It’s gettin’ hot in herre / So take off all your clothes are words, no poetry, that has graced ears for more than 20 years. Nelly’s enduring 2000s club hit, “Hot in Herre,” is a timeless song that has a place in every club, film soundtrack, and grocery store speaker anywhere and at any time.
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There are few songs that rival its staying power and even fewer tunes that surpass its potency. Meet the songwriters behind the forever infectious “Hot in Herre.”
Who Wrote It?
“Hot in Herre” was written by Nelly with the help of the production duo The Neptunes, comprised of hitmakers Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo. Famed funk bandleader Chuck Brown was also given songwriting credits as his 1979 hit, “Bustin’ Loose,” was sampled in the party anthem.
“‘Hot in Herre’ was a great record for me,” Nelly recalled in a 2017 conversation with Maxim. “As an artist, you hope to create something that will stand the test of time. You want to make something that people will remember and have great moments with. ‘Hot in Herre’ was one of those songs for me.”
A Near Miss
And to think the song almost didn’t make it onto the artist’s sophomore album, Nellyville, in 2002. Talking with FADER, Nelly explained feeling like something was missing from the project just ahead of its release. Like an answer to an unspoken prayer, Pharrell brought to the table something he had been working on that featured a sample of Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers’ hit “Bustin’ Loose.” “Hot In Herre” was the tune that resulted.
The song would be a last-minute addition to the release and would be the hit to make Nellyville one of the best-selling hip-hop albums to date. “Me and Pharrell … are similar because we both think that there’s no such thing as a ‘dumb’ record,” Nelly told Maxim. “Just do it and if you don’t like it, just cut it. You don’t have to put it out. But as a creator, you still want to do those things. Every artist probably has not loved every painting they’ve ever done. But we tried it, and that’s our organic creation. The sound of the record had a big impact.”
Over the last two decades, “Hot in Herre” truly has been a timeless hit. “We created a moment for people,” the artist shared, detailing the reason behind the song’s long-running success. “Music is always most memorable when you’re growing up. A lot of people want songs that remind them of certain moments in their lives. And I think ‘Hot in Herre’ was able to do that.”
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
