No commercial release was originally intended for the single in the US, but limited-quantity physical formats were issued two months later, on October 27.

It marked the first US number one written, produced and recorded by one sole woman since Debbie Gibson's "Lost in Your Eyes" (1989).

It also marked the first song by a female rapper to peak at number one on the Hot 100, and remained the only solo song by a female rapper to debut at number one for nearly a quarter of century, until "Super Freaky Girl" by Nicki Minaj debuted atop of the chart in 2022, breaking Hill's record.

[10] The hip hop and R&B song is a warning from Lauryn Hill to African-American men and women caught in "the struggle".

[11] In terms of production value, Hill borrows heavily from elements of soul music and doo-wop, lending credence to the song's title.

In its official album and single release, several of the song's lyrics are censored, though the original words can be found in the liners.

[15] Hill joined Roberta Flack, Linda Goldstein, and Sinéad O'Connor as the only women at the time to solely produce a number one single, and joined the latter three women along with Valerie Simpson and Ellie Greenwich as the sixth woman overall to produce a number one single.

Despite reaching 50 million audience impressions on radio, it was held out of the top spot by "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" by Deborah Cox.

[28] "Doo Wop (That Thing)" remained the only single by a female rapper to debut atop the chart until Nicki Minaj's "Trollz" with 6ix9ine began at number one in 2020.

[32][33] The song experienced similar success abroad, reaching number one in Iceland, and peaking within the top 10 in various other countries worldwide.

In 1999, "Doo Wop (That Thing)" was ranked at number two on The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop annual critics' poll, after Fatboy Slim's "The Rockafeller Skank".

"Doo Wop (That Thing)" was included at number 359 on the Songs of the Century list by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.

On the left side of the split screen, the 1967 Hill dressed in full retro-styled attire, complete with a beehive and a zebra-printed dress, she pays homage to classic R&B and doo wop, and on the right side of the screen, the 1998 Hill is shown in a homage to hip hop culture.

[61] Alicia Keys performed a rendition of the track during a medley with other popular songs at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.

[64] The Glee episode "The Back-up Plan", included a cover version of the song performed by Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley) and Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera).

[66] Singer John Legend performed a rendition of the song on the ABC network show Greatest Hits.

[68] In 2021, author Minda Harts published her second book, Right Within: How We Heal From Racial Trauma in the Workplace, inspired by a verse in the song.