It is a Friday night in 1995. You are probably wearing baggy jeans or a Cross Colours jacket, and the air smells like CK One. Suddenly, that heavy, hypnotic bassline kicks in.
That specific "Children’s Story" sample starts looping, and a 6-foot-8 singer from South Central Los Angeles steps up to the mic to tell us exactly how his neighborhood parties. Montell Jordan: This Is How We Do It didn't just top the charts; it basically became the permanent soundtrack for every wedding, house party, and sporting event for the next thirty years.
Honestly, it’s one of those rare songs that feels like it’s always existed. But the story behind how it actually got made—and why Montell eventually walked away from the massive royalties to lead a church in Georgia—is way more interesting than just a nostalgia trip.
The Night a Legend Was Made in a Living Room
You might think a massive #1 hit for Def Jam Records was recorded in some high-tech, multi-million dollar studio with a team of Swedish pop scientists.
Nope.
📖 Related: Gadsby: Why Everyone Still Talks About the 50,000 Word Novel With No Letter E
Montell and his production partner, Oji Pierce, actually captured that iconic party atmosphere by throwing an actual party. They invited about 20 people over to the studio, popped some drinks, and told everyone to just hang out. If you listen closely to the background of the track, you’ll hear women laughing and bottles clinking.
That wasn't a sound effect. It was real.
The most "human" part of the recording process happened when Montell tried to get everyone to yell the title. He told VladTV in an interview that the first few takes sounded like a "nice choir"—too clean and too polite. He had to coach them to literally shout "This Is How We Do It!" like they were at a club at 2:00 AM.
Sampling a Villain to Create a Hero
The backbone of the song is a direct lift from Slick Rick’s "Children’s Story." At the time, hip-hop and R&B were still figuring out how to live together. Montell was the first R&B artist signed to Def Jam, a label built on the backs of rappers like LL Cool J and Public Enemy.
By singing over a gritty rap beat, he basically pioneered the "Hip-Hop Soul" movement.
- The Slick Rick Connection: The track uses an enhanced sample of Rick’s 1988 classic.
- The Original Source: That loop actually goes back even further, interpolating the bass from Bob James’ 1974 jazz-fusion track "Nautilus."
- The Madonna Upset: When the song finally hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 15, 1995, it famously knocked Madonna’s "Take a Bow" off the top spot.
Madonna’s team actually tried to buy a portion of Montell’s publishing for the song through her company, Maverick Records. Montell refused, though his partner Oji did take a deal. It's a wild bit of industry trivia: the woman he dethroned from the charts ended up owning a piece of the song that beat her.
Beyond the One-Hit Wonder Myth
People love to call Montell a one-hit wonder. It’s a bit of a pet peeve for music historians because, frankly, it’s just factually wrong.
While Montell Jordan: This Is How We Do It is undoubtedly his "Stairway to Heaven," he had a string of massive hits that followed. "Somethin' 4 da Honeyz" went Top 20 shortly after. Then he dropped "Let’s Ride" with Master P in 1998, followed by the smooth-as-butter "Get It On Tonite" in 1999, which peaked at #4.
He wasn't just a singer, either.
🔗 Read more: Right to Kill Explained: The True Story Behind the Movie That Shocked America
The guy was a songwriting machine for other people. Have you ever heard "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" by Deborah Cox? Montell wrote that. What about "Incomplete" by Sisqó? That was him too. He spent years behind the scenes crafting the sound of late-90s R&B while most people were just busy doing the Macarena to his first single.
The Great Disappearing Act of 2010
In 2010, Montell was scheduled to go on a tour that would have made him a lot of money. Instead, he canceled everything.
He didn't have a breakdown. He wasn't "canceled." He just decided he was done.
He realized that for years, he had been "Montell Jordan" the persona, but he didn't know who Montell Jordan the man was. He’s been incredibly open about the fact that the music industry nearly destroyed his marriage to his wife, Kristin. He felt like he was chasing a shadow.
He eventually became a Worship Pastor at Victory World Church in Norcross, Georgia. It’s a massive shift—from "sipping on Coke and rum" to leading a congregation in Sunday morning praise.
He even wrote a book about it called Becoming Unfamous. It’s a pretty gutsy move to take your most valuable asset (your fame) and intentionally try to make it smaller so you can grow your character.
Where is he in 2026?
He hasn't completely stopped singing, but the context has changed. You might see him on The Masked Singer (he was the Panther in 2022) or doing the occasional 90s nostalgia tour, but his main focus is his ministry and his family.
He even released a marriage book with Kristin titled This Is How We Do It: Making Your Marriage a Masterpeace. It’s a clever play on words, but it also shows he’s made peace with his past. He knows that song is his legacy, and he’s stopped fighting it.
Why This Track Is Still "Fresh"
There is a technical reason why the song still works. It sits at about 103 BPM (beats per minute), which is the "sweet spot" for dancing. It’s not too fast that you get tired, and it’s not too slow that it feels like a ballad.
It also captures a very specific, positive image of South Central LA. In 1995, the media was obsessed with the "hood" as a place of only violence. Montell’s lyrics about "gangbangers forgot about the drive-by" and "summertime skirts" offered a different narrative. It was about community, joy, and just having a good time on a Friday night.
How to Appreciate the Legacy Today
If you want to really "get" the impact of this track beyond just hearing it at a 4th of July BBQ, try these three things:
- Listen to the "Children's Story" transition: Put on Slick Rick's original, then play Montell's version immediately after. You’ll hear how he took a cautionary tale about a kid going to jail and flipped it into a celebration of life.
- Watch the Hype Williams video: The music video was directed by the legendary Hype Williams. Look at the colors and the lighting—this was the blueprint for the "glossy" R&B look of the late 90s.
- Check out his 2019 album, Masterpeace: If you want to hear what he sounds like now that he’s found his "why," this album blends his R&B roots with his faith. It’s far more nuanced than his early stuff.
Montell Jordan eventually figured out that "This Is How We Do It" wasn't just a song title; it was a question he had to answer for his own life. Turns out, he's doing it just fine.
🔗 Read more: Deep Throat: What Most People Get Wrong About Linda Lovelace
Next Steps for R&B Fans:
- Audit your 90s playlist: Look for "Get It On Tonite" and "Let's Ride" to see the range Montell had beyond the debut.
- Explore the "Nautilus" sample chain: Search for other songs that sample Bob James to see how that one bassline influenced three decades of hip-hop.
- Read "Becoming Unfamous": If you're interested in the "fame vs. faith" struggle, Montell's autobiography is one of the more honest accounts out there from a former superstar.