Vultures" landed into the hands of WQHT/Hot 97's DJ & On Air Personality Funkmaster Flex who quickly realized that the record would be a hit and would be perfect for a group that he produced and mentored called Sporty Thievz. Funkmaster Flex quickly contacted Mr. Wood$ & DJ Rhude to re-record the record along with the Sporty Thievz to be released nationally under the name "No Pigeons" after taking a unanimous vote that a pigeon would work better commercially as being called a vulture may offend some female listeners.
Nationally released as "No Pigeons" by the Sporty Thievz featuring Mr. Wood$ the song discusses the dilemma that "No Scrubs" alluded to, but rather than name women "scrubs," they were denoted as "pigeons." Throughout the course of the song, the artists on the track make overt references to unsightly, substandard women, accusing them of wearing hair weaves, having "more than one baby father," receiving public assistance, personal hygiene & "stripping all week to go clubbing."
The entire song is based on a slightly faster beat of the original "No Scrubs" with added bass.
In 2007 California indie band Brighten covered the song for a Warped Tour compilation album entitled "Yo! Indie Rocks Raps," which was never released via retail outlets but was available for purchase at tour stops. Several of the tracks from this project were eventually re-released with Fearless' compilation Punk Goes Crunk, however No Pigeons was omitted from this list.
Music video
The music video was made in March 1999, it also features female rapper Eve, Gang Starr's Guru, & Harlem World rapper Blinky Blink. Parts of the video were filmed in the Parkchester section of the Bronx.