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

"Juicy" is the first single by American rapper the Notorious B.I.G. from his 1994 debut album, Ready to Die. It was produced by Poke of the duo Trackmasters and Sean "Puffy" Combs. "Juicy" contains a sample of Mtume's 1983 song, "Juicy Fruit", though it is directly sampled from the song's "Fruity Instrumental" mix, and has an alternative chorus sung by Bad Boy Records cohorts, the girl group Total and label founder Combs. The song is widely considered to be one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time.

## Music video

The music video for Juicy was directed by Sean Combs and premiered in August 1994. In it, the Notorious B.I.G. raps the song first on the stairs in front of a house and later in the form of an interview with a reporter as well as on the street, in prison and at a pool party. Individual scenes are based on the content of the song and show how the Notorious B.I.G. is arrested for selling drugs or arguing with his mother when they lived in poverty, while he now glorifies his wealth. The Notorious B.I.G. also had a small part of the video at one of P. Diddy's parties.

## Content

The song is a "rags-to-riches chronicle". The Notorious B.I.G. chronicles his childhood years living in poverty, his initial dreams of becoming a rapper, early musical influences, his time dealing drugs, criminal involvement, and his eventual success in the music industry and current lavish lifestyle.
One of the song's lines reads, "Time to get paid, blow up like the World Trade," referencing the February 26, 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.

## Production controversy

Producer Pete Rock alleged that Combs stole the idea for the original song's beat after hearing it at Rock's house. In an interview with Wax Poetics, he said:
   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.
Pete Rock's remix of "Juicy" uses the same sample as the original. During an appearance on the Juan Epstein Podcast, Rock said that he has no hard feelings about how "Juicy" came about, but wished he had gotten the proper credit, although he did admit to harboring some ill feelings at the time.

## Accolades

* Ego Trip ranked it number 1 on its Hip Hop's 40 Greatest Singles by Year 1980–98 list in 1999.
* Pitchfork Media ranked the song at number 14 on their Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s.
* Pop ranked it number 1 on their Singles of the Year list in 1994.
* Q ranked "Juicy" the ninth greatest hip hop song of all time.
* Rolling Stone ranked the song number 424 in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, moving to #32 in the 2021 revision.
* Spex included it on the Best Singles of the Century list in 1999.
* The Boston Phoenix included it on their The 90 Best Songs of the 90s list in 1999.
* The Source included it on their 100 Best Rap Singles of All Time list in 1998.
* VH1 ranked it number 7 on its "100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs Ever", and number 1 on its "40 Greatest Hip Hop Songs of the 90s".
* BBC ranked it number 1 on its "Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time".

## Track listing
### 12-inch

A-side
* "Juicy" (Dirty Mix) (5:05)
* "Unbelievable" (3:45) (produced by DJ Premier)
* "Juicy" (Remix) (4:42) (produced by Pete Rock)
B-side
* "Juicy" (Instrumental) (5:05)
* "Unbelievable" (instrumental) (3:45)
* "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

## Charts
### Weekly charts

| Chart (1994–95) | Peak position |
| UK Singles (OCC) | 72 |
| UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC) | 16 |
| UK Club Chart (Music Week) | 58 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 27 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) | 14 |
| US Hot Rap Singles (Billboard) | 1 |

## Certifications

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Canada (Music Canada) | 7× Platinum | 560,000$^‡$ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark) | Gold | 45,000$^‡$ |
| Italy (FIMI) sales since 2009 | Gold | 50,000$^‡$ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) | 5× Platinum | 150,000$^‡$ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000$^‡$ |
| United States (RIAA) | 6× Platinum | 6,000,000$^‡$ |
| $^‡$ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |||