Throwback Thursday: Blackstreet – “No Diggity” (featuring Dr. Dre & Queen Pen)
As promised, we’re honoring both titans who participated in the Instagram-breaking battle this past Monday.
For all of his extraness and inability to read a room, Teddy Riley is redeemed by having one of the strongest pens in the history of popular music.
In the early-to-mid ’90s, he was to club bangers what Babyface was to ballads. Seldom a miss.
In 1996, Uncle Ted wrote a little song for his group, Guy, which was attempting to reunite after disbanding in 1992. By ’96, Teddy had already moved on to a new group, Blackstreet, and was already writing for the group’s sophomore album, Another Level.
The song in question, “No Diggity,” was turned down by Guy, and even when offered to its lead singer, Aaron Hall, for a solo performance, he still wasn’t into it. As the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, but even this treasure was a tough sell to its eventual owner.
According to Teddy Riley, none of the members of Blackstreet liked “No Diggity,” which is why he ends up singing the first verse on the track. The song would go on to become the group’s biggest hit, ruling the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks.
The track features Dr. Dre and Queen Pen, the former of which was fresh out of Death Row Records at the time of the song’s release. According to singer and former Death Row signee Danny Boy, the song that would be known as “Toss It Up” — a diss track aimed at Dr. Dre — was originally rapped over the “No Diggity” beat. That version of the song never saw the light of day due to a cease-and-desist letter from Blackstreet’s lawyers.
“No Diggity” contains a sample of “Grandma’s Hands” by Bill Withers, who passed away a little over three weeks ago.
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