I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By

"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.

"I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By"
Single by Method Man featuring Mary J. Blige
from the album Tical
Released	April 25, 1995
Recorded	1994
Genre	Hip hop hip-hop soul
Length	3:45
Label	Def Jam PolyGram
Songwriter(s)	Nickolas Ashford Robert Diggs Valerie Simpson Clifford Smith
Producer(s)	RZA (LP version, video version) Sean "Puffy" Combs Trackmasters (radio version)
Method Man singles chronology
"Release Yo' Delf" (1995) "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" (1995) "How High" (1995)
Mary J. Blige singles chronology
"I'm Going Down" (1995) "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" (1995) "I Love You" (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.^[2] 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" (from his debut Ready to Die, released the same year). The song sold over 800,000 copies and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).^[3]

Composition

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.^[4]

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.^[2]

Critical reception

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 crib 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] Leesa Daniels from Smash Hits gave it four out of five, saying, "A love song in a rap style that doesn't refer to women as female dogs or gardening tools! See it can be done. [...] Highly enjoyable."^[7]

Chart performance

The song (all versions) peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 3, 1995.^[8] 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.^[9]

Live performances

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.^[10][11][12] CNN noted that the performance of the song "thrilled the crowd", who rapped along with Method Man's verses.^[13]

Accolades

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.^[14]

In 2012, Complex ranked the song number one on its list of "The 25 Best Hip-Hop Love Songs."^[15]

Legacy

"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.

Track listings and formats

All original tracks produced by RZA

• US, CD Maxi-Single

1. "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" (Puff Daddy Mix) — 5:08 ^a
2. "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" (Puff Daddy Instrumental) — 5:04
3. "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" (Razor Sharp Mix) — 3:53 ^b
4. "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" (Razor Sharp Instrumental) — 5:04
5. "What The Blood Clot" (LP Version) — 3:25

• UK, CD Maxi-Single

1. "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" (Razor Sharp Mix) — 3:25 ^b
2. "Bring The Pain" (Chemical Vocal) — 5:58 ^c
3. "Release Yo' Delf" (Prodigy Mix) — 5:55 ^d
4. "Bring The Pain" (Chemical Instrumental) — 5:21 ^c

• Germany, CD Maxi-Single

1. "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" (Puff Daddy Mix) — 5:08 ^a
2. "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" (Razor Sharp Mix) — 3:53 ^b
3. "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" (LP Version) — 3:16 ^a
4. "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" (Puff Daddy Instrumental) — 5:04
5. "What The Blood Clot" (LP Version) — 3:25

^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

Personnel

• Method Man – Rap vocals
• Mary J. Blige – Lead vocals, background vocals
• RZA – Producer, remix producer
• Puff Daddy – Remix producer
• Trackmasters - Remix producer
• Jeff Trotter – A&R
• Drew Dixon – A&R

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1995) Peak position Germany (GfK)[16] 100 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[17] 2 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] 36 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[19] 22 Scotland (OCC)[20] 32 UK Singles (OCC)[21] 10 UK Dance (OCC)[22] 2 UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[23] 2 US Billboard Hot 100[24] 3 US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[25] 1 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[26] 1 US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[27] 1 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[28] 12

Year-end charts Chart (1995) Position US Billboard Hot 100[29] 42 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[30] 15 Decade-end charts Decade-end chart performance for "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" Chart (1990–1999) Position Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[31] 38

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[32]	Platinum	800,000[33]

See also

• R&B number-one hits of 1995 (USA)