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

"Juicy"
Single by The Notorious B.I.G.
from the album Ready to Die
Released August 9, 1994
Format CD
Recorded 1994
Genre Gangsta rap
Length 5:03
Label
Songwriter(s) Christopher Wallace, Hunter McIntosh, Sean Combs, Pete Rock, Jean-Claude Olivier, Samuel Barnes
Producer(s) Poke of Trackmasters, Pete Rock
The Notorious B.I.G. singles chronology
"Party and Bullshit"
(1993)		 "Juicy"
(1994)		 "Big Poppa"
(1994)

"Party and Bullshit"
(1993)		 "Juicy"
(1994)		 "Big Poppa"
(1994)
Music video
“Juicy” on YouTube

"Juicy" is the first single by American hip hop artist The Notorious B.I.G. from his 1994 debut album Ready to Die. It was produced by Poke of Trackmasters & Sean "Puffy" Combs. It contains a sample of Mtume's "Juicy Fruit" released in 1982, but is directly sampled from the song's "Fruity Instrumental" mix, and has an alternative chorus sung by girl group Total. The song is considered by Rolling Stone, The Source and About.com as one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time.[1][2][3]

Content

The song is a "rags-to-riches chronicle"[4] detailing his childhood years in poverty, his initial dreams of becoming a rapper and his early musical influences, his time dealing drugs and being involved in crime, and his eventual success in the music business and current lavish lifestyle.

Production controversy

Producer Pete Rock alleged that Puffy stole the idea for the original song's beat after hearing it from him during a visit. Rock explained this in an interview with Wax Poetics:[5]

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.

Rock's remix for "Juicy" uses the same sample as the original.

On the Juan Epstein podcast,[6] Pete Rock discussed this briefly as well, saying that he has no hard feelings about how "Juicy" came about, but he wishes he'd gotten the proper credit, although he did harbor some ill feelings at one time.

Accolades

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

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

Chart positions

Weekly charts

Chart (1994–95) Peak
position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[15] 72
UK R&B (Official Charts Company)[16] 16
US Billboard Hot 100[17] 27
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[18] 1
US Hot Rap Singles (Billboard)[19] 1

References

  1. ↑ The 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time
  2. ↑ 100 Best Rap Albums:
  3. ↑ Top 100 Rap Songs
  4. ↑ "Ready to Die at Allmusic.com". Retrieved 2006-12-23.
  5. ↑ Wax Poetic interview - Pete Rock - tribe.net Archived 2012-02-20 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ "Fact: Ciph is a F*cking Douchebag!". Rosenberg Radio. 2008-05-23. Archived from the original on 2014-06-07. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  7. 1 2 3 "Juicy at Acclaimedmusic.net". Retrieved December 23, 2006.
  8. ↑ "Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists at rocklistmusic.co.uk". Retrieved December 23, 2006.
  9. ↑ Pitchfork Top 200 Tracks of the 90s
  10. ↑ "150 Greatest Rock Lists Ever at rocklistmusic.co.uk". Retrieved December 23, 2006.
  11. ↑ "Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Retrieved April 7, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Die besten Singles aller Zeiten at home.rhein-zeitung.de". Retrieved December 23, 2006.
  13. ↑ Pappademas, Alex. "Juicy from The Boston Phoenix". Retrieved December 23, 2006.
  14. ↑ "100 Best Singles at rocklistmusic.co.uk". Retrieved December 23, 2006.
  15. ↑ "Notorious B.I.G: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
  16. ↑ "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  17. ↑ "The Notorious B.I.G. Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
  18. ↑ "The Notorious B.I.G. Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
  19. ↑ Billboard Singles- allmusic.com
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