Released May 27, 1997 Genre Hip hop, R&B | Recorded 1997 | |
B-side "We'll Always Love Big Poppa"
"Cry On" Format CD single
cassette single
7" single
12" single Length 5:43 (album version)
5:01 (radio edit)
4:08 (video version) | ||
"I'll Be Missing You" is a song recorded by American rapper Puff Daddy and American singer Faith Evans, featuring R&B group 112, in memory of fellow Bad Boy Records artist Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, who was murdered on March 9, 1997.
Contents
Released as the second single from Puff Daddy and the Family's No Way Out album, "I'll Be Missing You" samples The Police's 1983 hit song "Every Breath You Take", with an interpolated chorus sung by Evans. The track also features a spoken intro over a choral version of Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings". In 1998, the song won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. The single spent 11 weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 during the summer of 1997. With worldwide sales likely over 8 million, including shipments of 3 million copies in the United States and over 1 million in both Germany and the United Kingdom, the song has become one of the best-selling singles of all time. As of February 2016, it is rated the 99th biggest song of all time in the US, according to Billboard.
Background
The song, a rap ballad, had already been completed before permission was granted to use the sample from The Police's "Every Breath You Take". Sting (vocalist from The Police) ultimately participated in a performance of "I'll Be Missing You" at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards. Sting owns 100% of the publishing royalties. As well as using the melody and arrangement of "Every Breath You Take", the single also borrows the melody from the well-known American spiritual "I'll Fly Away".
There are several different versions of this song, one being an extended version (choir at the beginning), another without the choir and an instrumental version. In the extended version of the song the choir is heard singing in the beginning of "Adagio for Strings" by Samuel Barber..
Reception
Entertainment Weekly gave the song a grade of D, and described it as a "maudlin 'tribute' to the Notorious B.I.G., [in which] the late rapper's former mentor (Puff Daddy) and wife (Faith Evans) team up to say their farewells to the big man on a song that 'samples' the Police's 'Every Breath You Take.' With lyrics like "Know you're in heaven, smiling down/Watching us as we pray for you,' 'I'll Be Missing You' gives the lie to those who claim hip-hoppers are above self-serving sentimentality."
Music video
The music video was shot on April 6, 1997 in Chicago, and was directed by Hype Williams. Numerous scenes of Puff Daddy and Faith Evans were filmed in the artistically illuminated passenger walkway tunnel between O'Hare International Airport Terminal 1 Concourses B and C.
Chart performance
"I'll Be Missing You" topped many charts across the world. It reached number one in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Norway, Denmark and Poland.
The song is one of the few to debut at No. 1 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100, and the only rap song by a male to do so until Eminem's "Not Afraid" debuted at the top spot 13 years later in 2010. The song spent a record-breaking 11 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, making it the longest running No. 1 hip-hop song in history until Eminem's "Lose Yourself" spent 12 weeks at No. 1 in 2002.
The song re-entered the UK Singles Chart at #32 on July 8, 2007, ten years after it had its full physical release and 10 years after it was No. 1.
Formats and track listings
- Puff Daddy featuring Faith Evans and 112 – "I'll Be Missing You"
- 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" (Instrumental)
- The Lox – "We'll Always Love Big Poppa" (Instrumental)