Big Poppa
| "Big Poppa" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by The Notorious B.I.G. | ||||
| from the album Ready to Die | ||||
| Released | February 20, 1995 | |||
| Format | CD single | |||
| Recorded | June 1, 1994 | |||
| Genre | East Coast hip hop, G-Funk | |||
| Length | 4:11 | |||
| Label | Bad Boy | |||
| Writer(s) | Christopher Wallace, Rudolph Isley, O'Kelly Isley, Jr., Ronald Isley, Ernest Isley, Marvin Isley, Chris Jasper | |||
| Producer(s) | Sean Combs, Chucky Thompson (co.) | |||
| Certification | Platinum (RIAA) | |||
| The Notorious B.I.G. singles chronology | ||||
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"Big Poppa" is the Grammy-nominated and Billboard Award–winning second single from The Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die. The song was his first Top 10 Pop hit, and peaked at #1 on Billboard's Rap chart. 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 Awards. On the clean version, the second quarter of the chorus replaces the line "To the honeys gettin' money, playin' niggas like dummies" with "To the honeys gettin' money playin' fellas like dummies."
The single was certified platinum by the RIAA and sold 800,000 copies domestically.[1][2]
There is an official remix released in 1995 featuring Jermaine Dupri, called "Big Poppa (So So Def Remix)", which has similar lyrics (Dupri replacing Puff Daddy) except Biggie has a new 3rd verse. This remix appeared as a single.
Background and content
The title is based on one of The Notorious B.I.G.'s many nicknames. The line "I love it when you call me Big Poppa" is sampled from his verse from the Super Cat song "Dolly My Baby," released in 1993. The song makes a reference to original Bad Boy artist Craig Mack ("now check it, I got more Mack than Craig in the bed...").
Legacy
The song was used in the 2001 film Hardball multiple times and used in the 2009 biographical movie Notorious. The song was mentioned in 2008 film, Madea Goes To Jail, as well as being used for the party scene in 2007's Superbad.
The song was used by The LOX's "We'll Always Love Big Poppa" as a tribute to B.I.G., who was killed in 1997 as the closing track from Money, Power & Respect.
Omarion sampled the lyrics in his song "Let's Talk". The song was released in Maybach Music Group album, Self Made Vol. 2. (2012)
A Spanish version of the chorus was used in a Taco Bell commercial called "Grande Papi" (2013).
The American comedy film Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015) used the song in its second trailer.
Will Ferrell performed a comedic version of the song while portraying Robert Goulet in an episode of Saturday Night Live.[3]
Big Poppa track list
12 inch
- A1 "Big Poppa" (Club Mix) (4:13)
- A2 "Warning" (Club Mix) (3:41)
- A3 "Big Poppa" (Instrumental) (4:13)
- B1 "Big Poppa" (Radio Edit) (4:12)
- B2 "Warning" (Radio Edit) (2:57)
- B3 "Warning" (Instrumental) (3:41)
- B4 "Who Shot Ya?"
Maxi single
- "Big Poppa" (radio edit)
- "Big Poppa" (remix radio edit)
- "Who Shot Ya?" (radio edit)
- "Big Poppa" (remix instrumental)
- "Big Poppa" (club mix)
- "Big Poppa" (remix club mix)
- "Who Shot Ya?" (club mix)
- "Warning" (club mix)
Chart positions
Peak positions
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End of year charts
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References
- ↑ "American certifications – Notorious B.I.G. – Big Poppa". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ↑ "Best-Selling Records of 1995". Billboard (BPI Communications) 108 (3): 56. January 20, 1996. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
- ↑ http://snltranscripts.jt.org/00/00dgoulet.phtml
- ↑ "Billboard Top 100 - 1995". Retrieved 2010-08-27.
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