Today in our #CultureClassics series we have a truly genre re-defining records. THE hip-hop and R&B collab, “I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Need To Get By” by Method Man and Mary J. Blige.

The song dropped April 25, 1995 and is a remix of Method Man’s “All I Need” from his debut album Tical which came out the previous year. The hook of the song was a loose re-imagining of Aretha Franklin’s hit, “You’re All I Need to Get By”, and was sung by Mary J. Blige. The addition of the emerging “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul” (a suggestion from Sean Combs who was obsessed with merging hip-hop and R&B) is what took the song to the next level. Two of the top creators for The Culture (and future music legend to boot) coming together transformed it into a classic as the song would go on to sell over a million copies and be streamed over 22 million times.

The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 3, 1995, and #1 on the R&B singles chart in the May 20, 1995 and held the top spot for three weeks. The song also ended up winning the duo the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1996. The music video with it’s gritty Parents Just Don’t Understand/Around The Way Girl vibe serves as the perfect compliment to the record. The song lives on today in The Culture as a classic hood love song.

#FunFact: There are multiple remix versions of the song including a Puff Daddy Mix produced by…well Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs. consists of an entirely new instrumental and (not surprisingly) a sample from The Notorious B.I.G.

If you enjoyed that look at a throwback Hip-Hop/R&B classic. Check out more of our #CultureClassics:

• “1999” by Prince
• “I Used to Love H.E.R.” by Common
• “If It Isn’t Love” by New Edition

Written by @TalentedMrFord

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