Song · Notorious B.I.G.
“Big Poppa” by Notorious B.I.G.
From the album Ready to Die (1994)
“Big Poppa” by Notorious B.I.G. appears on 3 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 2021 and 2025. It was first released in 1994 on the album Ready to Die. Its best result is #20 on the WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #165 of the '90s.
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"Big Poppa" rolled out on December 24, 1994, the second single from Ready to Die, the Notorious B.I.G.'s debut album on Bad Boy, and it takes its name from one of his own nicknames. Underneath it purrs the Isley Brothers' 1983 song "Between the Sheets", hence the composer credit for Ernie, Marvin, O'Kelly, Ronald and Rudolph Isley and Chris Jasper; B.I.G. wrote the words.
The sample was Sean Combs's idea as the album's executive producer, but the beat Chucky Thompson and Nashiem Myrick built at the Hit Factory first went to the Lost Boyz, and Combs had to trade them another one to get it back. By Myrick's account B.I.G. didn't even like the song, one of the last recorded for the album, and the beat took its cue from West Coast rap, 2Pac above all. Rich Travali recorded and mixed it.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 164 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s | 908 |
| 2023 | 409 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
| 2025 | 20 | WFPK | WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s | 500 |
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