Superthug

"Superthug"
Single by Noreaga
from the album N.O.R.E.
Released	September 21, 1998
Genre	East Coast hip hop Latin hip hop
Length	5:00
Label	Tommy Boy
Songwriter(s)	Victor Santiago Pharrell Williams Chad Hugo
Producer(s)	The Neptunes
Noreaga singles chronology
"You Came Up" (1998) "Superthug" (1998) "Blood Money Pt. 3" (1999)

"Superthug" is a song by American rapper Noreaga with background vocals from Tammy Lucas during the song's hook. It was released as the second single from his debut solo album, N.O.R.E.. At the time, it became Noreaga's highest charting and most successful single, peaking at No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reaching No. 1 on the Hot Rap Songs chart.^[1] However it was later surpassed by his 2002 single "Nothin'" which peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Along with Mase's "Lookin' at Me", the single was one of the first high-profile productions done by Virginia production team the Neptunes. It made the Neptunes well known and sought after producers in the music industry, and in the first decade of the 21st century they would become one of the most successful production teams in music history, being named the Billboard magazine Producer of the Decade for the 2000s.^[2]

"Superthug" would later be sampled on Janet Jackson's "Ruff (I Like It)", recorded for her Damita Jo album which failed to make the cut, although a snippet was leaked to the Internet in 2010. Jackson also considered including the song on her Discipline album.^[3]