How would you feel if you discovered your mother was suddenly the latest music sensation?
That was the case for Shenice Johnson when her mother, Tweet, became an overnight sensation for her 2002 single “Oops (Oh My).”
Both Tweet, born Charlene Keys, and her daughter, Johnson, made an appearance on an episode of the We Sound Crazy podcast published last week. During their conversation, Johnson recalled the surprising way she learned her mother was the Tweet.
“I don’t have much memory of the Missy [Elliott] stuff ‘cause she didn’t tell us. So I didn’t know she went off and went on tour with Missy,” said Johnson at the 49:29 mark.
“I found out my mom was Tweet [while] doing my algebra homework and 106 & Park was like ‘New joint of the day: Tweet, “Oops (Oh My)”’ and I was like, ‘Excuse me?’”
“It literally was like, ‘What in the world, Mom? I just saw your video.’” added Johnson.
“I didn’t know it was gonna pop off that quick like that,” said Tweet. “It really happened fast.”
“And then our lives changed after that,” added Johnson.
Despite the sudden influx of success from the single, Johnson says wasn’t pulled out of her public school in Panama City, Florida, and described the experience of watching her peers change around her.
“I had one girl throw gum in my hair and it was just like ‘You think you’re all that,’ it was a lot of that and on the flip side there was a lot of leeches,” she said. “To this day, my relationships are very conditional because I still feel like a lot of people wanted to be associated with me based on who I was connected to.”
She continued, “It was really hard to decipher who was authentic and who was just in it for the ride. Because she was that mom. Limos picking us up from school … It was a culture shock for me, to see your mom going from being depressed to being a superstar, it had a trickle effect on the whole family.”
“Oops (Oh My)” was produced by Timbaland and featured a guest verse from Missy Elliott. The 2002 single was a commercial success and peaked at No. 7 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
The single was certified Gold in November by the Record Industry Association of America, a whole 21 years after its release. Missy Elliott surprised the singer during a sold-out show at the City Winery in Atlanta, Georgia, with a special plaque in celebration of the honor.
