I'm Good at Being Bad

"I'm Good at Being Bad" is an R&B song containing a rap verse.{{cite magazine|last=Gracie|first=Bianca|date=February 22, 2019|title=TLC's 'FanMail' Turns 20: A Track-By-Track Retrospective With the Girl Group and Behind-the-Scenes Collaborators|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8499567/tlc-fanmail-interview-20th-anniversary-dallas-austin|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223013401/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8499567/tlc-fanmail-interview-20th-anniversary-dallas-austin|archive-date=February 23, 2019|access-date=February 29, 2020|magazine=Billboard}} The song's original title was "Bitch Like Me" (a phrase also in the lyrics), which was described to "crank up the raunch level". The lyrics refer graphically to "Ten-inch or bigger / A lick-it-from-the-back-type nigga{{sic}}."{{cite magazine|last=DeCurtis|first=Anthony|date=May 1999|title=There The Hard Way|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tygEAAAAMBAJ&q=Silly%20Ho%20tlc&pg=PA84|format=Google Books|publisher=SpinMedia|volume=7|issue=4|page=84|issn=1070-4701|access-date=November 28, 2016|journal=Vibe}}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

It was recorded at Flyte Tyme Studios in Edina, Minnesota, with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis in 1998. While writing the song, member Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins was inspired by grunge band Nirvana's use of loud and soft dynamic shifts in their discography, which she wanted the group to incorporate.

Jimmy Jam encouraged Watkins to hum the melody while playing the beat in the recording booth, which was different from her routine of listening to the beat and writing out the lyrics. Watkins admitted that the technique influenced her as a songwriter. She also attempted to convince Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes to rap the pre-chorus herself, but Lopes insisted that Watkins' thicker voice was better suited for the track.

The original album version interpolates the Donna Summer song "Love to Love You Baby". Later pressings of the explicit version of album removed the interpolation, shortening the song's length by a minute, though the interpolation remained on the edited versions of the album.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} The song also used a sample by American funk band War's 1972 song "Slippin' Into Darkness".{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} Lopes' rap verse was included in the uncut version of the "Unpretty" music video.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

The song was distributed to radio stations as a promotional single during the release of their first single "No Scrubs" on January 23, 1999.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} On the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart dated July 3, 1999, "I'm Good at Being Bad" peaked at number 38, where it spent 18 weeks on the chart.

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Promotional US mini CD single and maxi single{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

1. "I'm Good at Being Bad" (Radio Mix with rap) – 4:33
2. "I'm Good at Being Bad" (Radio Mix without rap) – 4:33
3. "I'm Good at Being Bad" (Instrumental) – 4:36
4. "I'm Good at Being Bad" (Call Out Research Hook) – 0:10

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Promotional US 12-inch single{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

1. "I'm Good at Being Bad" (dirty version) – 4:39
2. "I'm Good at Being Bad" (clean version) – 4:42
3. "I'm Good at Being Bad" (instrumental) – 4:35

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{{Reflist}}

{{TLC songs}}

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Category:1999 singles

Category:TLC (group) songs

Category:Songs written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis

Category:Songs written by Lisa Lopes

Category:Songs written by Tionne Watkins

Category:Songs written by Giorgio Moroder

Category:Song recordings produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis

Category:LaFace Records singles

Category:Arista Records singles

Category:Songs written by Donna Summer

Category:1998 songs

Category:Trip hop songs