Ooouuu

2016 single by Young M.A
"Ooouuu"
Single by Young M.A
from the album Her-story
ReleasedMay 12, 2016
Recorded2016
GenreHip hop
Length3:54
LabelM.A Music
Songwriter(s)
  • Katorah Marrero
  • Matthew Norrish Jacobson
Producer(s)U-Dub of NY Bangers
Young M.A singles chronology
"Body Bag"
(2015) 		"Ooouuu"
(2016) 		"EAT"
(2016)
Music video
"Ooouuu" on YouTube

"Ooouuu" (stylized in all caps) is a song by American rapper Young M.A. The song was produced by U-Dub (of NY Bangers). It was released as a single on May 12, 2016.

Background

In an interview with Genius, Young M.A spoke on the creation process behind the song:

When I first heard the beat and wrote to it, I said to myself, "This is one of those records where I just wanna relax." There's not too much thinking about the bars or the punchlines, I needed a feel good record. I didn’t have one of those yet, I was putting so much work into my pen. This is a record where I just wanted to be cool on the track. I'm chill, I'm humble a lot, I needed one of those records.

When I went to record the track, I wanted to be drunk while I recorded it. I was really smizz and drizz when I recorded the record so it feels authentic. When I recorded the track I wasn't going to put it out just yet because I had just released Sleep Walkin and I had a lot of records on there I wanted to do videos for. But something one day just told me that I needed to put this out—nobody told me, just one day I thought this would take me to the next level.

I didn't want some big push behind it, I was just like this is a record I just wanna put out. From there, I guess it was catchy and it was different from me.[1]

Critical reception

"Ooouuu" was placed at number 11 on Rolling Stone’s "50 Best Songs of 2016" list.[2] Billboard ranked "Ooouuu" at number 16 on their "100 Best Pop Songs of 2016" list.[3] Pitchfork listed "Ooouuu" on their ranking of the 100 best songs of 2016 at number 67.[4] In the annual Village Voice's Pazz & Jop mass critics poll of the year's best in music in 2016, "Ooouuu" was ranked at number 24.[5]

In other media

  • The song was sampled by Eminem for the opening track "The Ringer" on Kamikaze.[6]
  • A character extensively pantomimes the song at a sleepover during the "HBD" episode of High Maintenance

Music video

On May 12, 2016, Young M.A released the music video for "Ooouuu" on her YouTube account, the same day as the release to the song. Since the video was posted, the video surpassed over 400 million views.[7]

Remixes

The official remix to "Ooouuu", released on September 30, 2016, features a new opening verse by fellow New York City rapper 50 Cent.[8] In addition, "Ooouuu" was unofficially remixed several times by various American rappers, such as Remy Ma, French Montana, ASAP Ferg, Jadakiss, Meek Mill, Beanie Sigel, Nicki Minaj, and The Game, among others.[9]

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2016–17) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[10] 41
US Billboard Hot 100[11] 19
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[12] 5

Year-end charts

Chart (2016) Position
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[13] 53
Chart (2017) Position
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[14] 65

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[15] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[16] 5× Platinum 5,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Yo bro, I think I had too much Hennessy man / This Hennessy getting to me / I ain't gonna lie, I'm a little smizz / I'm a little drizz / But we in the club man, OOOUUU". Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  2. ^ "50 Best Songs of 2016". Rolling Stone. November 30, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  3. ^ "Billboard's 100 Best Pop Songs of 2016: Critics' Picks". Billboard. December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  4. ^ "The 100 Best Songs of 2016". Pitchfork Media. December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  5. ^ "PAZZ+JOP 2016". Village Voice. January 25, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  6. ^ Minsker, Evan (August 30, 2018). "Eminem Drops Surprise New Album Kamikaze: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  7. ^ Young MA (May 12, 2016). "Young M.A "OOOUUU" (Official Video)". Retrieved October 24, 2016 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ Cush, Andy (September 30, 2016). "50 Cent Hops on the Remix of Young M.A's "OOOUUU"". SPIN.
  9. ^ "NY NY: Young M.A, Remy Ma, French Montana & Jadakiss "OOOUUU (Remix)"". August 24, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  10. ^ "Young MA Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  11. ^ "Young MA Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  12. ^ "Young MA Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  13. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  14. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  15. ^ "British single certifications – Young MA – Ooouuu". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  16. ^ "American single certifications – Young M.A – Ooouuu". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 1, 2017.

External links

  • Lyrics of this song at Genius
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
  • MusicBrainz release group