Playing off the title of the 1980s TV show Eight is Enough, Big L brought in seven other rappers from his Harlem neighborhood to join him on this track, including his fellow Children of the Corn crew members Herb McGruff and Cam'ron.

In a 2010 interview with HipHopDX, Lord Finesse provided some background information on the track:

With that [song] L just thought he had to do a track with the rappers from his hood. And he definitely wanted to put on [those particular emcees]… We looking like, ‘How you gonna put eight niggas on one track?’ [And he was like], ‘Don’t worry, I got this.’

[His] N.F.L. [crew stood for] ‘Niggas For Life,’ and Children Of The Corn was another crew [consisting of L, Mase, McGruff, Bloodshed and Cam’ron], but he was clearly cool with both of ‘em and he just thought these are the up and coming rappers I think is nice and I wanna start my own movement with the crew here…

The funny thing is I asked L [sometime in the late ‘90s], ‘Why didn’t you put Mase on that?’ ‘Cause Mase, [then known as Murda Mase], was hanging around at the time. And L said, ‘Mase wasn’t rhyming nothing like how he rhymes now. That was a different Mase [back in ‘92].’ As time went on, Mase style grew and developed. Because I always [used to] say [to L], ‘Yo, y’all crew, why didn’t [you] ever put him on?’ And that was the story that he gave me. [But L] thought Cam was ready. He thought everybody on that track was ready. [D.I.T.C.] knew a little ‘bout Cam, but we were sold on Herb McGruff. We knew that was [L’s] partner-in-crime. We was definitely sold on McGruff.