Renee (song)

"Renee"
Single by Lost Boyz
from the album Legal Drug Money and Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood: The Soundtrack
Released	January 30, 1996 (1996-01-30)
Recorded	1995
Studio	D&D Recording Studios
Genre	Hip hop
Length	5:00
Label	Uptown
Songwriter(s)	Terrance Kelly Dexter Archer
Producer(s)	Mr. Sexxx "Buttnaked" Tim Dawg
Lost Boyz singles chronology
"Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz & Benz" (1995) "Renee" (1996) "Music Makes Me High" (1996)

"Renee" is a song by American rap group Lost Boyz from their first studio album Legal Drug Money and the Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood soundtrack.^{[citation needed]} It samples the Janet Jackson song "Funny How Time Flies (When You're Having Fun)". It was the Lost Boyz' most successful single, reaching number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 (their only one to reach to top 40) and earning a gold certification from the RIAA for sales of 500,000 copies.

Song information

The song's lyrics discuss the narrator, a young man, who meets a woman named Renee while coming back from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The narrator promptly attempts to initiate a relationship. The song describes that Renee is studying to be a lawyer, while the narrator is a writer. The pair date for several weeks, but the relationship ends abruptly when she is shot to death by a burglar at a robbery.^[1] The moral of the song is "ghetto love is the law that we live by," describing the inevitable suffering of tragedy by those raised in crime-ridden areas.^[2][3]

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "Renee"

Chart (1996)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100[4]	33
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks[5]	13
US Billboard Hot Rap Singles[6]	3

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "Renee"

Chart (1996)	Position
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks[7]	65
US Billboard Hot Rap Singles[8]	17

Certifications

Certifications for "Renee"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[9]	Gold	500,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Member of Lost Boyz Hip-Hop Group Slain". The New York Times. 1999-03-29.
2. Marriott, Michel (1996-10-13). "Touched by Death, Hip-Hop Turns to Dirges". The New York Times.
3. Strauss, Neil (1996-09-02). "Heartfelt Tales From the Mean Streets". The New York Times.
4. "Billboard Hot 100: Week of May 4, 1996". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
5. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs: Week of May 4, 1996". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
6. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs: Week of April 13, 1996". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
7. Billboard Year-End Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks - 1996. 28 December 1996. Retrieved 2011-11-10.
8. Billboard Year-End Hot Rap Singles - 1996. 28 December 1996. Retrieved 2011-11-10.
9. "American single certifications – Lost Boyz – Renee". Recording Industry Association of America.