Background and Writing
No Doubt decided to work with hip hop production duo The Neptunes as a sort of "cultural collision". Lead singer Gwen Stefani wanted to write a high-spirited and celebratory song about the positive things in her life, so they wrote an optimistic club song. The word hella is a slang term used mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area and other parts of California to mean very. Having toured in the Bay Area, Stefani borrowed the term to describe her mood. Stefani wanted to use the word dance in a chorus, so she decided to end each line of "Hella Good"'s chorus with the phrase "keep on dancing". The song's funk sound is based on songs such as Queen's 1980 single "Another One Bites the Dust" and The Commodores' 1977 single "Brick House".
"Hella Good" is a rock song composed in the key of G minor. It is written in common time and moves at a moderately fast 115 beats per minute. The song's beat drew several comparisons to that of Michael Jackson's 1983 single "Billie Jean". Its hook comes from a simple progression of power chords alternating between G and A flat, suggesting Phrygian mode. "Hella Good" follows a verse-chorus form with a chorus following each of the two verses. Following the bridge, the chorus is repeated and the song closes with an outro.
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