Song · Notorious B.I.G.
“Hypnotize” by Notorious B.I.G.
From the album Life After Death (1997)
“Hypnotize” by Notorious B.I.G. appears on 5 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 2020 and 2023. It was first released in 1997 on the album Life After Death. Its best result is #57 on the 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #2,324 indie & aaa song of all time and #151 of the '90s.
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"Hypnotize" led off Life After Death in 1997, and it arrived just five days before the Notorious B.I.G. was murdered, which made his swaggering victory lap one of only a handful of songs to top the Hot 100 after the artist's death, and the first since John Lennon's "(Just Like) Starting Over" in 1980. Biggie rolls through it in total command, with uncredited vocals from Pamela Long.
The beat, built by Sean Combs with D-Dot Angelettie and Ron Lawrence, lifts its groove from Herb Alpert's 1979 hit "Rise", which is why Andy Armer and Randy "Badazz" Alpert share the writing credit. Combs picked it from memory: he told Randy Alpert that "Rise" ruled New York the summer he was about 10, the record every kid danced and skated to. Rolling Stone later ranked it 30th among the greatest hip-hop songs.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1003 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2021 | 57 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s | 908 |
| 2022 | 216 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s | 900 |
| 2023 | 254 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
| 2023 | 301 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
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