“Big Poppa” by The Notorious B.I.G. is an East Coast hip-hop, dirty rap, G-funk, and R&B-influenced song from his debut studio album, Ready to Die. It was released on December 24, 1994 as the album’s second single through Bad Boy Records and Arista Records, with “Warning” as the A-side and “Who Shot Ya?” as the B-side. The song was written by Christopher Wallace, along with Ronald, Ernest, Marvin, O’Kelly, and Rudolph Isley, and Chris Jasper, because of its use of The Isley Brothers sample.

The track is one of Biggie’s smoothest and most commercially successful recordings. Instead of the darker street storytelling found on other parts of Ready to Die, “Big Poppa” presents The Notorious B.I.G. in a more relaxed, luxurious, and flirtatious mode. The song is named after one of his nicknames and features lyrics about nightlife, confidence, wealth, attraction, expensive brands, and a lavish lifestyle.

Musically, “Big Poppa” is built around a prominent sample of “Between the Sheets” by The Isley Brothers, which gives the track its warm R&B texture. Its main musical elements include a slow hip-hop beat, sampled soul instrumentation, smooth bass, keyboard textures, a Minimoog whistle, and Biggie’s deep, laid-back vocal flow. The result is a polished blend of rap and R&B that helped define the smoother side of 1990s Bad Boy hip-hop.

The production was shaped by Chucky Thompson, Sean “Puffy” Combs, and Nashiem Myrick, with the beat created around the Isley Brothers sample at The Hit Factory in New York City. Although it is an East Coast rap song, the beat was partly inspired by West Coast hip-hop, especially the sound of artists such as Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and 2Pac.

One curiosity about “Big Poppa” is that the beat was originally given to the hip-hop group Lost Boyz. Sean Combs wanted it back, which led to a trade involving another beat that Lost Boyz later used for their 1995 song “Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz & Benz.” This means one of Biggie’s most famous singles almost belonged to another group.

Another interesting detail is that The Notorious B.I.G. reportedly did not even like “Big Poppa” at first. Nashiem Myrick said it was one of the last songs recorded for Ready to Die, yet it became one of the tracks most closely associated with Biggie’s public image: smooth, charismatic, funny, confident, and effortlessly rhythmic.

Commercially, “Big Poppa” became a major breakthrough. It was The Notorious B.I.G.’s first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 6. It also reached No. 1 on the US Hot Rap Songs chart, No. 4 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and was certified Platinum in the United States for over one million domestic sales.

The music video was filmed in late 1994 and premiered on BET and MTV during the week ending December 11, 1994. It features cameo appearances from several major figures in 1990s hip-hop and R&B, including Mary J. Blige, Misa Hylton, Faith Evans, Craig Mack, Lil’ Kim, Busta Rhymes, and Treach of Naughty by Nature.

“Big Poppa” received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance in 1996 and has remained one of the most celebrated songs in The Notorious B.I.G.’s catalog. It was ranked No. 52 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time, and later appeared at No. 331 on the publication’s 2024 list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

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Uh, uh
Check it out (yeah)
Junior MAFIA, uh
Uh (I like this), yeah, yeah
94 (keep bangin')

To all the ladies in the place with style and grace
Allow me to lace these lyrical douches in your bushes (uh)
Who rock grooves and make moves with all the mamis?
The back of the club, sippin' Moët is where you'll find me (what?)
The back of the club (yeah), mackin' hoes, my crew's behind me (uh)
Mad question askin', blunt passin', music blastin'
But I just can't quit
Because one of these honeys Biggie got to creep with (huh, that's right)
Sleep with, keep the EP a secret, why not? (Uh)
Why blow up my spot 'cause we both got hot?
Now check it: I got more mack than Craig and, in the bed (aight)
Believe me, sweetie, I got enough to feed the needy (come on)
No need to be greedy, I got mad friends with Benzes
C-notes by the layers, true fuckin' players (uh)
Jump in the Rover and come over, tell your friends jump in the GS3
I got the chronic by the tree 'cause (let's go)

I love it when you call me Big Poppa
Throw your hands in the air if you's a true player
I love it when you call me Big Poppa
To the honeys gettin' money, playin' niggas like dummies
I love it when you call me Big Poppa
You got a gun up in your waist, please, don't shoot up the place (why?)
'Cause I see some ladies tonight that should be havin' my baby, baby (uh, uh)

Straight up, honey, really I'm askin'
Most of these niggas think they be mackin', but they be actin'
Who they attractin' with that line (what?)
What's your name? What's your sign? (Haha)
Soon as he buy that wine, I just creep up from behind (uh, uh) (that's right)
And ask you what your interests are, who you be with
Things that make you smile, what numbers to dial
You gon' be here for a while? I'm gon' go call my crew, you go call your crew
We can rendezvous at the bar around two (come on)
Plans to leave, throw the keys to Little Cease (uh-huh)
Pull the truck up front and roll up the next blunt
So we can steam on the way to the telly, go fill my belly (G)
A T-bone steak, cheese eggs and Welch's grape
Conversate for a few, 'cause in a few we gon' do what we came to do
Ain't that right, boo? (True)
Forget the telly, we just go to the crib
And watch a movie in the jacuzzi, smoke Ls while you do me

I love it when you call me Big Poppa
Throw your hands in the air if you's a true player (come on) (yeah)
I love it when you call me Big Poppa
To the honeys gettin' money, playin' niggas like dummies (uh)
I love it when you call me Big Poppa
You got a gun up in your waist, please, don't shoot up the place (yeah) (why?)
'Cause I see some ladies tonight that should be havin' my baby, baby (uh)

(How you livin', Biggie Smalls?) In mansion and Benzes
Givin' ends to my friends and it feels stupendous
Tremendous cream, fuck a dollar and a dream (huh)
Still tote gats strapped with infrared beams (that's right) (what?)
Choppin' Os (uh-huh), smokin' la' in Optimos
Money, hoes and clothes all a nigga knows (all a nigga knows)
A foolish pleasure? Whatever
I had to find the buried treasure (for what?)
So grams I had to measure
However, livin' better now, Gucci sweater now
Drop top BMs, I'm the man, girlfriend

Yeah, honey, check it (check it)
Tell your friends to get with my friends (your friends)
And we can be friends
Shit, we can do this every weekend (that's right), alright?
Is that aight with you?
Yeah
Keep bangin'

I love it when you call me Big Poppa
Throw your hands in the air if you's a true player
I love it when you call me Big Poppa
To the honeys gettin' money, playin' niggas like dummies (uh)
I love it when you call me Big Poppa
You got a gun up in your waist, please, don't shoot up the place (why?)
'Cause I see some ladies tonight that should be havin' my baby, baby (uh)

Check it out
94 shit for that ass, uh
Puff Daddy, Biggie Smalls, Junior MAFIA
Represent, baby, baby, uh

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