Juicy (The Notorious B.I.G. song)

"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 based on an original version produced by Pete Rock.[1] "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 the girl group, Total and Sean Combs. The song is widely considered to be one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time.[2][3][4]

"Juicy"
Single by The Notorious B.I.G.
from the album Ready to Die
B-side"Unbelievable"
ReleasedAugust 9, 1994
Recorded1994
GenreHip hop
Length4:13
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Poke
  • Sean Combs
The Notorious B.I.G. singles chronology
"Party and Bullshit"
(1993)		 "Juicy"
(1994)		 "Big Poppa"
(1995)
Music video
"Juicy" on YouTube

Content
"Time to get paid, blow up like the World Trade" references the 1993 World Trade Center bombing

The song is a "rags-to-riches chronicle".[5] The Notorious B.I.G. chronicles his childhood years living in poverty, his initial dreams of becoming a rapper, early musical influences, his time dealing drugs, criminal involvement, and his eventual success in the music industry and current lavish lifestyle.

The song's lyrics, "Time to get paid, blow up like the World Trade," reference the February 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.[6]

Production controversy

Producer Pete Rock alleged that Puffy stole the idea for the original song's beat after hearing it at Rock's house. In an interview with Wax Poetics, he said:

I did the original version, didn't get credit for it. They came to my house, heard the beat going on the drum machine, it's the same story. You come downstairs at my crib, you hear music. He heard that shit and the next thing you know it comes out. They had me do a remix, but I tell people, and I will fight it to the end, that I did the original version of that. I'm not mad at anybody, I just want the correct credit.[1]

Pete Rock's remix of "Juicy" uses the same sample as the original. During an appearance on the Juan Epstein Podcast, Rock said that he has no hard feelings about how "Juicy" came about, but wishes he'd gotten the proper credit, although he did admit to harboring some ill feelings at the time.[7]

Accolades
  • Blender Magazine ranked it #168 on its Top 500 Songs of the 80s-00s list in 2005.[8]
  • Bruce Pollock put it on his The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944-2000 list in 2005.[8]
  • ego trip ranked it #1 on its Hip Hop's 40 Greatest Singles by Year 1980-98 list in 1999.[9]
  • Pitchfork Media ranked the song at #14 on their Top 200 Tracks of the 90s.[10]
  • Pop ranked it #1 on their Singles of the Year list in 1994.[8]
  • Q ranked "Juicy" the ninth greatest hip hop song of all time.[11]
  • Rolling Stone ranked the song #424 in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[12]
  • Spex included it on The Best Singles of the Century list in 1999.[13]
  • The Boston Phoenix included it on their The 90 Best Songs of the 90s list in 1999.[14]
  • The Source included it on their The 100 Best Rap Singles of All Time list in 1998.[15]
  • VH1 ranked it #7 on its "100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs Ever", and #1 on its "40 Greatest Hip Hop Songs of the 90s".[16]
  • BBC ranked it #1 on its "Greatest hiphop songs of all time".[17]

Track listing

12 inch

A-side

  1. "Juicy" (Dirty Mix) (5:05)
  2. "Unbelievable" (3:45) (produced by DJ Premier)
  3. "Juicy" (Remix) (4:42) (produced by Pete Rock)

B-side

  1. "Juicy" (Instrumental) (5:05)
  2. "Unbelievable" (instrumental) (3:45)
  3. "Juicy" (remix instrumental) (4:43)

Official versions
  • "Juicy" (album version)
  • "Juicy" (instrumental) – 5:05
  • "Juicy" (dirty mix) – 5:05
  • "Juicy" (remix) – 3:42
  • "Juicy" (remix instrumental) – 4:43

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1994–95) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[18] 72
UK R&B (OCC)[19] 16
US Billboard Hot 100[20] 27
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[21] 14
US Hot Rap Singles (Billboard)[22] 1

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[23] Platinum 600,000
United States (RIAA)[24] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Wax Poetic interview - Pete Rock - tribe.net Archived 2012-02-20 at the Wayback Machine
  2. The 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time
  3. 100 Best Rap Albums:
  4. Top 100 Rap Songs
  5. "Ready to Die at Allmusic.com". Retrieved 2006-12-23.
  6. Gaillot, Ann-Derrick. ""Biggie 9/11" is Twitter's best search". The Outline. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  7. "Fact: Ciph is a F*cking Douchebag!". Rosenberg Radio. 2008-05-23. Archived from the original on 2014-06-07. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  8. "Juicy at Acclaimedmusic.net". Retrieved December 23, 2006.
  9. "Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists at rocklistmusic.co.uk". Retrieved December 23, 2006.
  10. Pitchfork Top 200 Tracks of the 90s
  11. "150 Greatest Rock Lists Ever at rocklistmusic.co.uk". Retrieved December 23, 2006.
  12. "Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Retrieved April 7, 2011.
  13. "Die besten Singles aller Zeiten at home.rhein-zeitung.de". Archived from the original on July 6, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2006.
  14. Pappademas, Alex. "Juicy from The Boston Phoenix". Archived from the original on October 9, 2007. Retrieved December 23, 2006.
  15. "100 Best Singles at rocklistmusic.co.uk". Retrieved December 23, 2006.
  16. "The 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs of All Time (via VH1)". Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  17. Brown, T. M. "The greatest hip-hop songs of all time". bbc.com. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  18. "Notorious B.I.G: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
  19. "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  20. "The Notorious B.I.G. Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
  21. "The Notorious B.I.G. Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
  22. Billboard Singles - AllMusic
  23. "British single certifications – Notorious B.I.G. – Juicy". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 15, 2019. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Juicy in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  24. "American single certifications – Notorious B.I.G. – Juicy". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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