The song reached number one on the US Hot 100 and R&B charts, topping the former for five non-consecutive weeks, and has gone platinum, making it their biggest and best-known hit.

The bassline from Kurtis Blow's "Christmas Rappin'" [from 1979] definitely provides the old school element, and the beats are non-hip-hop-derived straight fours, but the sophisticated accompaniment does not prevent this from being one of the best and crispest new street jams around.

In 2001, English boy band Blue released a cover version of the song as the second single from their debut studio album All Rise (2001).

The following month, Blue were being interviewed by British newspaper The Sun and singer Lee Ryan commented that "This New York thing is being blown out of proportion" and asked "What about whales?

The parody gained fame within social media (most notably Vine and Twitter) because of the comically poor production quality and relatable theme.

Replacing the line "Baby when we're grinding" with "Why the fuck you lying," and similarly for following phrases, the song initially referenced an untrustworthy girl who failed to keep her promise of hooking him up with her cute friend.