It's All about the Benjamins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"It's All About the Benjamins" is best known as the fourth single released from the Puff Daddy album No Way Out. The song is about living rich and the importance of having money. "Benjamins" are slang for $100 bills (USD), a reference to Benjamin Franklin's image on the bills. The song created a pop-culture phrase and influenced the title for the film All about the Benjamins.
The song originated from a mixtape debuted by DJ Clue. This version of the song only featured Puff Daddy and the rap act The Lox (excluding Styles P). The song was later added to Puffy's debut album, No Way Out, in a remix, "It's All about the Benjamins (Remix)", which added two new verses by Lil Kim and the late Notorious B.I.G. This single made it to No. 2 on the Billboard charts and its video won a "Viewer's Choice" award at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards show. Due to the rarity of the obscure mixtape version, the remix featured on No Way Out is often considered the song's original version to avoid confusion.
The song samples two other works. The first sample heard up to the end of Lil Kim's verse is taken from the song "I Did It For Love" by the Love Unlimited Orchestra. The verse performed by Notorious B.I.G. contains a sample from the Jackson 5 song "It's Great to Be Here." This latter sample is exclusive to the No Way Out remix. After the final verse, the song reverts to the first sample and ends shortly after.
Puffy also released a rock version of the song, "It's All about the Benjamins (Rock Remix)." This collaboration featured Perfect, FuzzBubble, Rob Zombie and Dave Grohl on drums. This remix added catchy guitar riffs and live drums, as well as a more "in your face" approach to the song's chorus. This version had its own music video, directed by Spike Jonze, which was nominated for "Best Video Of The Year" on MTV Video Music Awards in 1998. There is also a slightly different alternative to this remix called, "It's All about the Benjamins (Rock Remix II)." This lesser known version adds Size 14 to the song's already long collaboration line-up. "Weird Al" Yankovic performed a lyrical adaptation of the rock remix of "It's All About the Benjamins". His version, "It's All About the Pentiums" features himself bragging about computers.
