Get Money

Album: Conspiracy (1995)
Charted: 17
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Songfacts®:

  • Junior M.A.F.I.A. was led by The Notorious B.I.G., who in this song tells a sordid tale of falling for a girl, showering her with love and bling, then finding out she was cheating on him.

    A year before the song was released, Biggie married the singer Faith Evans, but they soon fell apart, mainly because of his infidelity. This song is often seen as his dig on Evans, especially because in the music video the two-timer looks like Evans, complete with a blonde hair. Biggie and Faith were still married when he died in 1997, but they had long since separated.
  • There's a whole soap opera contained in the real story behind this song. The second verse is delivered by Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Kim, who was having an affair with The Notorious B.I.G. In the song, she calls out a guy for being a lying cheater.

    How much real-life drama made its way into the song is up for debate, but the cast of characters bears a strong resemblance to the players on the scene.

    Another twist: The girl in the video who looks like Faith Evans is played by Charli Baltimore, who also had an affair with The Notorious B.I.G. She insists her resemblance to Faith in the video was pure coincidence - she just happened to have blonde hair at the time.
  • "Get Money" was the second single from Junior M.A.F.I.A., following "Player's Anthem." It went to #17 and went Platinum. The group released just one album in Biggie's lifetime: Conspiracy in 1995. He released his debut solo album a year earlier and his second album was issued shortly after his death.

    As for Lil' Kim, Conspiracy was her recording debut. She landed a deal with Atlantic Records and released her first solo album, Hard Core, in 1996.
  • The song was produced by EZ Elpee, whose other credits include "Bloody Money" by Capone-N-Noreaga and "Special Delivery" by G Dep.
  • "Get Money" is built on a sample of "You Can't Turn Me Away," a 1981 song by Sylvia Striplin.

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