Get Money

For the album by Paul Wall, see Get Money, Stay True.
"Get Money"
Cover artwork for the official remix
Single by Junior M.A.F.I.A. featuring the Notorious B.I.G.
from the album Conspiracy
B-side"White Chalk"
ReleasedFebruary 3, 1996 (1996-02-03)
GenreGangsta rap
Length4:34
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)EZ Elpee
Junior M.A.F.I.A. singles chronology
"I Need You Tonight"
(1995) 		"Get Money"
(1996)
The Notorious B.I.G. singles chronology
"This Time Around"
(1995) 		"Get Money"
(1996) 		"Only You"
(1996)
Music video
"Get Money" on YouTube

"Get Money" is a song by the American rap group Junior M.A.F.I.A., released as the third and final single from their debut album Conspiracy (1995).[1] "Get Money," whose instrumental is fundamentally a sample of R&B singer Sylvia Striplin's 1981 song "You Can't Turn Me Away," was produced by EZ Elpee, rapped by the Notorious B.I.G. and Lil' Kim, and received a music video. B.I.G., formally, was featured,[2] but at times was deemed, like Lil' Kim and Lil' Cease, a Junior M.A.F.I.A. member.[3]

The single included also "Gettin' Money (the Get Money Remix)."[4] Using a different instrumental, a sample of R&B singer Dennis Edwards's 1984 single "Don't Look Any Further,"[4][5] this was produced by DJ Enuff, Lance 'Un' Rivera, and the Notorious B.I.G., and includes new verses by B.I.G, Lil' Kim, and Lil' Cease. The single spent 20 weeks on the main popular songs chart, the Billboard Hot 100, where it entered on February 10 and peaked at #17 on May 25.[6] Certified platinum, one million copies sold,[7] "Get Money" ranked #89 in Billboard magazine's Top Hot 100 Hits of 1996.[8]

As the "platinum smash" that reinforced Lil' Kim's performance on the gold hit "Player's Anthem," the single critically motivated her debut solo album, a November 1996 release.[9] Meanwhile, spinning the original's Get money hook is the Take money refrain of rapper 2Pac's June 1996 single "Hit 'Em Up,"[4] the legendary diss track—answering B.I.G's renowned single "Who Shot Ya," a February 1995 release by Sean "Puffy" Comb's Bad Boy label—that maligns and menaces B.I.G. and Puffy, and shares an instrumental with the "Get Money" remix.[4] "Get Money" has appeared elsewhere in music and in movies.[10]

The song inspired the iconic "Money Nails" design by nail artist Bernadette Thompson, which Lil' Kim wore during a denim shoot in 1999.[11] This look became highly influential in both hip-hop and fashion culture and was later exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art.[12]

  1. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, "Junior M.A.F.I.A.: Conspiracy", AllMusic.com, Netaktion LLC, visited 26 Nov 2021.
  2. ^ SoundScan, "Hot Rap Singles", Billboard 1996 Oct 26;108(43):30.
  3. ^ Captioned photo, "Getting money", Billboard, 1996 Nov 23;108(47):62.
  4. ^ a b c d Nate Patrin, Bring That Beat Back: How Sampling Built Hip-Hop (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2020).
  5. ^ Brad Shoup, "A history of Dennis Edwards' 'Don't Look Any Further' through the countless songs that borrow from it", Billboard.com, Billboard Media, LLC, 8 Feb 2018.
  6. ^ Chart history, "The Notorious B.I.G.", Billboard.com, Billboard Media, LLC, visited 26 Nov 2021, which may require scrolling the chart menu's droplist from its default setting, perhaps Adult R&B Airplay, to instead the Hot 100, situated toward the droplist's end.
  7. ^ "Best-Selling Records of 1996". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 3. BPI Communications Inc. January 18, 1997. p. 61. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  8. ^ "1996: Year-End USA Charts (Singles)". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2008-10-25.(archived by Top40-Charts.com)
  9. ^ Lil' Kim cover story by Robert Marriott, "Blowin' up", Vibe, 2000 Jun–Jul;8(5):124–132, p 130.
  10. ^ For example, the 2002 film 8 Mile and the 2009 biographical film Notorious, about B.I.G., both used "Get Money". And the intro of Lil Wayne 2002 song "Way of Life" also uses the "Don't Look Any Further" instrumental sample and vocally interpolates the refrain Get money, if by employing, instead, Cash Money, the name of Wayne's then label, Cash Money Records.
  11. ^ "The Story of Nail Art: When Nails Became a Full-Fledged Design Accessory". ELLE Decor (in Italian). 2021-08-30. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  12. ^ Givhan, Robin (2021-12-03). "How Lil' Kim's most memorable manicure ended up in the Museum of Modern Art". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-09-28.