Big Pimpin'

About this song

Produced by Timbaland, the track was the fifth and final single from Jay-Z's fourth studio album, Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter. It features Bun B and Pimp C, known together as the Underground Kingz, and is notable as one of the first songs where Southern rap broke into the mainstream. It peaked at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100, spent twenty weeks on the chart, and ranked #467 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2004 it had a chart resurgence after appearing on Jay and Linkin Park's Collision Course mash-up album.

What it's about

The song is an ode to the pimping lifestyle, which means sex with women without becoming emotionally attached to them. Jay-Z later said in his memoir Decoded that he was embarrassed by the song and its lyrics.

Fun facts

• Samples “Khosara - خسارة by Abdel Halim Hafez - عبد الحليم حافظ” and “Lonely by Janet Jackson”.
• Sampled in 13 other songs, like “Blow My High (Members Only) by Kendrick Lamar”.
• Covered 2 times, including “Mesle Mar by Hichkas”.
• Written by JAŸ-Z, Bun B, Pimp C, Timbaland, Kyambo “Hip Hop” Joshua and Baligh Hamdi - بليغ حمدي.
• Produced by Timbaland.