Still Not a Player
{{Infobox song
| name = Still Not a Player
| cover = Still Not a Player.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Big Pun featuring Joe
| album = Capital Punishment
| B-side = Twinz (Deep Cover 98)
| released = March 28, 1998
| recorded = 1997
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = {{hlist|East Coast hip-hop|dirty rap|hip-hop soul}}
| length = 3:56
| label = * Loud
| writer = * Christopher Rios
| producer = *Knobody
- Dahoud Darien
| chronology = Big Pun
| prev_title = I'm Not a Player
| prev_year = 1997
| next_title = Banned from T.V.
| next_year = 1998
| misc = {{Extra chronology
| artist = Joe
| type = singles
| prev_title = Good Girls
| prev_year = 1997
| title = Still Not a Player
| year = 1998
| next_title = All That I Am
| next_year = 1998
}}
{{external music video
|header = Audio
|type = single
|1={{YouTube|5tSDhGea27E|"Still Not a Player" (radio edit)}}
}}
}}
"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.[{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p289921/charts-awards/billboard-singles|pure_url=yes}} allmusic ((( Big Punisher > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))] It was ranked the 108th best song of 1980-2005 by Blender magazine,{{CN|date=December 2023}} and was ranked #76 on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs.{{cn|date=June 2020}}
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|date=April 2023}}
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".[https://www.spin.com/2013/09/ariana-grandes-yours-truly-a-sweet-sweet-fantasy-of-90s-indebted-hip-hop-and-rb/ Ariana Grande's 'Yours Truly': A Sweet, Sweet Fantasy of '90s-Indebted Hip-Hop and R&B], Brandon Soderberg, Spin, September 13, 2013[https://web.archive.org/web/20130331005739/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1704437/mac-miller-ariana-grande-the-way.jhtml Mac Miller Gives Ariana Grande 'Butterflies' On 'The Way'], Jocelyn Vena, MTV.com, March 27, 2013
Charts
= Weekly charts =
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center;" |
| scope="col"| Chart (1998)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| {{single chart|Billboardhot100|24|artist=Big Punisher|rowheader=true|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/281677/big-punisher/chart}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardrandbhiphop|6|artist=Big Punisher|rowheader=true|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/281677/big-punisher/chart?f=367}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardrhythmic|5|artist=Big Punisher|rowheader=true|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/281677/big-punisher/chart?f=350}} |
| {{single chart|New Zealand|34|artist=Big Punisher|song=Still Not A Player|access-date=April 14, 2023|rowheader=true}} |
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"|Chart (1998)
!scope="col"|Position |
|---|
| scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mw0EAAAAMBAJ&rview=1&lr=|title=The Year In Music 1998 - Hot 100 Singles|work=Billboard|date=December 26, 1998|page=YD–44|access-date=February 9, 2023|via=Google Books}}
|85 |
References
External links
- {{YouTube|HpOqPGwhZHY|"Still Not a Player" (edited version) by Incubus and Big Pun audio}}
{{Big Pun}}
{{Joe}}