"Big Poppa" 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 ...

It was released as the second single from his first 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 Arista Records. The album features productions by Bad Boy founder Sean "Puffy" Combs, Easy Mo Bee, Chuc ...

''. It features a sample of the song, " Between the Sheets" written by

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

. "Big Poppa" was nominated 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 ...

at the

1996 Grammy Awards The 38th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 28, 1996, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. The awards recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Alanis Morissette was the main recipient, being awarded four trophies, in ...

. It also went on to win at the ''Billboard'' Music Awards. 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. There was an official remix released in 1995 featuring

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

, called "Big Poppa (So So Def Remix)" which has similar lyrics, with Dupri replacing Puff Daddy, and Biggie providing a new third verse. This remix appeared as a single.

Background and content

The title is based on one of The Notorious B.I.G.'s many nicknames. The line, "I love it when you call me Big Poppa" is sampled from his first ever released material, a verse from the "Bad Boy Extended Remix" version of the

Super Cat William Anthony Maragh (born 25 June 1963),Huey, Steve " Super Cat Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 18 July 2010 also known as Super Cat, is a Jamaican deejay who achieved widespread popularity during the late 1980s and early 1990s dancehall mo ...

song, "

Dolly My Baby "Dolly My Baby" is the title of a reggae/ hip-hop song performed by Jamaican reggae/dancehall recording artist Super Cat released as a single in early 1993 (see 1993 in music). The original version of the song is featured on Super Cat's album ''D ...

" released in 1993. The song also samples the beat from

' 1983 hit " Between the Sheets." It also makes a reference to the original Bad Boy artist

Craig Mack Craig Jamieson Mack (May 10, 1971 – March 12, 2018) was an American rapper and record producer, and was famous during his tenure under Bad Boy Records. Early life and career Craig Jamieson Mack was born in The Bronx, New York, and raised on ...

, with the line, "now check it, I got more Mack than Craig in the bed...".

Legacy

* "Big Poppa" was used in the 2001 film ''

Hardball Hardball, in English, more specifically American English, generally refers to baseball (as opposed to its variant softball), especially when played very competitively. Metaphorically, it refers to uncompromising and ruthless methods or dealings, ...

'' multiple times. It was also used in the 2009 biographical film, '' Notorious''. The song was mentioned in the 2009 film, ''

Madea Goes to Jail ''Madea Goes to Jail'' is a 2009 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Tyler Perry, which was based on his 2006 play, and starring Perry, Derek Luke, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Ion Overman, RonReaco Lee, Sofía Vergara, Vanessa Ferlito ...

'', as well as being used for the party scene in 2007's '' Superbad''. * It briefly played in the 2007 comedy ''

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

'', in a scene where the title character walks in on his wife

having sex Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and Pelvic thrust, thrusting of the penis into the vagina for Sexual stimulation, sexual pleasure or sexual reproduction, reproduction.Sexual i ...

with her dance teacher. * The song was sampled by

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 R ...

in "We'll Always Love Big Poppa" as a tribute to B.I.G., who was shot dead on March 9, 1997 in the closing track from their debut album, '' Money, Power & Respect''. *

Omarion Omari Ishmael Grandberry (born November 12, 1984), better known by his stage name Omarion, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actor and dancer. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the boy band B2K. The group achieved success in the e ...

sampled the lyrics in his song "Let's Talk". The song was released in Maybach Music Group album, ''Self Made Vol. 2''. (2012) * A Spanish version of the chorus was used in a

Taco Bell Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includi ...

commercial called "Grande Papi" (2013). * The American comedy film '' Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2'' (2015) used the song in its second trailer. *

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 200 ...

performed a comedic version of the song in his portrayal of the singer and actor

Robert Goulet Robert Gérard Goulet (November 26, 1933 October 30, 2007) was an American and Canadian singer and actor of French-Canadian ancestry. Goulet was born and raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts until age 13, and then spent his formative years in Cana ...

in an episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

''. * "Big Poppa" was also covered by

Mindless Self Indulgence Mindless Self Indulgence (often referred to as MSI) is an American electropunk band formed in New York City in 1997. Their music has a mixed style which includes punk rock, alternative rock, electronica, techno, industrial, hip hop, and breakb ...

in 2006. * The song is featured in the first episode of the 2017

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

series

She's Gotta Have It ''She's Gotta Have It'' is a 1986 American black-and-white comedy-drama film written, produced, edited and directed by Spike Lee. Filmed on a small budget and Lee's first feature-length film to be released, it earned positive reviews and lau ...

, based on Spike Lee's 1986 film of the same name. * "Big Poppa" is referenced in the title of the

internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

Big Floppa Social and cultural phenomena specific to the Internet include Internet memes, such as popular themes, catchphrases, images, viral videos, and jokes. When such fads and sensations occur online, they tend to grow rapidly and become more widesp ...

", centered on a

caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted e ...

named Gosha (Russian: Гоша). * In 2021, it was ranked at No. 330 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Music video

The music video was filmed in late 1994 and it was released for the week ending on December 11, 1994. It premiered on BET and MTV

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

and

Treach Anthony 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. Career With Naughty by Nature, Treach worked ...

of Naughty by Nature make cameo appearances.

Big Poppa track list

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

References

{{Authority control 1995 singles Bad Boy Records singles The Notorious B.I.G. songs Music videos directed by Hype Williams G-funk 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 1994 songs