"Ain't Nothin' Goin' On but the Rent" is a song by American singer-songwriter Gwen Guthrie. It was released in 1986 as the lead single from her fourth album, Good to Go Lover (1986), on Polydor Records. It was both written and produced by Guthrie, becoming the biggest hit of her career, and the song's title became a semi-popular catchphrase among many women throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s.[2] The single peaked at number five in the UK, but hit number one in New Zealand, Zimbabwe and on the US BillboardHot Dance Club Play. In 1993, it was remixed and again charted in the UK, peaking at number 42. In 2005, Blender listed "Ain't Nothin' Goin' On but the Rent" at number 339 on its list of "Greatest Songs Since You Were Born".[3]
Critical reception
Alan Jones from Music Week gave the 1993 remix three out of five. He wrote, "A disappointing seven-inch remix by Nigel Wright is stale and one-dimensional, but the original, still sounding fresh, and a radical E-Lustrious remix are more than enough to score a hit."[4]James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update noted, "1986 garage anthem's radical blippily thundering E-Lusirious, breezily soulful Nigel Wright Remixes, ponderously lurching Original".[5]
Chart performance
The song was a major hit on both sides of the Atlantic,[6] mostly in dance clubs and on the radio, charting moderately on the US pop chart (reaching number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100), but faring better on the Billboard R&B chart where it spent one week at number-one and on the BillboardHot Dance Club Play chart where it spent two weeks at the top.[7] The song peaked at number one in New Zealand and Zimbabwe, and was also successful in parts of Europe, reaching number five on the UK Singles Chart.[8] The 1993 remix reached number eight on the UK Dance Singles Chart.
The line "You got to have a J-O-B if you want to be-with-me" is set to a melody line that recurs throughout "Doctor Love", a 1977 disco hit by First Choice.
Rapper Foxy Brown released a cover version of the song, titled "JOB" on her 1999 album Chyna Doll.
Comedian Eddie Murphy cited the song's title and lyrics[29] in his 1987 stand-up comedy movie Raw as reflective of the materialism of American women at the time.
In the 1994 film House Party 3, Reynaldo Rey used the lyric: "No romance without finance" to convey to Kid, how the lack of employment was a deal breaker.
In the comedy series Martin, "Ain't Nuttin' Goin' on But the Rent" was the name of Episode 16 of Season 3 in 1995 where Martin refused to pay a 5% rent increase to his landlord.
^Whaley, Natelegé. "Review: City Girls' Girl Code". Pitchfork. Conde Nast. Retrieved January 6, 2023. It's no wonder City Girls want men to pay up for their time. The mindset isn't new. Gwen Guthrie sang, "No romance without finance," on her 1986 dance-R&B hit "Ain't Nothin' Goin' on But the Rent."
