"Hot in Herre" (sic) is a song by American rapper Nelly, released as the lead single from his second album, Nellyville (2002). It was released on May 7, 2002, by Universal Records. The song was written by Nelly, Chuck Brown, and the production duo the Neptunes, and incorporates elements of Brown's 1979 single "Bustin' Loose", Neil Young's 1972 song "There's a World", and Nancy Sinatra's 1966 cover of the Rolling Stones' "As Tears Go By". It features additional vocals by Dani Stevenson.
"Hot in Herre" is widely considered one of Nelly's signature songs, alongside follow-up single "Dilemma". The two singles became back-to-back number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2002. The song also reached number one in Canada and entered the top 10 in 12 additional countries.
Contents
Commercial performance
"Hot in Herre" premiered on April 15, 2002, several weeks before its official release, through AOL Music's First Listen online streaming service. It received more than 760,000 streams, setting a record for the website.
The song peaked at number one in Canada, reached number four in the United Kingdom, and charted within the top 10 in several other international markets. In the United States, it became Nelly's first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Neptunes' first number-one hit as producers. It entered the Hot 100 on May 4, 2002, reached number one on June 29, and remained there until it was replaced by Nelly's follow-up single "Dilemma" on August 10. "Hot in Herre" ultimately finished at number three on the 2002 Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles chart.
Awards and accolades
At the 45th Annual Grammy Awards in 2003, the song won the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Male Rap Solo Performance In 2008, the song was ranked number 36 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop". In 2014, San Francisco radio station Hot 105.7 played the song on a continuous loop to promote its change from Latin music to rhythmic contemporary. The stunt lasted 72 hours and attracted media attention.
Music video
Two music videos were produced for song. The original, known as the "St. Louis Arch Version" and serviced to MTV Europe, depicts a nightclub inside the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and features cameo appearances by Cedric the Entertainer, Carmelo Anthony, T. J. Duckett, and Julius Peppers. A second version, released in North America, is similarly set in a nightclub and features Cedric the Entertainer as a DJ who briefly interrupts the song to announce a “fire” on the dance floor, though the crowd continues singing along.