| I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By | |
| Cover: | You'reAllINeedtoGetBy.jpg |
| Border: | yes |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Method Man featuring Mary J. Blige |
| Album: | Tical |
| Released: | April 25, 1995 |
| Recorded: | 1994 |
| Genre: | |
| Length: | 3:45 |
| Label: | |
"I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" is a duet song by American rapper Method Man, featuring American singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige. The song is a remix of Method Man's "All I Need", which appears on his debut studio album Tical (1994). The song, a hip hop soul record, was released as a single by Def Jam Recordings and PolyGram Records on April 25, 1995.
All versions of this song contain an interpolation of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's hit, "You're All I Need to Get By". Both the remix and the original were produced by Method Man's Wu-Tang Clan cohort RZA. The remix was released as a single and is also known as "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By (Razor Sharp Mix)". The music video for the remix was directed by American director Diane Martel.[1]
Another version of the remix was released for radio airplay, titled "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By (Puff Daddy Mix)", which was produced by Sean "Puffy" Combs and Trackmasters. The Puff Daddy version of the song contains a new instrumental which includes a repeated vocal sample from the Notorious B.I.G.'s song, "Me & My Bitch". The song sold over 800,000 copies and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[2]
Method Man raps three verses, while Mary J. Blige sings the intro, the chorus, and backing vocals. The song is often cited as the first hybrid of what's now known as "Thug-Love" duets.[3]
In a July 2012 interview with Complex magazine, Jean Claude "Poke" Olivier—one-half of the production team the Trackmasters —claimed they were the actual producers behind the "Puff Daddy" remix, but were never properly credited for it. The Trackmasters claim that they were only credited as session musicians for programming the drums while Combs was credited as the producer.[4]
Simon Price from Melody Maker named it Single of the Week, adding, "Here, sweet Mary J coos the chorus to Diana Ross' "You're All I Need to Get By", while scary Method says he wants him'n'her to live together in a "a fat ass crypt with thousands of kids". Heartwarming yet chilling, half "Beauty and the Beast", half "Nightstalker"."[5] Dele Fadele from NME wrote, "The hip-hop fraternity will probably approach this pairing with a large shovel and a bale of hay, but they'll be the ones missing out. [...] The mix by Sean 'Puffy' Combs is slick as hell, but still booming, with a buried sample of a man at the end of his tether hoping he and she live together, cry together and die together."[6]
The song (all versions) peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 3, 1995.[7] The song reached number one on the R&B singles chart in the May 20, 1995 issue of Billboard Magazine, a position it held for three weeks.[8]
In 2009, Method Man and Mary J. Blige performed the song together at VH1's sixth annual Hip Hop Honors ceremony. In 2019, Mary J. Blige performed "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need to Get By" with Method Man during her BET Awards Lifetime Achievement Award performance which included a medley of songs and featured artists.[9] [10] [11] CNN noted that the performance of the song "thrilled the crowd", who rapped along with Method Man's verses.[12]
The song won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1996.
In 2008, the song was ranked number 44 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop" list.[13]
In 2012, Complex ranked the song number one on its list of "The 25 Best Hip-Hop Love Songs."[14]
"I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" appears on Radio 1 Established 1967, a compilation album celebrating the 40th anniversary of BBC Radio 1. On the compilation the song was covered by American rapper Wale and British singer Tawiah, with production from English producer Mark Ronson.
All original tracks produced by RZA
a Remix production by Sean "Puffy" Combs
b Remix production by Prince Rakeem "RZA"
c Remix production by Chemical Brothers
d Remix production by the Prodigy
e Remix production Trackmasters
| Chart (1995) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[16] | 42 | |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[17] | 15 |
| Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[18] | 38 |
|---|