Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)


"Hit 'Em Up Style " is a song by American R&B singer Blu Cantrell, written and produced by Dallas Austin and included on Cantrell's debut album, So Blu. The song was released in the United States on April 23, 2001, as Cantrell's debut single. It is her most successful single in the US and her only single to enter the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number two for two weeks in July 2001. It experienced similar success worldwide, becoming a top-10 hit in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. Cantrell received a Grammy nomination for Best Female R&B Performance for the single.

Composition

The lyrics propose that women should take revenge on cheating men by draining them of their available assets, both monetary assets and property. Cantrell has said that she did not particularly care for the song artistically, but the bitter feelings she was experiencing at the time led her to include it on the album anyway. "Hit 'Em Up Style " takes a small snippet sample from Frank Sinatra’s "Boys' [Night Out (song)|Boys' Night Out]". The song is written in the key of F minor and is written in half time with a tempo of 90 beats per minute. The song features the chords Fm and Bm6, and Cantrell's vocals span from B3 to A5.

Track listings

The snippets from So Blu consist of "Till I'm Gone", "I'll Find a Way", "The One", "U Must B Crazy", and "Waste My Time" featuring L.O.
US CD single
  1. "Hit 'Em Up Style " – 4:02
  2. "Hit 'Em Up Style " – 4:12
  3. Snippets from So Blu
US 12-inch single
UK CD single
  1. "Hit 'Em Up Style " – 4:02
  2. "Hit 'Em Up Style " – 3:34
  3. "Hit 'Em Up Style " – 4:36
UK 12-inch single
UK cassette single and European CD single
  1. "Hit 'Em Up Style " – 4:02
  2. "Hit 'Em Up Style " – 3:34
Australian maxi-CD single
  1. "Hit 'Em Up Style " – 4:02
  2. "Hit 'Em Up Style " – 4:12
  3. "Hit 'Em Up Style " – 4:38
  4. "Hit 'Em Up Style " – 4:12

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the US CD single liner notes.
Studios
Personnel