Puff Daddy’s tribute to his friend The Notorious B.I.G. was written, recorded, and released less than three months after Biggie’s death, and became one of the top-selling rap singles ever.

The beat is sampled from the The Police song “Every Breath You Take” about which Puff said that he had used it because it is one of his favourite tracks.

The chorus, sung by Faith Evans, the widow Biggie left behind, is an interpolation of its chorus. The intro to the album version includes an interpolation of the classical music piece “Adagio for Strings” by Samuel Barber.