No Scrubs

"No Scrubs" is a song recorded by American girl group TLC as the lead single from their third studio album, FanMail, released on February 2, 1999, by LaFace Records and Arista Records. The song was written by producer Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, former Xscape members Kandi Burruss and Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, and TLC member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. The song lyrics describe the role of a man in a relationship. Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas sings the lead vocals for the first time on a TLC single. "No Scrubs" became TLC's third number-one single and eighth top 10 single on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked for four consecutive weeks. It was ranked number two on Billboard's year-end Hot 100 singles chart of 1999, behind Cher's "Believe" (1998). The song won Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal and Best R&B Song at 42nd Annual Grammy Awards. The Hype Williams-directed music video was released in 1999, which depicted the three members dancing inside a space station. It was compared to other music videos such as "Scream" (1995) and "What's It Gonna Be?!" (1999). "No Scrubs" received divisive attention following its release; several radio stations aired answer songs as a response, while the word "scrub" became prominently used worldwide. Background and development "No Scrubs" was initially written by Kandi Burruss on an envelope while sitting in her car. The lyrics allude to a previous relationship Tameka Cottle described as a "screw-up". Burruss and Cottle intended to record "No Scrubs" together; however, Dallas Austin gave the song to TLC as their first single for FanMail, with Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas singing the lead vocals. He regarded the song as a breakthrough for Thomas. "No Scrubs" was written by Burruss, Cottle and producer Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, with background vocals provided by Thomas, Burruss, Cottle, and Debra Killings. The lyrics were modified slightly to match TLC's image. Two versions of the song were released to boost airplay across formats, one described as straight R&B, the other containing a rap verse from TLC member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes.