Even though the Notorious B.I.G. may have cemented funk group Mtume’s place in Hip Hop history by sampling its 1982 song “Juicy Fruit” for his multi-platinum smash “Juicy,” Biggie wasn’t the first emcee to recognize the track’s potential. Now, in a recent interview with Power 106’s Big Boy, Nas recalls how he almost snagged the same sample before B.I.G. got to it.
God’s Son explained that while recording his ’94 debut Illmatic, he asked his DJ/producer L.E.S. to bring a copy Mtume’s single to a recording session so that they could sample it. Unfortunately, L.E.S. had left record at his home in Queens, so Nas opted to sample the Gap Band’s “Yearning For Your Love” instead for a track that later became “Life’s a Bitch” with AZ.
“The record that my DJ L.E.S. was supposed to bring [to a recording session] was the ‘Juicy Fruit’ record by Mtume, and he winded up bringing ‘Yearning For Your Love’ by the Gap Band somehow, and we just used that record,” he recalled. “It’s one of the last records on the the album [Gap Band III], and that winded up being ‘Life’s a B[itch]’ with AZ. We wanted to use ‘Juicy,’ and I love ‘Life’s a B[itch],’ but when [the Notorious B.I.G.’s] ‘Juicy’ came out, it took me a while to get over that…this wasn’t the days of now where you can go online and just download the song; [L.E.S.] drove from Queens to Manhattan, and we wanted to get the song done, so we didn’t want to wait for [him to retrieve it] and the record stores were closed, so today is a different day. Back then, we had to do what we had to do.”
Check out the full interview below.
RELATED: Nas Explains The Notorious B.I.G. Line From “No Introduction”
nas just making shit up now
no i’ve heard him say this story before and there’s no reason for him to make up lies. everything happens for a reason.
^^^ you mad
ETK you fucked up
Worked out well for both of them in the end.
Agreed
Not it didn’t cause Nas only went platinum once while Biggie sold 4 million copies
Get off Biggie’s dick.
This is the fifth time this year you talk about Biggie. Get off his dick nigga.
Is good he remembers Biggie.Why is it bad to big up Biggie.
Nas is such a faggot. Talking about this old ass shit ain’t gonna help you sell more copies.
Go read a book.
^Get off Nas’s dick.
Fuck Nas, I’m glad it never happened.
Suck a dick bitch.
^^^Get off Nas’s dick.
Yo Nas get over it, Biggie did the song and it turned into a hit single, while your album only went gold in 1996.
Oh yeah, and how did your album do?
@newyork
You mad.
But IWW went double platinum
Where do get your facts from son
^^^I was talking about Illmatic.
Ready or Die had a higher album sales but Nas Illmatic was so ill that it served as a blueprint for alot of rapper even the man who named his album blueprint.Read more on why Illmatic never sold big cause Nas didn’t promote the album much himself.He would have sold around 7 million if he did.
2 chainz scarface john legend epic!!!!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHA last time I checked, Illmatic sold 1.4 million copies while Ready to Die sold 4 million LMAO
I’m glad to see everybody is hating on Nas, that’s right this nigga must be gunned down.
Fuck you.You fucking illiterate
HAHAHAhA look at all these butthurt girls defending Nas all of y’all should be dead.
most of these rappers aint real niggas. Word, Nas bankrupt never was a drug runner, Lil Wayne aint no blood, Jeezy aint no BMF, 50 a snitch, Game a stripper, 2pac a ballerina. None of these niggas real you guys. If they was all real they all be dead now. Like it or not Ross is the new biggie.
BAWSE!!!!!
1. better beats
2. better flow
3. sold 4mil, illmatic only sold 1mil
4. bigger influence in mainstream rap in the east coast
5. juicy & suicidal thoughts >>>any illmatic songs
so one of your points to why ready to die is better then illmatic is because it sold more? this shows you have no real hip hop knowledge.
you are being biased towards all your points. The stuff that you name I say illmatic had the edge in all of them except album sales but sales doesnt determine a rappers talent, and when ask people what album brought east hiphop back the first album they mention is almost illmatic
Just as good. I’ll give you that. Better? I can’t give you that since that album was part of Big’s NY street style. Just like Ghost said “They bit off Nas; shit!!” Sales REALLY don’t mean a thing. “Please Hammer don’t hurt em” sold more than both of those albums combined so what are you saying??
BIG BIT NAS ALBUM STYLE
OB4CL, Supreme Clientele, Illadelph Halflife, Heavy Mental, Black Star, ATLiens, Reasonable Doubt, Paid In Full, Doe Or Die >>>>>>>> Shitmatic.
@ reasons why ready to die is better than illmatic
you fuckin right!! RDT better then IM.
Biggie said it: studie ready to die, now they on some money shit.
Big had def. the better flow and beats and charisma
nas gave big the idead to get big
nas wrote get jiggie with it
See? Biggie never wrote a pop song.
Nas didnt know who dilla was until 2009..dumb ass
Firstly, most of these niggas didn’t know who the hell Dilla was until post-Donuts when it was cool for hipsters to say they’ve known him all along. Second, he said that he didn’t know him as Dilla, but was aware of his work with The Ummah.
Well, I think it turned out for the best. For some reason, I just cant imagine Nas over Juicy. BIG probably has a lot to do with that, because I cant imagine him the other way around on Lifes a Bitch. I think it worked out for the best, both are great songs.
Yet only one nigga really got successfull (cough cough Biggie)
*cough* only one nigga still alive *cough*
95% of people on here act so immature. Yet you cant be old enough to have enjoyed either of these 2 great rappers in this discussion at the beginning? If you were, its shameful!
Liking the retort to the retort tho, even if its in bad taste!
Jay Kushtana-Got Up Next…No Bull No Gimmicks
Everything happens for a reason.
Why hating on Nas for stating facts.He is not dissing Biggie or something,or you hating on him because his Ether got your man Jigga so mad and pissed off.
Shut the fuck up.
Jay Z was appointed as president but was still under someone.He always admired Nas and that’s why he always wanted to be on every one of his classic.
“nsparks923:
Worked out well for both of them in the end
Anonymous:
Not it didn’t cause Nas only went platinum once while Biggie sold 4 million copies”
—————————————–
So are you saying Ready to Die sold 4 million copies just because of Juicy? Fuck outta here with that shit son!!!
I heard a similar story from Jay Z. He went to record his album but Jigga had lost his notebook with all his rhymes in it.
So he just said “screw it” and freestyled all of Biggie’s lyrics and passed them off as his own…
Its alright, you tried.
Many are pissed off with Nas because on his Daughters track he made their girl’s Daddy be strict on their girl and has retricted them from seeing them.
Many don’t know why Nas-Illmatic didn’t sell much.It is regarded as the best by many but you need to make research and know facts.it lacked sales because Nas had a shy personality at that time and was unable to promote the album too much extend.
ye. he was a young ass nigga too at the time. he didn’t really have a mentor or nothin. he all on that do it yourself shit.
I’m almost certain that the first rapper to sample the song was Andre Nickatina a.k.a..Dre Dog from the Yay Area (SF 4 ya’ll who don’t know). Do your research–the song is called “The Ave”. Biggie sampled it best, but I would’ve loved to hear Nas record over it. His album was a classic without it so the sample fell into the right hands
co-sign. And big up to the Bay Area.
aha whats funny is its same person writing all these negative comments over and over again.. i mean talk about male groupies!! get off nas dick.
How do you know that???
because he posting various different views on the same articles pretending to be different people
Damn, Nas missed a golden opportunity for sure. Without juicy, Biggie might not even be a well known rapper. It’s like “what if 50 cent never recorded ‘In Da Club'”?
Hi Jadakiss
See it took him a while to get over Biggie’s success because Nas is such a jealous ass bitch, he’s a fucking loser.
well, if you were going to sample a joint and someone beat you to it, and it did prove a success, of course you would want to reflect on that for a minute. No where in the article does or video does Nas seem jealous, and with you name calling him, it sounds like you’re the bitter one. Go seek help homie. You sound like you have MAJOR issues.
lol i love you Nas but Biggie would have destroyed you. Juicy is one of the best hiphopsongs ever.
LOL! I don’t know about that homie. Biggie only thrived bc of Puffy. Without Puff, Biggie would’ve been nada.
Lil Wayne >>>>> Nas
Rick Ross >>>>> Bigge
#factOfDaDay
YMCMB and MMG. we rule da rap game. fuck old rappers. swag
waka flacka > tupac too.
http://soundcloud.com/fielding/lifes-a-bitch-nas-a-z-mtume
i put this shit together, check it on soundcloud
/fielding/lifes-a-bitch-nas-a-z-mtume
I’m not going to lie, Life’s a Bitch is still one of my favorite Nas tracks of all time. People might hate me for saying this but lyrically, Life’s a Bitch has a deeper meaning and it mirrors a more accurate image of society during his years growing up. Juicy is still a great track but Nas and AZ demonstrated that they were superior in that track.
AZ demonstrated that he was superior on there, Nas’ verses were straight garbage.
I’ll have to respectfully disagree with you on that comment.
Where is L.E.S. I waswondering this? He certainly made better beats than the ones on life is good
L.E.S. is one of the best producers Nas has ever worked with, but it just proves the “Nas can’t pick good beats for shit”-thesis.
Here we go again, if a west cost rapper, he got say something that have to with 2pac, if a east cost rapper he got to say somethin about Biggie, dagg man!
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