"Big Poppa" is a song by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released on December 24, 1994, as the second single from his debut studio album ''

Ready to Die ''Ready to Die'' is the debut studio album by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released on September 13, 1994, by Bad Boy Records and distributed by Arista Records. The album features productions by Bad Boy founder Sean Combs, Sean "Puffy ...

''. Produced by

Chucky Thompson Carl Edward Thompson Jr. (July 12, 1968 – August 9, 2021) was an American record producer, best known for his work with Sean Combs' Bad Boy Records. Biography Thompson was born in Washington, D.C., in 1968. He was a member of Bad Boy Entertai ...

and Nashiem Myrick, it samples the song " Between the Sheets" (1983) by

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

. "Big Poppa" is a rap song with elements of R&B and

West Coast hip hop West Coast hip-hop is a regional genre of Hip-hop, hip-hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip-hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during th ...

. It is named after one of The Notorious B.I.G.'s nicknames.

Background and composition

Sean Combs Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Mount Ve ...

, the executive producer of ''

'', wanted to sample the song " Between the Sheets" (1983) by

. After

and Nashiem Myrick produced a beat sampling the song at

The Hit Factory The Hit Factory is a recording studio in New York City owned and operated by Troy Germano. History In 1969, songwriter Jerry Ragavoy opened a recording studio in New York City and named it ''The Hit Factory.'' On March 6, 1975, Edward Germano, ...

, it was given to hip hop group

Lost Boyz Lost Boyz are an American Hip hop music, hip hop group from Queens, New York (state), New York, consisting of Master of ceremonies, MC Mr. Cheeks, DJ Spigg Nice, Pretty Lou, and Freaky Kah, with the latter replacing his father Freaky Tah who w ...

. Combs wanted the beat back, which resulted in a trade involving another beat, which ended up being used on Lost Boyz's 1995 song " Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz & Benz". According to Myrick, The Notorious B.I.G. "didn’t even like ‘Big Poppa, and said that it was one of the last songs recorded for ''Ready to Die''. He also said that the beat was inspired by

: specifically, rappers

Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...

and

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

. "Big Poppa" is a rap song with elements of R&B and West Coast hip hop. Named after one of The Notorious B.I.G.'s nicknames, the song sees him rapping about luxury brands and his lavish lifestyle. It features a

Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

whistle and many critics described the song as "smooth".

Release and reception

In 2017, "Big Poppa" was ranked at number 52 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'''s "100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time" list, and at number 331 on the publication's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list in 2024. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' considered it the third best song on ''Ready to Die''. "Big Poppa" was nominated for the

Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance was awarded from 1991 to 2011, alongside the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Previously, a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. In 2003, this award was split into separate a ...

in 1996.

Commercial performance

The single was

certified platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

and sold over 1,000,000 copies domestically. It marked The Notorious B.I.G.'s first top 10 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, debuting and peaking number 6.

Music video

Filmed in late 1994, the music video premiered on BET and MTV for the week ending on December 11, 1994.

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...

Misa Hylton Misa Hylton (previously known as Misa Hylton-Brim; born January 6, 1974) is an American stylist and fashion designer. Known as a pioneer in the fashion industry, she has styled many hip-hop and R&B artists since the 1990s, most notably Lil' Kim and ...

Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 in pursuit of a recording career. Evans initially performed as ...

Craig Mack Craig Jamieson Mack (May 10, 1970 – March 12, 2018) was an American rapper and record producer. He is best known for his tenure with Bad Boy Records, during which he released his 1994 single " Flava in Ya Ear" (1994), which peaked within the ' ...

, Lil’ Kim,

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

and

Treach Anthony Shawn Criss (born December 2, 1970), better known by his stage name Treach, is an American rapper and actor. He is perhaps best known as the lead rapper of the hip hop group Naughty by Nature. Early life, family and education Criss atte ...

of Naughty by Nature make cameo appearances.

Track listings

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)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

In other media

The song was later used in the 2007 film

Norbit In electronics, the NORBIT family of modules is a very early form (since 1960) of Digital electronics, digital logic developed by Philips (and also provided through and Mullard) that uses modules containing discrete components to build logic fu ...

and on Superbad

Trivia

The line "Fuck a dollar and a dream" is a reference to a New York Lottery advertising campaign.

References

{{Authority control 1994 songs 1995 singles Bad Boy Records singles The Notorious B.I.G. songs Music videos directed by Hype Williams Dirty rap songs Songs written by the Notorious B.I.G. Songs written by Rudolph Isley Songs written by O'Kelly Isley Jr. Songs written by Ronald Isley Songs written by Ernie Isley Songs written by Marvin Isley Songs written by Chris Jasper