Still Not a Player

"Still Not a Player"
Single by Big Pun featuring Joe
from the album Capital Punishment
B-side"Twinz (Deep Cover 98)"
ReleasedMarch 28, 1998
Recorded1997
Genre
Length3:56
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Big Pun singles chronology
"I'm Not a Player"
(1997) 		"Still Not a Player"
(1998) 		"Banned from T.V."
(1998)
Joe singles chronology
"Good Girls"
(1997) 		"Still Not a Player"
(1998) 		"All That I Am"
(1998)
Audio
"Still Not a Player" (radio edit) on YouTube

"Still Not a Player" is the second single from Big Pun's debut album Capital Punishment. The song was produced by Knobody and features R&B singer Joe.

Composition

The song is a remix of Big Pun's previous single "I'm Not a Player" produced by Minnesota and contains an interpolation of Joe's "Don't Wanna Be a Player". It also samples "A Little Bit of Love" by Brenda Russell. In addition to samples, the song contains interpolations of Earth, Wind & Fire's "Brazilian Rhyme (Beijo)"; towards the end of the song, the refrain "Punisher...Punisher...Punisher, Big Punisher" is sung to the tune and rhythm of the lead vocals from the track.

Chart performance

The song peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, making it the most successful single released by Big Pun.[1] It was ranked the 108th best song of 1980-2005 by Blender magazine,[citation needed] and was ranked #76 on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs.[citation needed]

Music video

Fat Joe, Cormega, Onyx, the Beatnuts, Guru, Tony Touch and Loud Records R&B artist Davina all made featured appearances in the music video as cameos.

Cover versions and samples

In the Up in Smoke Tour in 2000, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre played this song as a tribute to Big Pun. The song was also remixed by Incubus which featured Big Pun's vocals on the 2000 rap rock album Loud Rocks, released 7 months after his death.[citation needed]

A demo version of the song featuring former Terror Squad member Cuban Link leaked 14 years after the song's initial release.

The song was sampled in Ariana Grande's 2013 single "The Way", which also samples Brenda Russell's "A Little Bit of Love".[2][3]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1998) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[4] 24
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[5] 6
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[6] 5
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[7] 34

Year-end charts

Chart (1998) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[8] 85

References

  1. ^ allmusic ((( Big Punisher > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))
  2. ^ Ariana Grande's 'Yours Truly': A Sweet, Sweet Fantasy of '90s-Indebted Hip-Hop and R&B, Brandon Soderberg, Spin, September 13, 2013
  3. ^ Mac Miller Gives Ariana Grande 'Butterflies' On 'The Way', Jocelyn Vena, MTV.com, March 27, 2013
  4. ^ "Big Punisher Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  5. ^ "Big Punisher Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  6. ^ "Big Punisher Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard.
  7. ^ "Big Punisher – Still Not A Player". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  8. ^ "The Year In Music 1998 - Hot 100 Singles". Billboard. December 26, 1998. p. YD–44. Retrieved February 9, 2023 – via Google Books.