"Mo Money Mo Problems" is a song by American rapper

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

, released through

Bad Boy Records Bad Boy Records (or Bad Boy Entertainment) is an American record label founded in 1993 by rapper Sean "Puffy" Combs. It operates as an imprint of Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. It has been home to many artists, including ...

and

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertain ...

, which impacted US mainstream radio stations on July 15, 1997, as the second single from his second and final

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

, '' Life After Death'' (1997). It was written by

the Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

, Steven Jordan,

Mason Betha Mason Durell Betha (born August 27, 1975), better known by his mononym Mase (formerly Murda Mase and stylized as Ma$e), is an American rapper and minister. In the late 1990s, he recorded on the Bad Boy Records label alongside its founder Sean ...

, and

Sean Combs Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

, while the latter also produced the song. It contains a sample and an

interpolation In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has ...

of "

I'm Coming Out "I'm Coming Out" is a song recorded by American singer Diana Ross. It was written and produced by Chic members Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, and released on August 22, 1980, as the second single from Ross' self-titled tenth album '' Diana'' ...

" by

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...

, for which

Bernard Edwards Bernard Edwards (October 31, 1952 – April 18, 1996) was an American bass player and record producer, known primarily for his work in disco music with guitarist Nile Rodgers, with whom he co-founded Chic. In 2017, Edwards was selected as the 5 ...

and

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...

are also credited as songwriters. The song features guest vocals from

Mase Mason Durell Betha (born August 27, 1975), better known by his mononym Mase (formerly Murda Mase and stylized as Ma$e), is an American rapper and minister. In the late 1990s, he recorded on the Bad Boy Records label alongside its founder Sean ...

and Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, and featured an uncredited

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

sung by Kelly Price. Released posthumously, "Mo Money Mo Problems" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for two weeks in 1997, replacing "

I'll Be Missing You "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 (and Evans's husband) Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, who was murder ...

" at the top of the chart,

Puff Daddy Puff may refer to: Science and technology * Puff, a small quantity of gas or smoke in the air ** Puff, a light gust of wind ** Exhalation ** Inhalation * Puff model, volcanic ash tracking model developed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks * ...

's own tribute to the rapper. The song is Notorious B.I.G.'s second posthumous number-one single, following " Hypnotize", making him the only artist in Hot 100 history to have two number-one singles posthumously. It was the sixth song to hit number one posthumously for a credited artist. It received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1998. Based on airplay and chart success, the song is considered one of the most popular singles in hip hop history. In 2021, Samoan Australian hip hop group

No Money Enterprise No Money Enterprise (often abbreviated as NME) are a Samoan Australian hip hop group formed in 2019 in Logan City, Queensland. Consisting of members Rndy Svge, Tommy OT & Ha’i Braa, their musical style combines elements of drill music and ...

covered the song on Australian youth broadcaster

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

's ''

Like a Version ''Like a Version'' is a weekly segment on Australian youth radio station Triple J. It involves Australian and international artists playing two songs live in the Triple J studio, one of their own songs (an "original") and then a cover version, h ...

'' segment.

Critical reception

Ralph Tee from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

s ''RM'' rated "Mo Money Mo Problems" five out of five, picking it as Hip Hop Tune of the Week. He wrote, "Biggie's profile could not be greater right now, particularly in the States. (...) It's the one true light moment on an extremely dark album and brilliantly utilises the

sample from '

', cleverly weaved into some serious big beats, scratching and guest appearances by

and

. Biggie delivers his rap in the natural self assured way he always did so well, the chorus being as infectious as they get on the song from the album which always screamed of a hit from day one."

Commercial performance

"Mo Money Mo Problems" was able to top the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for two weeks, giving Biggie his second number one hit in the US. The song hit number one after he had died. It was preceded by "

" by

featuring 112 and

Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al ...

(meaning that Puff Daddy spent 13 weeks in a row at the top of the Hot 100) and was succeeded by "

Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

" by

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the w ...

, which was also co-produced by Puff Daddy. "Mo Money Mo Problems" also reached number six on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

for "Mo Money Mo Problems", directed by

Hype Williams Harold Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video director, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Early life Williams was born in Queens, New York. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Ade ...

, featured Mase and Combs in futuristic locations designed by Ron Norsworthy, including a tunnel lined with

fluorescent lamp A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor, which produces short-wave ultraviolet, ult ...

s and a stark white chamber with pressurized air blowing out of the floor, allowing the two to float in midair. This video is also famous for the red shiny jackets that are worn by Combs and Mase. The "air chamber" also had a video screen showing, at first, images of Kelly Price

lip-synching Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated th ...

to the sample of Diana Ross' voice and singing the song's chorus. During the final verse, which the Notorious B.I.G. performed, Mase and Puffy looked on as the video screen showed archival footage of B.I.G. performing, it ran at a speed so that the footage seemed to sync with B.I.G.'s vocals; since the rapper had died just prior to the release of ''Life After Death'', and well before the filming of the video, this was the only way to have him appear in the video. The video features appearances from Sheek Louch of

The LOX The Lox (stylized The LOX or The L.O.X.) is an American hip hop group from Yonkers, New York, formed in 1994. The group is composed of East Coast rappers Sheek Louch, Styles P and Jadakiss. They had originally signed to Puff Daddy's Bad Boy ...

Riddick Bowe Riddick Lamont Bowe (born August 10, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1989 and 2008. He reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1992, and as an amateur he won a silver medal in the super heav ...

, Stevie J, and Nashiem Myrick. The video also has a short story, which is about how Combs was competing in a golf tournament and gained help from the spirit of The Notorious B.I.G, who helps him win the tournament. This was a reaction to the newly popular success of

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

. The music video was released in July 1997.

MuchMoreMusic M3 was a Canadian English language Category A cable and satellite specialty channel owned by Bell Media. Established in 1998 as MuchMoreMusic, the network began as a spin-off of the youth-oriented MuchMusic, targeting an older demographic wit ...

ranked "Mo Money Mo Problems" number 31 on ''

Listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

''s "40 Most Memorable Videos Pt. 1 & 2" for its flashy wardrobe, and use of syncing old footage with the lyrics. VH1 ranked the song number 63 as one of the "100 Greatest Songs of the 90s".

Track listing

* CD single # "Mo Money Mo Problems" Produced by Sean Combs (radio mix) – 4:12 # "Lovin You Tonight" (radio mix) – 5:07 # "Mo Money Mo Problems" (instrumental) – 4:12 # "Mo Money Mo Problems" (Razor-N-Go Club mix, short version) – 4:09 # "Mo Money Mo Problems" (Razor-N-Go Club mix, long version) – 10:33

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

No Money Enterprise version

Samoan Australian hip hop group

covered the song for Australian youth broadcaster

's ''

'' segment on 26 November 2021. The cover was digitally released the following week, on 3 December 2021. According to ''

NME Australia ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music journalism, music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine tha ...

''s Jackson Langford, they "remained sonically faithful to Biggie's original version", with member Tommy OT rapping

's verse, whilet Randy OT $avag.e and OT Stallyon added their own original verses to the song. The performance also included a live drummer and a female backing vocalist. Australian

popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

website ''

Junkee Junkee is an Australian popular culture and news website run by new media company Junkee Media. It covers various topics including film, university, food, TV, politics, travel, career, health and Internet culture. Its target demographic is 18- to ...

''s David James Young ranked the cover at number 32 out of 38 in his list of the best ''Like a Version'' covers of 2021, stating " heBiggie classic doesn't quite meld with the Enterprise's style."

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1997 singles 1996 songs The Notorious B.I.G. songs Bad Boy Records singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Funk-rap songs Mase songs Music videos directed by Hype Williams No Money Enterprise songs Sean Combs songs Songs released posthumously Songs written by Mase Songs written by the Notorious B.I.G. Songs written by Sean Combs