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.
Bad Boy Entertainment,doing business as Bad Boy Records,is an American record label founded in 1993 by Sean "Puffy" Combs and Clive Davis. During the mid-1990s,the label signed hip hop and contemporary R&B artists,beginning with the Notorious B.I.G. Following his commercial success,the label signed other acts,including Faith Evans,Mase,112,Total,The Lox,Shyne and Carl Thomas. At its 1997 peak,Bad Boy was worth an estimated US$100 million.
Total is an American R&B girl group and one of the signature acts of the Bad Boy Records imprint during the mid-1990s. The group consists of founding members Kima Raynor,Keisha Spivey,and Pamela Long. Total is best known for their feature on Mase's "What You Want",as well as their hits "Kissin' You","Can't You See",and "What About Us?" and "Trippin'",both featuring Missy Elliott. Long also sung the chorus of The Notorious B.I.G.'s hit song "Hypnotize",although she was not officially credited. Total made their first appearance singing the hook on The Notorious B.I.G.'s debut single,"Juicy",widely considered one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time.
Hard Core is the debut studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim,released on November 12,1996,by Undeas Recordings,Big Beat Records,and Atlantic Records. After achieving success with the hip hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A. and their album Conspiracy (1995),Kim began working on her solo album with the Notorious B.I.G. serving as the executive producer. She collaborated with a number of producers,such as Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs,Stevie J.,David "Ski" Willis and Jermaine Dupri,among others. Other rappers,including Jay-Z,Lil' Cease and Puff Daddy were featured on the album.
"One More Chance / Stay with Me (Remix)" is a song written and recorded by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G. Three versions of the song exist:An original,lyrically explicit version prefaced by an answering machine performance featured on the album,and two versions released as singles,both of which contain identical lyrics by B.I.G. despite differing instrumentals and choruses. The first is an upbeat "Hip Hop Mix" that samples Marley Marl's "Droppin Science",and the second is a sultrier R&B remix parenthetically labeled the "Stay with Me Remix",which samples the namesake 1983 song by the band DeBarge. The lattermost remains the most popular,and features backing vocals and harmonies performed by his wife Faith Evans,as well as uncredited appearances by Mary J. Blige and Bad Boy Records label boss Puff Daddy—who also produced the version with Rashad Smith. It received platinum certification by the RIAA by July 31,1995,and has sold 1.1 million copies.
No Way Out is the debut studio album by American rapper Puff Daddy. It was released on July 22,1997,via Arista Records and Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records. The album is credited to "Puff Daddy &the Family";the latter act refers to guest appearances from his signees at Bad Boy.
"Hypnotize" is a song by American rapper the Notorious B.I.G. featuring uncredited vocals by Pamela Long,released as the first single from his album Life After Death by Bad Boy and Arista Records on March 4,1997. The last song released before his death in a drive-by shooting a week later,it was the fifth song by a credited artist to peak the Billboard Hot 100 posthumously since "(Just Like) Starting Over" by John Lennon in 1980. Rolling Stone ranked the song as number 30 on their list of the "100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time".
"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.
"Who Shot Ya?" is a song by American rapper the Notorious B.I.G. (Wallace),backed by Sean Combs. Bad Boy Entertainment released it on February 21,1995,on an alternate reissue of Wallace's single "Big Poppa/Warning". Its new B-side "Who Shot Ya",a revision of a track already issued earlier in 1995,was "controversial and hugely influential." Widely interpreted as a taunt at Tupac Shakur,the single provoked a "rap battle" between the two rappers,formerly friends.
"Notorious B.I.G." is a song and single by the Notorious B.I.G. from the album Born Again,which features Lil' Kim,and Puff Daddy. As a tribute song,Lil' Kim and Puff Daddy's verses have little relevance to Biggie's verse,which is about being in the hospital while being comforted by attractive female nurses. It samples the song "Notorious" by Duran Duran.
"Victory" is a song by American rapper and producer Sean Combs,under his then stage name Puff Daddy. The song features vocals from rappers such as the late Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes. It features heavy use of mafioso-style lyrics,as was popular at the time. The song also heavily sampled the Bill Conti song "Going the Distance",which featured on the soundtrack to the movie Rocky making it a darker start to a rap album that featured many club-standard singles. It also featured the last verses recorded by The Notorious B.I.G. before his 1997 death,as these verses were recorded a day before his shooting. Released as the fifth and final single from No Way Out in March 1998,it peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart,and was certified gold by the RIAA later that year.
"No One Else" is a song by American girl group Total featuring American rapper Da Brat. It was released as the second single from Total's self-titled debut studio album on November 28,1995,by Bad Boy and Arista Records. The song was produced by Bad Boy founder Sean "Puffy" Combs and Poke of the Trackmasters,while the songwriting was handled by the two alongside the featured Da Brat and Terri &Monica vocalist Terri Robinson. The song also contains a sample from the track "South Bronx" by Boogie Down Productions.
"Can't You See" is a 1995 song by American R&B girl group Total,released as their debut single. The track was released from the New Jersey Drive soundtrack and also later appeared on their debut album,Total. After making their recording debut on his tracks "Juicy","One More Chance" and "One More Chance" ",The Notorious B.I.G. returned the favor with an intro rap verse to the song. The track was written and arranged by Terri &Monica's Terri Robinson,produced entirely by Sean "Puffy" Combs with instrumentation provided by associates Rashad Smith,Herb Middleton and Chucky Thompson and contains a sample from James Brown's "The Payback". The track was a success both on the mainstream US Billboard Hot 100 chart,reaching number thirteen and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart,where it made number three. The song also peaked at number forty-three on the UK Singles Chart,where it charted for two weeks.
"Get Money" is a song by the American rap group Junior M.A.F.I.A.,released as the third and final single from their debut album Conspiracy (1995). "Get Money," whose instrumental is fundamentally a sample of R&B singer Sylvia Striplin's 1981 song "You Can't Turn Me Away," was produced by EZ Elpee,rapped by the Notorious B.I.G. and Lil' Kim,and received a music video. B.I.G.,formally,was featured,but at times was deemed,like Lil' Kim and Lil' Cease,a Junior M.A.F.I.A. member.
"Been Around the World" is a song by American rapper Puff Daddy,featuring the Notorious B.I.G. and Mase and included on Puff Daddy's debut studio album No Way Out (1997). The song samples David Bowie's 1983 hit song "Let's Dance",and contains an interpolation of Lisa Stansfield's song "All Around the World",sung by the Notorious B.I.G. in the chorus. In the album version,the song concludes with a skit featuring an interview with "The Mad Producer".
"Dolly My Baby" is the title of a reggae/hip-hop song performed by Jamaican reggae/dancehall recording artist Super Cat released as a single in early 1993. The original version of the song is featured on Super Cat's album Don Dada (1992). The song was a major success for Super Cat,reaching number 64 on the R&B singles chart and number 21 on both the rap and dance charts.
"Juicy" is the first single by American rapper the Notorious B.I.G. from his 1994 debut album,Ready to Die. It was produced by Poke of the duo Trackmasters and Sean "Puffy" Combs. "Juicy" contains a sample of Mtume's 1983 song,"Juicy Fruit",though it is directly sampled from the song's "Fruity Instrumental" mix,and has an alternative chorus sung by Bad Boy Records cohorts,the girl group Total and label founder Combs. The song is widely considered to be one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time.
"Mo Money Mo Problems" is a song by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G.,released as the second single from his second and final studio album,Life After Death (1997) on July 15,1997 by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. It features guest performances from labelmate Mase and label boss Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs;all three performers co-wrote the song with Stevie J,who also co-produced it with Combs. "Mo Money Mo Problems" contains a sample and an interpolation of "I'm Coming Out" by Diana Ross,for which Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers are also credited as songwriters;the sampled portions are heard in the production,while the hook is interpolative and performed by Kelly Price in an uncredited appearance.
"Big Poppa" is a song by the American rapper The Notorious B.I.G.,released on December 24,1994 as the second single from his first studio album Ready to Die. Featuring a sample of the song "Between the Sheets" by The Isley Brothers,"Big Poppa" was nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 1996 Grammy Awards and also went on to win at the Billboard Music Awards.
"I'll Be Missing You" is a song by American rapper Puff Daddy and American singer Faith Evans,featuring R&B group 112,in memory of fellow Bad Boy Records artist Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace,who was murdered on March 9,1997. Released as the second single from Puff Daddy and the Family's debut album,No Way Out (1997),"I'll Be Missing You" samples the Police's 1983 hit song "Every Breath You Take" with an interpolated chorus sung by Evans and interpolated rhythm. The song also interpolates the 1929 Albert E. Brumley hymn "I'll Fly Away" and features a spoken intro over a choral version of Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings".
