“Oui” is French for “yes"—in Jeremih’s ode to romantic devotion, he makes a pun based on the word’s English language homophone, "we.”

In order to have “we"—a couple—you need two people, or "you” and “I.” And to spell the word “oui,” you also need a “u” and “i.”

“Oui” was produced by Needlz and his protégé Donut. The beat features an electronic harp melody and trap-influenced drums. Donut recalled producing the original beat:

I think I was in Philly at the time ‘cause this song is like two or three years old. I found this eight-bar loop that was really cool but it wasn’t doing the notes that I wanted it to so I chopped it up.

While the song doesn’t credit any samples, fans have noted its similarity to “Marcia Baila,” a 1986 track by French pop duo Rita Mitsouko, as well as the Fairy Fountain theme from video game The Legend of Zelda.

The song’s vocals mix Jeremih’s coversational style with traditional doo-wop and R&B inflections. The bridge features an interpolation of a melody from Shai’s “If I Ever Fall In Love,” a number one R&B hit from 1992.

“Oui” was the fourth single off Jeremih’s third studio album Late Nights. The singer debuted the lyrics exclusively on Genius on October 29, 2015, one day before the song was released. The song became a top 10 R&B hit in the Spring of 2016.