Ooh Wee (song)

For other songs, see Ooh Wee (disambiguation).

"Ooh Wee"
Single by Mark Ronson featuring Ghostface Killah, Nate Dogg, Trife and Saigon
from the album Here Comes the Fuzz
B-side	"NYC Rules"
Released	20 October 2003 (2003-10-20)
Recorded	2002–03
Genre	Alternative hip hop disco funk
Length	3:29
Label	Elektra
Songwriter(s)	Robert Hebb Mark Ronson Dennis Coles Nathaniel Hale Brian Carenard Theo Bailey Dennis Coffey
Producer(s)	Mark Ronson
Mark Ronson singles chronology
"Ooh Wee" (2003) "Just" (2006)
Ghostface Killah singles chronology
"Guerrilla Hood" (2003) "Ooh Wee" (2003) "Tush" (2004)
Nate Dogg singles chronology
"Gangsta Nation" (2003) "Ooh Wee" (2003) "Time's Up" (2004)
Trife singles chronology
"Guerrilla Hood" (2003) "Ooh Wee" (2003) "Milk Em'" (2005)
Saigon singles chronology
"Do You Know" (2002) "Ooh Wee" (2003) "Favorite Thing" (2004)

"Ooh Wee" is the debut single by British record producer Mark Ronson featuring guest vocals by American hip hop artists Ghostface Killah, Nate Dogg, Trife and Saigon. It was released as the lead single from Ronson's debut studio album, Here Comes the Fuzz, on 20 October 2003. It charted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart, and caused Ronson to return to the UK after many years of living in the United States.

Background

"Ooh Wee" was released as Ronson's debut single, from his album Here Comes the Fuzz. It features Ghostface Killah, Nate Dogg, Trife and Saigon. The record was produced in New York, where Ronson was living at the time. The song samples "Scorpio" by Dennis Coffey and "Sunny" by Boney M;^[1] in an interview with Rolling Stone, Ronson stated that he decided to sample the song after hearing it in the film Boogie Nights, and listening to the end of the film to the credits after discovering that the record wasn't on the film's soundtrack.^[2]

On episode 2 of the Apple TV series Watch with Sound with Mark Ronson, on sampling, Ronson tells the story of how he owns "minus 25% of the song" because Boney M took 100% of the publishing because he sampled them, and then Dennis Coffey, whose drum break is sampled, demanded another 25%. He apparently didn't care that Boney M had already taken 100%.^{[citation needed]}

The record was made only thinking of giving it to Ghostface Killah. Ronson's manager contacted Killah, who had previously been acquainted with each other. However, once Killah had added his part, he thought having an extra voice would complement the record, so he contacted the head of his label to see if he could get Nate Dogg on the record. After sending Dogg the record, it took him less than 24 hours to return it with his part recorded.^[3]

Music video

A music video for the song was created. It features all four rappers and Ronson miming to the original track. For it, Ronson had the back of his head shaved in such a manner that the words "Here Comes the Fuzz" appear on his head; a shot of this begins the video. During his 4Music #Hangout, he explained that the barber who cut his hair that day only spoke English and could not read or write it, and so to him he was in fact carving a picture in to the back of Ronson's head.^[4]

Critical reception

Dorian Lynskey of The Guardian described the song as "fizzy disco-rap ... informed by the freewheeling, celebratory spirit of late 80s hip-hop".^[5]

Matt Collar of AllMusic noted "rappers Ghostface Killah and Nate Dogg take the mic over a funky cowbell and the string section of Dennis Coffey's "Scorpio" on "Ooh Wee."^[6]

In popular culture

It was featured in the 2003 movie Honey and its soundtrack. The song was later used in the movies Hitch and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.^[7]

As of 2019, the song was featured in various Domino’s Pizza adverts in the UK.

It was featured in the official trailer for the 2019 movie Spies in Disguise.

In 2021, the song was used on a UK advert for McDonald's,^[8] and the following year it was used in an advert for Carolina Herrera New York: Bad Boy Cobalt.^[9]

Chart performance

"Ooh Wee" had a positive chart performance. The song charted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart; this, coupled with Elektra Records' decision to drop Ronson, culminated in Ronson returning to London.^[4] The song also charted at number 82 on the MegaCharts, number 83 on the Australian Singles Chart number 95 on the German Singles Chart and in America number 32 on the Rhythmic Top 40 and number 80 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2003) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[10] 83 Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[11] 6 Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[12] 16 Germany (Official German Charts)[13] 95 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] 82 UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[15] 7 UK Singles (OCC)[16] 15 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[17] 80 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[18] 32

Year-end charts Chart (2003) Position UK Urban (Music Week)[19] 38

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[20]	Silver	200,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Here Comes the Fuzz (Media notes). Elektra Records. 2003.
2. "Mark Ronson feat. Ghostface Killah & Nate Dogg, "Ooh Wee" (2003) - Mark Ronson: My Life in 10 Songs". Rolling Stone.
3. "Ghostface Killah, Nate Dogg Help DJ Mark Ronson Say 'Ooh Wee'". MTV. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021.
4. "Mark Ronson's #Hangout". #Hangouts. 3 January 2015. 4Music.
5. Dorian Lynskey (19 December 2003). "CD: Mark Ronson, Here Comes The Fuzz". The Guardian.
6. Collar, Matt. "Mark Ronson: Here Comes the Fuzz". Allmusic.
7. Swanson, David (24 July 2003) "Mark Ronson". Rolling Stone. (927):27
8. Change a little, change a lot | McDonald's UK, retrieved 2024-02-02
9. Bad Boy Cobalt - Official Shop Online | Carolina Herrera New York, retrieved 2024-02-02
10. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 19 January 2004" (PDF) (725). Australian Web Archive. 7 February 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-02-06. Retrieved January 17, 2015. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
11. "Mark Ronson feat. Ghostface Killah & Nate Dogg – Ooh Wee" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
12. "Mark Ronson feat. Ghostface Killah & Nate Dogg – Ooh Wee" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
13. Hung, Steffen. "Discographie Mark Ronson". German Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung). Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
14. "Mark Ronson feat. Ghostface Killah & Nate Dogg – Ooh Wee" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
15. "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
16. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
17. "Here Comes the Fuzz". AllMusic.
18. "Mark Ronson Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard.
19. "2003 Urban top 30" (PDF). Music Week. January 17, 2004. p. 18. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
20. "British single certifications – Mark Ronson/Ghostface Killah – Ooh Wee". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 2, 2024.