Life After Death is the second and final studio album by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G.,released on March 25,1997,on Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. A double album,it was released sixteen days after his murder. It features collaborations with guest artists such as 112,Jay-Z,Lil' Kim,Mase,Bone Thugs-n-Harmony,Too $hort,Angela Winbush,D.M.C. of Run-D.M.C.,R. Kelly,The Lox,and Puff Daddy. Life After Death exhibits The Notorious B.I.G. further delving into the mafioso rap subgenre. The album is a sequel to his first album,Ready to Die,and picks up where the last song,"Suicidal Thoughts",ends.
William Anthony Maragh,also known as Super Cat,is a Jamaican deejay who achieved widespread popularity during the late 1980s and early 1990s dancehall movement. His nickname,"Wild Apache",was given to him by his mentor Early B. Super Cat is considered one of the greatest deejays in the history of the Jamaican dancehall scene.
"One More Chance / Stay with Me (Remix)" is a song written and recorded by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G.,featuring additional vocals sung by his wife Faith Evans and an uncredited appearance by Mary J. Blige. It was certified platinum by the RIAA on July 31,1995 and sold 1.1 million copies.
The Coming is the debut studio album by American rapper and record producer Busta Rhymes. It was released on March 26,1996,by Flipmode Entertainment and Elektra Records. The album contains contributions by Def Squad members Redman,Keith Murray,and Jamal,as well as Q-Tip,Zhané,Leaders of the New School and several Flipmode Squad members. Production of the album was handled by DJ Scratch,Easy Mo Bee and the Ummah,among others. It serves as Rhymes's first solo album after the break up of Leaders of the New School two years prior,and his first full-length project after numerous guest appearances on other songs with artists such as A Tribe Called Quest,the Notorious B.I.G.,Heavy D and the Boyz and Mary J. Blige.
"Let Me Ride" is a song by rapper and producer Dr. Dre,released in 1993 as the third and final single from his debut studio album,The Chronic. It experienced moderate success on the charts,until it became a massive hit when Dre won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for the song during the Grammy Awards of 1994. The chorus is sung by Ruben and Jewell,and Snoop Dogg raps the line "Rollin' in my 6-4" and appears in some background vocals.
"It's All About the Benjamins" is a song by American rapper and producer Puff Daddy. It was released as the third single from his debut studio album No Way Out. "Benjamins" is a slang word for money,referring to Benjamin Franklin's image on the US $100 bill. The song featured an uncredited vocal arrangement by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott,and featured a signature guitar hook played by Marc Solomon.
"Ooh!" is a song by American recording artist Mary J. Blige,taken from her sixth studio album,Love &Life (2003). It was written by Blige,Sean Combs,Dimitri Christo,and Hamilton Bohannon,while production was helmed by Combs and D-Nat. Sampling interpolations of the 1991 hip-hop classic,"I Gotta Have It" by Ed OG,which itself sampled Hamilton Bohannon's 1973 track "Singing a Song for My Mother," it was released as the album's second single in 2003. The songreached number 29 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"I Changed My Mind" is a song by American R&B recording artist Keyshia Cole,recorded for her debut album,The Way It Is (2005). It was written by the singer along with John Legend and Kanye West,while production on the track was helmed by the latter. Released on November 9,2004 as the lead single from the album,it was mildly successful commercially,peaking at number 71 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 23 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.
"I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" is a duet song by American rapper Method Man,featuring American singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige. The song is a remix of Method Man's "All I Need" which appears on his debut studio album,Tical (1994). The song,a hip hop soul record,was released as a single by Def Jam Recordings and PolyGram Records on April 25,1995.
"Trippin'" is a song by American R&B girl group Total,released as the first single from their second studio album Kima,Keisha,and Pam (1998). It was also their second release working with production/writing duo Missy Elliott &Timbaland,after What About Us?,although Timbaland this time provided only co-production and instrumentation,with the pair's longtime collaborator Darryl Pearson instead handling main production with Elliott. Elliott was also often given a "featuring" credit despite only providing background vocals and spoken word to the song. The track was by far the group's biggest hit,peaking at number seven on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
"Can't Knock the Hustle" is the third single from American rapper Jay-Z's debut album Reasonable Doubt. The song features a beat produced by Knobody. It is co-produced by Sean C and Dahoud Darien. The chorus is sung by Mary J. Blige.
Jesse West,a.k.a.3rd Eye is a producer/rapper. Jesse grew up in the Bronx River Projects,where the Master/Teacher DJ Afrika Bambaataa founded the Universal Zulu Nation.
"Just Fine" is a song by the American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige,Terius "The-Dream" Nash,Jazze Pha and Tricky Stewart for her eighth studio album,Growing Pains (2007),while production was helmed by Pha and Stewart. It was released as the album's lead single on October 16,2007. The song peaked at number 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 16 on the UK Singles Chart,while also topping the US Hot Dance Club Play chart.
"You Don't Have to Worry" is a song by American R&B singer Mary J. Blige. It was written by Kenny Greene and Edward "DJ Eddie F" Ferrell for the soundtrack of the film Who's the Man? (1993),while production was helmed by Ferrell,with co-production from Kenny "K-Smoove" Kornegay and Darin "Piano Man" Whittington. It contains a sample of "Papa Don't Take No Mess" by James Brown. Released as a single,it charted on the US Billboard Hot 100,peaking at number 63,while reaching number 11 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. A remix version featuring rapper Craig Mack was produced by Sean "Puffy" Combs and Tony Dofat and later included on Blige's remix album,What's the 411? Remix (1993).
"Love Is All We Need" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige,with a guest rap from Nas. It was written by Blige,James Harris III,Terry Lewis,and Nasir Jones for Blige's third studio album,Share My World (1997),while production was helmed by Jimmy Jam &Terry Lewis. The song contains a sample of the song "Moonchild" (1985) by American singer Rick James. With its more buoyant tone,"Love Is All We Need" stood in conspicuous contrast to much of the more dark-rooted material featured on Blige's earlier albums.
"Be Happy" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige,Sean "Puffy" Combs,Arlene DeValle,and Jean-Claude Olivier from duo Poke &Tone for her second studio album,My Life (1994),while production was helmed by Combs and Olivier. "Be Happy" contains an instrumental sample of the song "You're So Good to Me" (1979) by musician Curtis Mayfield and a re-sung vocal portion of the record "I Want You" (1976) by Marvin Gaye.
"Fancy" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake,from his debut album,Thank Me Later. The song features vocals from American rapper T.I. and producer Swizz Beatz,the latter of whom also co-produced the track alongside Noah "40" Shebib. The song was released to US radio stations on August 3,2010,as the album's fourth official single,however promotion of the track ended earlier than expected due to Drake's uncertainty towards the song's planned music video and promotion.
"Someone to Love Me (Naked)" is a song recorded by American singer Mary J. Blige for her tenth studio album My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) (2011). It features guest vocals by American rappers Diddy and Lil Wayne. "Someone to Love Me (Naked)" was written by Blige,Jerry Wonda and Leroy Watson,and was produced by Wonda. The song is a remix of "Someone to Love Me" from Diddy-Dirty Money's debut studio album,Last Train to Paris (2010). It samples "You Roam When You Don’t Get It At Home" performed by The Sweet Inspirations. It was released on March 29,2011,as the first promotional single from the album.
"Big Poppa" is a song by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G. It was released as the second single from his first studio album Ready to Die. It features a sample of the song,"Between the Sheets" written by The Isley Brothers. "Big Poppa" was nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 1996 Grammy Awards. It also went on to win at the Billboard Music Awards.
"Murder She Wrote" is a song by Jamaican reggae duo Chaka Demus &Pliers,from their 1993 album Tease Me. It was first released as a single in 1992 and again in late 1993,reaching number 27 on the UK Singles Chart in early 1994,and number 57 on the US Billboard Hot 100,spending 17 weeks there. The song was certified gold in the UK in 2022. The music to the song is based on the Maytals' 1966 song "Bam Bam",while the lyrics discuss abortion.
