Juicy
| Juicy | |
|---|---|
| The Notorious BIG feat. Total | |
| publication | August 8, 1994 |
| length | 5:03 |
| Genre (s) | Hip-hop , gangsta rap |
| Author (s) |
Christopher Wallace , Sean Combs , Peter Philips , Jean-Claude Olivier |
| music | Sean "Puffy" Combs, Jean-Claude "Poke" Olivier of the Trackmasters |
| album | Ready to Die |
Juicy ( English for " juicy ") is a song by the US rapper The Notorious BIG , in which the chorus is sung by the girl group Total. The song is the first single from his debut album Ready to Die and was released on August 8, 1994.
content
In terms of content, the song revolves around the social rise “ from rags-to-riches to millionaire ” that The Notorious BIG achieved. At the beginning, he makes an announcement to all people who previously told him that he would achieve nothing in life or called the police because he was selling drugs. He then raps about his dream of becoming a rap star and how he emulated his idols that he saw in the newspaper or heard on the radio, including Salt 'n' Pepa , Heavy D , Marley Marl and Funkmaster Flex . But now he is in the limelight and is rich. The chorus sung by Total says that you should reach for the stars and never let yourself get down to achieve your goals. In the second stanza, The Notorious BIG compares his current life in abundance with his previous life as a petty criminal and school dropout in poverty. Back then, women would have made fun of him, while today he receives love letters. He could now lead a life in luxury and without fear. The third stanza continues wealth, as he raps about his expensive furniture, cars and houses where he celebrates with his friends. He also mentions his mother, who used to live in poverty, but now shares in his wealth and is proud of him.
Production and samples
The song was produced by Sean “Puffy” Combs in collaboration with Jean-Claude “Poke” Olivier of the Trackmasters . They used a sample of the track Juicy Fruit by the US R&B group Mtume from 1983, on which the melody and the chorus of Juicy are based.
Music video
The music video for Juicy was directed by Sean Combs and premiered in August 1994. The Notorious BIG 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 BIG is arrested for selling drugs or quarreling with his mother when they lived in poverty, while he now glorifies his wealth.
With over 210 million views, it is the rapper's most watched video on YouTube (as of April 2019).
single
Cover design
The single cover is in black and white and shows a close-up of The Notorious BIG's face, which looks at the viewer with a serious look. In the upper part of the picture is the writing The Notorious BIG , while the title Juicy is at the bottom of the picture.
Chart successes
The Notorious BIG hit the US charts for the first time with Juicy , with the song occupying number 27 and staying in the top 100 for 20 weeks. The UK also entered the chart for the first time with rank 72.
| Charts | Top ranking | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Chart placements | ||
 United Kingdom (OCC)
|
72 (2 weeks) | 2 |
 United States (Billboard)
|
27 (20 weeks) | 20th |
Sales figures and awards
Juicy received a gold record in the year of publication for more than 500,000 copies sold in the United States . In 2018, it was certified platinum in the UK for over 600,000 sales.
| Country / Region | Award | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales) |
||
|
United States (RIAA)
|
 gold
|
500,000 |
|
United Kingdom (BPI)
|
 platinum
|
600,000 |
| All in all |
1 × gold 1 × platinum |
1,100,000 |
reception
Juicy has been included in the leaderboards of numerous music magazines and websites. For example, Rolling Stone ranked it 8th of the best rap songs of all time and 424th of the 500 best songs in history .
In the pop anthology of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , Martin Andris writes that The Notorious BIG in “Juicy” revives the tradition of hip-hop as a dance and party culture. For BIG, rap is "first sound art and music, only then a symptom of conditions, a social document or even a mouthpiece for young people."
In the retrospective review of the accompanying album Ready to Die on laut.de , Dany Fromm described the song as “cheesy as fuck, but undoubtedly legendary.” With Mtume's Juicy Fruit sample, it was “the first hip-hop mainstream hit and at the same time the blueprint for every rap track with an R'n'B hookline. "
Web links
- Lyrics with interpretations (English)
- Lyrics (German)
- Music video for "Juicy" on YouTube
swell
- ↑ Lyrics
- ↑ music video
- ↑ Single cover
- ↑ a b Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
- ↑ Gold / platinum database. riaa.com, accessed April 22, 2019 .
- ↑ Gold / platinum database. bpi.co.uk, accessed April 22, 2019 .
- ↑ Rolling Stone: Best Rap Songs of All Time
- ↑ Rolling Stone: Best Songs of All Time
- ^ Juicy in the Frankfurt pop anthology
- ↑ Ready to Die review at laut.de.
