Puff Daddy & The Family:
It’s All About the Benjamins
1997

f/ Lil’ Kim, The LOX & The Notorious B.I.G.

Producer: Puff Daddy, Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie  | Album: No Way Out | Label: Bad Boy

“This and ‘Put Your Hands’ had the longest run in the Tunnel. By far, the definition of a Tunnel banger.”

Cypha Sounds:

“This and ‘Put Your Hands’ had the longest run in the Tunnel. By far, the definition of a Tunnel banger. The original vinyl was the B-side of the first pressing of ‘Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down’ and ‘You’ll See.’ They gave it out at the Gavin Convention. But from it catching on in the Tunnel, it went from a promo B-side to a real record, so they pressed a 12.”

“Then, after a year of this shit rocking every week, they decided to make it a Puffy single. And that’s when they put Biggie and Kim on it, to give it a new life. This was not meant to be one of the biggest hip-hop records of all time, it was a little something to start showcasing the LOX. I heard a version with no Diddy and Styles was on it—’cause you know Styles is not on that record, to give Puffy room.

I heard a version with Biggie rhyming over the regular Benjamins beat and another where Biggie rapped over a different Jackson 5 beat.”

“I also heard a version where Biggie is rhyming over the Benjamins beat and the Jackson 5 beat starts in the middle of his verse.

I heard all these from Lil’ Cease, who had these cassettes from when Biggie actually laid it. Yo, Cease taught me so much about how to play in the Tunnel. I wasn’t into all that street shit, I was into underground, so I listened to everything he played. I’ve seen this record go through changes. It definitely rocked, the way it was. I don’t think Biggie ever performed the ‘Benjamins’ while he was alive.”

Complex Magazine | By Donnie Kwak | Donnie is a deputy editor at Complex Media | May 6 2013
Original Source: https://www.complex.com/music/2013/05/cipha-sounds-presents-the-75-greatest-tunnel-bangers-3/