No Scrubs (With Rap) Lyrics
Oh-oh
[Verse 1: Chilli & Left Eye]
A scrub is a guy that thinks he's fly
And is also known as a busta (Busta)
Always talkin' 'bout what he wants
And just sits on his broke ass, so
[Pre-Chorus: Chilli & Left Eye]
No, I don't want your number (Uh, uh-uh)
No, I don't wanna give you mine and
No, I don't wanna meet you nowhere (No)
No, don't want none of your time and (Uh)
[Chorus: Chilli & T-Boz, Left Eye]
No, I don't want no scrub (Uh)
A scrub is a guy that can't get no love from me
Hangin' out the passenger side of his best friend's ride
Trying to holla at me (Woo)
I don't want no scrub
A scrub is a guy that can't get no love from me (Uh-uh, no love)
Hangin' out the passenger side of his best friend's ride (Uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh)
Trying to holla at me
[Verse 2: Chilli & Left Eye]
Well, a scrub checkin' me, but his game is kinda weak
And I know that he cannot approach me
'Cause I'm lookin' like class and he's lookin' like trash
Can't get with a deadbeat ass, so (Yeah)
No, I don't want your number
No, I don't wanna give you mine and (Said no)
No, I don't wanna meet you nowhere
No, don't want none of your time (Check it)
[Chorus: Chilli & T-Boz, Left Eye]
No, I don't want no scrub
A scrub is a guy that can't get no love from me (Uh-huh, come on)
Hangin' out the passenger side of his best friend's ride
Trying to holla at me (Hah)
I don't want no scrub
A scrub is a guy that can't get no love from me (Uh-uh, no love)
Hangin' out the passenger side of his best friend's ride
Trying to holla at me
[Bridge: Chilli & Left Eye]
If you don't have a car and you're walkin'
Oh, yes, son, I'm talkin' to you
If you live at home with your mama
Oh, yes, son, I'm talkin' to you (Baby)
If you have a shorty that you don't show love
Oh, yes, son (Yeah), I'm talkin' to you (Yeah)
Wanna get with me with no money, oh no
I don't want no
No (No scrubs), scrub (No love)
No (No scrubs), scrub (No, no, no love)
No (Uh-uh, uh-uh, scrub), scrub (Uh-uh, uh-uh, no love, no, no, no, no)
No (Uh-uh, uh-uh), scrub (No, no, uh)
No, I don't want no scrub
A scrub is a guy that can't get no love from me
Hangin' out the passenger side of his best friend's ride (Yeah)
Trying to holla at me
I don't want no scrub (No)
A scrub is a guy that can't get no love from me
Hangin' out the passenger side of his best friend's ride (Yeah)
Trying to holla at me
[Verse 3: Left Eye]
See, if you can't spatially expand my horizons (Horizons)
Then that leaves you in a class with scrubs, never risin' (Risin')
I don't find it surprisin' if you don't have the G's
To please me and bounce from here to the coast of overseas
So, let me give you somethin' to think about (Think about)
Inundate your mind with intentions to turn you out (Turn you out)
Can't forget the focus on the picture in front of me (In front of me)
You as clear as DVD on digital TV screens (Digital TV screens)
Satisfy my appetite with somethin' spectacular (Spectacular)
Check your vernacular, and then I'll get back to ya (Then I'll get back to ya)
With diamond-like precision, insatiable is what I envision
Can't detect acquisition from your friend's Expedition
Mister Big Willy
If you really wanna know, ask Chilli
Could I be a silly ho? Not really
T-Boz and all my señoritas are steppin' on your FILAs
But you don't hear me, though
No, I don't want no scrub (No)
A scrub is a guy that can't get no love from me (Uh-uh, uh-uh, uh)
Hangin' out the passenger side of his best friend's ride (Uh, yeah)
Trying to holla at me
I don't want no scrub (No scrub)
A scrub is a guy that can't get no love from me (No love)
Hangin' out the passenger side of his best friend's ride
Trying to holla at me
About
“No Scrubs”, the lead single of FanMail, topped the charts in the US in April 1999. It also went to #1 in Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, and reached the top 5 in several more countries.
The song earned the girl group their second Grammy nomination for “Record of the Year” and claimed the #2 spot in NME’s Top Tracks of 1999.
The official music video was directed by Hype Williams, and propelled the track’s success into full gear as it received constant airtime on MTV and BET.
An interesting fact about this song: Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes’s rap was not in the album version of the song. Only in the music video version and in live performances.
In 2020, Chilli revealed the song was inspired by seeing Full House stars Dave Coulier and John Stamos driving by:
One day we’re out walking, and [Coulier] and Stamos come driving by, and you know, Coulier leans out and tries to holler at us from the passenger side of the car. To be honest, I didn’t know who he was at first — I just saw a bunch of hair and a bright, patterned shirt, but then it clicked and I was like, ‘Is that that corny motherfucker, Uncle Joey?’ So I started jotting down some lines, and the rest is history. He was talking like Popeye for some reason, and had this beaver puppet… that part didn’t make it in the song.
In 2017, comedian Paul F. Tompkins asked an important question:
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Kandi and Tiny wrote the heck out of that song, and I’m glad they gave it to us instead of keeping it for themselves. When we did the video, we went all out except for Chili – she wanted to look like an island princess! [Laughs.] I was so excited about the part where I wore the all-white outfit where my boobs lit up. We never really did anything super sexy like that. I remember not having a routine and [the video’s director Hype Williams] just told me to dance. RuPaul also came to see us on set, but he wasn’t in drag. His makeup artist [Mathu Andersen] did our makeup and it was so amazing. Me and Lisa had a ball with that. I was like, “Can I put rhinestones on my lips too?”
T-Boz via Billboard
“No Scrubs” is an empowerment anthem. When we are performing it, I look out in the audience and say this cool little speech about certain guys you got to stay away from. I always say this – and I’ll say it forever – but scrubs are like roaches. You can never get them under control completely. [Laughs.] They just won’t die. They just keep multiplying. That’s why you just got to stay away from them suckers! The reason I knew [the song] was going to be big because what it’s talking about is so relatable to every woman in America. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, scrubs come in all shapes, sizes and colors. So it was just a universal song that every woman can high-five each other with. It was a winner.
Chilli via Billboard
Being on set was really scary, especially the one scene where it was all three of us and it looked like we were in space. This tube thing was constantly moving so you couldn’t stand still or else you would fall. I was getting so frustrated and yelling, “How many more takes?” Lisa was falling and we were hitting each other by accident, it was just crazy. That’s why we were acting so silly at the end of the video, because trying to fight against [the moving set] was not working. Then, there was that really ginormous swing. I had to practice first because I was so nervous. Of course by the end, I didn’t want to get off the thing! That was a long day, but it was fun doing the whole futuristic stuff. Even our space suit-looking outfits were right up our alley. We always knew that our image was just as important as our music."
Via Billboard
[Xscape girl group member Tameka “Tiny” Cottle] and I got the music from [producer Kevin “She'kspere” Briggs]. I had this notepad that I used to write song titles or concepts in. I used to say it to all my friends all the time: If there was like a dude that was wack, we just called him “that scrub.” So I thought, “That’d be a cute concept for our record.” One day I was riding around with my friend while listening to the track that She'kspere gave me. We were both were dating brothers at the time, and we were dogging them out because we were mad at them. I freestyled the entire song while just driving down a highway: the verse, hook, pre-chorus, the whole thing. I actually wrote a majority of the record on an old envelope that was sitting in my car! I took it to Tiny the next day. The lyric originally was: [sings] “A scrub is a guy who thinks he’s fly and also known as a busta/ Always talking about what he wants and just sits on his fat ass!” Tiny busted out laughing and was like, “Girl, you are so crazy!” But I thought that people were going to like it.
Via Billboard
- 4.Get It Up
- 6.Creep
- 8.Waterfalls
- 10.Kick Your Game
- 11.Silly Ho
- 12.No Scrubs (With Rap)
- 13.Unpretty
- 14.Come Get Some
- 15.Girl Talk
- 16.Damaged
- 17.Whoop De Woo
- 19.Turntable
- 20.I Bet