No Way Out (Puff Daddy album)
1997 studio album by Puff Daddy & The Family / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
No Way Out is the debut studio album by American rapper Puff Daddy. It was released on July 22, 1997, by Arista Records and Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records.[1] The album is credited to "Puff Daddy & the Family"; the latter act refers to guest appearances from his signees at Bad Boy Records.
No Way Out | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | July 22, 1997 | |||
Recorded | 1996–1997 | |||
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Length | 77:52 | |||
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Puff Daddy & The Family chronology | ||||
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Singles from No Way Out | ||||
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Puff Daddy worked extensively with the Notorious B.I.G. and the Hitmen when creating the album, which saw a change in direction following the former's shooting and death months prior to release. This greatly affected Puff Daddy, and with a combination of aggressive and introspective lyrics, he conveys an emotionally vulnerable state representing the before and after of B.I.G.'s death. Additional production was provided by Jaz-O, while the album contains features from the Notorious B.I.G., Busta Rhymes, Mase, Lil' Kim, Carl Thomas, Jay-Z, Black Rob, the LOX, Ginuwine, Twista, Foxy Brown, Faith Evans, and 112.
No Way Out saw significant commercial success, debuting atop on the Billboard 200, selling over 561,000 copies in its first week of sales. The album's singles also saw commercial success, namely with "I'll Be Missing You", which became a worldwide hit and the first rap song to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100. Released prior as its lead single, "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" also did so, while "Been Around the World" peaked at number two. The album also saw widespread critical success, earning Puff Daddy five nominations at the 40th Grammy Awards, from which he won Best Rap Album.[2] It remains Puff Daddy's best selling album, with over 7 million copies shipped in the United States, and is considered a classic hip hop album.[3]