"Po Pimp" is the debut single by Do or Die

Do or Die

Do or Die is an American rap trio originally from Chicago, Illinois, consisting of group members Belo Zero, N.A.R.D. and AK-47. The trio has sold more than 3 million albums. The group experienced mainstream success with the gold single "Po Pimp", Produced by The Legendary Traxster off of their...

, it served as the lead single from their debut album, Picture This

Picture This (Do or Die album)

Picture This is the first album released by rap group, Do or Die. It was released on September 3, 1996 for Rap-A-Lot and Virgin Records and was produced mainly by The Legendary Traxster with 8 songs. The album proved to be a huge success for the group, peaking at #27 on the Billboard 200 and #3 on...

. The song was produced by The Legendary Traxster

The Legendary Traxster

The Legendary Traxster is an American songwriter, rapper and record producer. A native of Chicago, he is best known as a producer for Twista, Do or Die and Ludacris. He is the owner and CEO of CWAL Records....

 and featured a guest verse from fellow Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 rapper Twista

Twista

Carl Terrell Mitchell , better known by his stage name Twista, is an American rapper. He is known for once holding the title of fastest rapper in the world according to Guinness World Records in 1992, being able to pronounce 598 syllables in 55 seconds...

 and vocals from R&B singer Johnny P.

Background

"Po Pimp" was originally released independently in the group's native Chicago. The song became a local hit and caught the attention of prominent Houston-based hip hop label Rap-a-Lot Records

Rap-A-Lot Records

Rap-a-Lot Records is a Houston hip hop record label. Rap-a-Lot was created in 1986. Sublabels include Smoke-a-Lot Records. The label was founded by James Prince in the mid-1980s and, with its most famous act the Geto Boys, put the South on the hip hop map. Since then, it has maintained its success...

, who signed the trio to a record deal. Rap-a-Lot then released "Po Pimp" nationwide in the summer of 1996 and it quickly became a breakthrough hit for the trio. It peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 on October 19 and also reached No. 1 on the Hot Rap Singles chart. By the end of 1996, "Po Pimp" had become one of the most popular and best selling singles of the year, the Recording Industry Association of America

Recording Industry Association of America

The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...

 certified the single gold for sales of over 500,000 copies and it made it to Billboard's Year-End Hot 100 Singles of 1996 at No. 91.

Single track listing

1. "Po Pimp" (Radio Version)- 3:57
2. "Po Pimp" (Dirty Version)- 4:00
3. "Promise"- 4:39
4. "Promise" (Instrumental)- 4:39

Peak positions

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Billboard Hot 100	22
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	15
Billboard Hot Rap Singles	1
Billboard Rhythmic Top 40	39

Year-End charts

Year-End chart (1996)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	91