"I'll Be Missing You" is a tribute song by American rapper

Puff Daddy 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, Combs worked as a ...

and singer

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 ...

, featuring the R&B group 112. It honors Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, a fellow artist on

Bad Boy Records Bad Boy Entertainment, doing business as Bad Boy Records, is an American independent record label. The label was founded in 1993 by rapper and record producer Sean Combs. During the mid-1990s, the label signed hip-hop and contemporary R&B, R&B a ...

and Evans's husband, who was murdered on March 9, 1997. Released in May 1997 by Bad Boy and

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

as the second single from Puff Daddy and the Family's debut album, '' No Way Out'' (1997), the track incorporates a sample from

the Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...

's 1983 track "

Every Breath You Take "Every Breath You Take" is a song by the English rock band the Police from their album ''Synchronicity'' (1983). Written by Sting, the single was the biggest US and Canadian hit of 1983, topping the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart for ei ...

," with an adapted chorus by Evans. Additionally, it includes elements from the 1929 hymn " I'll Fly Away" by Albert E. Brumley and features a spoken introduction layered over a choral arrangement of Samuel Barber's " Adagio for Strings." Its music video was directed by

Hype Williams Harold "Hype" Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video and film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Early life Williams was born in Queens. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Adelphi Univ ...

and filmed on sites in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. At the 40th Annual Grammy Awards, the song won the

Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group was awarded between 1991 and 2011, alongside the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. The award was discontinue ...

. The single spent eleven weeks atop the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reached number one in 15 other countries; it was the best-performing single of 1997 in Iceland, the Netherlands (

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 () is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore radio, offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" ...

), and Romania. With shipments of over three million copies in the United States and over one million in both Germany and the United Kingdom, the song has become one of the best-selling singles of all time.

Composition

"I'll Be Missing You" is based on a sample of the 1983 single "

" by

. It also uses an

interpolation In the mathematics, mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one ...

of the "Every Breath You Take" melody, sung by Biggie's widow,

. Combs did not secure legal approval for the sample before releasing the song, and Police songwriter Sting sued, receiving 100% of the song royalties. Police guitarist

Andy Summers Andrew James Summers (born 31 December 1942) is an English guitarist best known as a member of the rock band the Police. Prior to joining the Police, Summers had been a member of several bands during the 1960s, including Zoot Money's Big Roll ...

called the sample "a major rip-off", and told the

A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

: "I found out about it after it was on the radio ... I’d be walking round

Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchising, franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when ...

, and the fucking thing would be playing over and over. It was very bizarre while it lasted." Sting later reconciled with Bad Boy, and performed the song alongside Puff Daddy and Evans in September 1997 at the

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...

. The track uses the melody from the 1929 hymn, " I'll Fly Away". Combs' verses were written by rapper Sauce Money. Combs had originally asked

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

to write the track, but he turned it down and suggested that Sauce Money write the song instead.

Critical reception

Tom Sinclair from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' panned the song, giving it a grade of D and describing it as a "maudlin 'tribute' to the Notorious B.I.G., n whichthe late rapper's former mentor (

) and wife (

) team up to say their farewells to the big man on a song that 'samples'

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...

's '

'. With lyrics like ''Know you're in heaven, smiling down/Watching us while we pray for you'', 'I'll Be Missing You' gives the lie to those who claim

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

pers are above self-serving sentimentality." British magazine ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave it four out of five and named it a "dignified tribute". Also James Hyman from ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' gave the song four out of five, noting that "once again, blatant plundering from an Eighties groove forms the basis for an instant

pop-rap Pop rap (also known as pop hip-hop, pop hop, hip pop, melodic hip-hop or melodic rap) is a genre of music fusing the rhythm-based lyricism of hip hop with pop's preference for melodic vocals, catchy hooks, and positive lyrics on pop-like p ...

crossover."

David Fricke David Fricke (born ) is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 ye ...

from ''

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 ...

'' wrote, "In 'I'll Be Missing You', he didn't merely crib from Sting; he took a song about stalking and transformed it into a radiant hymn of brotherly love and a community's loss." Freelance music writer Jeremy Simmonds described it as "somewhat turgid". Ian Hyland from ''

Sunday Mirror The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marked ...

'' gave it nine out of ten, commenting, "Not the greatest rap I've ever heard but this tribute to murdered rapper Notorious B.I.G. is going to be H.U.G.E. In a mish-mash of The Police's 'Every Breath You Take' and

John Waite John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English rock singer and musician. As a solo artist, he has released ten studio albums and is best known for the 1984 hit single "Missing You (John Waite song), Missing You", which reached No. 1 on th ...

's ' Missing', the highlight is Faith Evans' amazing voice." In March 2024, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' magazine ranked "I'll Be Missing You" number 43 in their list of "The 50 Best Songs of the 1990s". Hugh McIntyre named it "a poignant reflection on loss and longing."

Chart performance

"I'll Be Missing You" topped many

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent t ...

across the world. It reached number one in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Austria, Denmark,

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. The song debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and was the only rap song by a male artist to do so until

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

's " Not Afraid" debuted at the top spot, thirteen years later, in 2010. The song spent a record-breaking 11 weeks at number one on the Hot 100, making it the longest-running number-one rap song in history, until Eminem's " Lose Yourself" spent 12 weeks at number-one in 2002. The song re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number 32 on July 8, 2007, 10 years after it had its full physical release, and 10 years after it was number one. As of July 2013, "I'll Be Missing You" is the 22nd best-selling song of all time in the UK.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "I'll Be Missing You" was directed by American director

and shot in

. Portions of the video were filmed in the

Helmut Jahn Helmut Jahn (January 4, 1940 – May 8, 2021) was a German-American architect, known for projects such as the Sony Center on Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany; the Messeturm in Frankfurt, Germany; the Thompson Center in Chicago; One Libert ...

designed

moving walkway A moving walkway – also known as an autowalk, moving pavement, moving sidewalk, travolator, or travelator – is a slow-moving conveyor mechanism that transports people across a horizontal or inclined plane, over a short to medium distance. T ...

tunnel that connects Concourses B and C in Terminal 1 at the

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, Loop business district. The airport is ope ...

. The hill and motorcycle scene was shot at Sauer Family Prairie Kame Preserve in Elburn,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. The music video was added to

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and

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

on the week ending on May 11, 1997.

Formats and track listings

* CD single #

featuring

and 112 – "I'll Be Missing You" * Maxi-single # Puff Daddy featuring Faith Evans and 112 – "I'll Be Missing You" # The Lox – "We'll Always Love Big Poppa" # 112 – "Cry On" # Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112 – "I'll Be Missing You" # The Lox – "We'll Always Love Big Poppa"

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time chart

Certifications and sales

Release history

References