It's Not Right But It's Okay

Album: My Love Is Your Love (1998)
Charted: 3 4
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In this song, Whitney Houston's man is busted. He got away with cheating on her for a while, but he's way too sloppy to pull it off. She finds his credit card receipt that shows the night out with the guys was actually a date with the other woman. And when the phone rings, he gets that guilty look - a telltale sign. It's not right, but it's okay because now she can leave this dope behind and move on.
  • Rodney Jerkins produced the song and co-wrote it with four other writers: LaShawn Daniels, Toni Estes, Freddie Jerkins (Rodney's brother), and Isaac Phillips. Daniels and Rodney Jerkins were part of the teams that delivered "If You Had My Love" by Jennifer Lopez and "The Boy Is Mine" by Brandy and Monica, both #1 hits from around this time.
  • This song brought Houston into the modern era of hip-hop with contemporary production and a lyric that oozes empowerment. Young artists like Aaliyah, Mary J. Blige and Destiny's Child were coming on the scene with a similar sound, and with "It's Not Right But It's Okay," Houston showed that she could tap into it as well.
  • The song is part of Whitney Houston's 1998 album My Love Is Your Love, her first since 1990, although she worked on some very big soundtracks during this time for movies she starred in: The Bodyguard (1992), Waiting To Exhale (1995), and The Preacher's Wife (1996).

    The album was a sure bet to be a smash, to many songwriters and producers offered their services. A huge team ended up working on it, including heavy hitters like Diane Warren and Wyclef Jean. "It's Not Right But It's Okay" was the third single, following her Mariah Carey collaboration "When You Believe" and "Heartbreak Hotel." The album ended up selling over 4 million copies in America. Her next one, Just Whitney in 2002, didn't do nearly as well.
  • The a very popular version of this song is the Thunderpuss remix, which got lots of play in clubs. Thunderpuss is the team of Chris Cox and Barry Harris, who also did remixes for the likes of Madonna, Christina Aguilera and Enrique Iglesias. Harris, whose project Kon Kan had a hit in 1989 with "I Beg Your Pardon," told Songfacts the key to a good remix was "making sure it had a current cool vibe, yet making it palatable for the masses." He did that on this one, which became their most popular remix.

Comments: 2

  • T from Monroe, LaWhitney creates this song for this very reason when she finds out her husband is cheating on her. She accepts the cheating but in a ver self-controlled way and then her husband is playing her thinking she is stupid but sheś not and he eventually finds out that she knows.
  • Bertrand from Paris, France"It's Not Right, But It's OK" is a hard-hitting anthem for women on the way out of relationships that sounded great on the radio or on the dancefloor.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Jon Anderson

Jon AndersonSongwriter Interviews

Jon Anderson breaks down the Yes classic "Seen All Good People" and talks about his 1000 Hands album, which features Chick Corea, Rick Derringer, Ian Anderson, and many other luminaries.

Protest Songs

Protest SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know your protest songs (including the one that went to #1)?

Don Felder

Don FelderSongwriter Interviews

Don breaks down "Hotel California" and other songs he wrote as a member of the Eagles. Now we know where the "warm smell of colitas" came from.

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.

Judas Priest

Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton talk twin guitar harmonies and explain how they create songs in Judas Priest.

Kiss

KissFact or Fiction

Kiss is the subject of many outlandish rumors - some of which happen to be true. See if you can spot the fakes.