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#1. Puff Daddy and the Family "It's All About the Benjamins"

#1. Puff Daddy and the Family "It's All About the Benjamins"

Producer: Sean "Puffy" Combs & Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie
Year: 1997

Cipha says: "This and 'Put Your Hands' had the longest run in the Tunnel. By far, the definition of a Tunnel banger. The original vinyl was the B-side of the first pressing of 'Can't Nobody Hold Me Down' and 'You'll See.' They gave it out at the Gavin Convention. But from it catching on in the Tunnel, it went from a promo B-side to a real record, so they pressed a 12". Then, after a year of this shit rocking every week, they decided to make it a Puffy single. And that's when they put Biggie and Kim on it, to give it a new life. This was not meant to be one of the biggest hip-hop records of all time, it was a little something to start showcasing the Lox. I heard a version with no Diddy and Styles was on it—'cause you know Styles is not on that record, to give Puffy room. I heard a version with Biggie rhyming over the regular Benjamins beat and another where Biggie rapped over a different Jackson 5 beat. I also heard a version where Biggie is rhyming over the Benjamins beat and the Jackson 5 beat starts in the middle of his verse. I heard all these from Lil' Cease, who had these cassettes from when Biggie actually laid it. Yo, Cease taught me so much about how to play in the Tunnel. I wasn't into all that street shit, I was into underground, so I listened to everything he played. I've seen this record go through changes. It definitely rocked, the way it was. I don't think Biggie ever performed the 'Benjamins' while he was alive."

51 Comments | Add a comment

  • [icon]

    Dee Phunk July 13th, 2010 at 11:37 AM

    If u look close in the video, in some scenes he's wearing a cast. He tries to hide it in his pocket and uses his left hand instead. Always wondered what that was about.

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    step one July 13th, 2010 at 11:43 AM

    download the original version of 'Benjamins' here (aswell as loads of classic 90s radio, mixtapes and freestyles!) http://djstepone.blogspot.com/2009/12/its-all-about-benjamins-original.html

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    Dee Phunk July 13th, 2010 at 12:19 PM

    ROFL, Ciph LOVES Sheek.

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    Dee Phunk July 13th, 2010 at 12:28 PM

    On another note, I would sometimes have to skip this song in the car if I was on the way to Manhattan from LI on the Northern State / Grand Central Pkwy in the car. It would make me drive fast for no reason.

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    tony-b July 13th, 2010 at 12:35 PM

    anyone else feel like he lifted the hook from the DC Go-Go record with the same theme?

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    Dee Phunk July 13th, 2010 at 12:42 PM

    Awww man, the link to the demo version is finito. Wanted to peep that.

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    Dee Phunk July 13th, 2010 at 12:55 PM

    I'm DYING @ the guy in the wheelchair story. U know a song is crazy when it makes you shoot YOURSELF. I always connect this song w/ the second time I went to Cancun in 2000. They played "Wild Out" in the Baja Beach Club. And of course I'm w/ a bunch of NY cats so we lose our collective minds. Some guy I didn't even know yelled in my ear "FLING THAT SH*T!" I didn't know what he was talking about. He pointed @ my tall ass drink and yelled again "FLING THAT SH*T!" So of course I waited 'til the chorus and just splashed it all over the place and anyone in the vicinity.

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    david July 13th, 2010 at 01:04 PM

    besides the liks yall played some whack music at that club.

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    JustinTime July 13th, 2010 at 03:55 PM

    Yo Dee I got the demo version from when Ciph posted it last year. Shoot me a email. justintime410@vzw.blackberry.net

  • [icon]

    The Editor July 13th, 2010 at 05:02 PM

    The great thing about most of these cuts were that they were album songs, and everybody knew them, crazy

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