Songfacts®:

• In this song, Whitney Houston's man is busted. He got away with cheating on her for a while, but he's way too sloppy to pull it off. She finds his credit card receipt that shows the night out with the guys was actually a date with the other woman. And when the phone rings, he gets that guilty look - a telltale sign. It's not right, but it's okay because now she can leave this dope behind and move on.
• Rodney Jerkins produced the song and co-wrote it with four other writers: LaShawn Daniels, Toni Estes, Freddie Jerkins (Rodney's brother), and Isaac Phillips. Daniels and Rodney Jerkins were part of the teams that delivered "If You Had My Love" by Jennifer Lopez and "The Boy Is Mine" by Brandy and Monica, both #1 hits from around this time.
• This song brought Houston into the modern era of hip-hop with contemporary production and a lyric that oozes empowerment. Young artists like Aaliyah, Mary J. Blige and Destiny's Child were coming on the scene with a similar sound, and with "It's Not Right But It's Okay," Houston showed that she could tap into it as well.
• The song is part of Whitney Houston's 1998 album My Love Is Your Love, her first since 1990, although she worked on some very big soundtracks during this time for movies she starred in: The Bodyguard (1992), Waiting To Exhale (1995), and The Preacher's Wife (1996).
  
  The album was a sure bet to be a smash, to many songwriters and producers offered their services. A huge team ended up working on it, including heavy hitters like Diane Warren and Wyclef Jean. "It's Not Right But It's Okay" was the third single, following her Mariah Carey collaboration "When You Believe" and "Heartbreak Hotel." The album ended up selling over 4 million copies in America. Her next one, Just Whitney in 2002, didn't do nearly as well.
• The a very popular version of this song is the Thunderpuss remix, which got lots of play in clubs. Thunderpuss is the team of Chris Cox and Barry Harris, who also did remixes for the likes of Madonna, Christina Aguilera and Enrique Iglesias. Harris, whose project Kon Kan had a hit in 1989 with "I Beg Your Pardon," told Songfacts the key to a good remix was "making sure it had a current cool vibe, yet making it palatable for the masses." He did that on this one, which became their most popular remix.