Total has revealed an interesting fact behind one of hip-hop's most iconic songs, The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Juicy."
During an interview on The Breakfast Club, group members Kima Raynor and Kesha Spivey shared how their voices ended up on the track and why they were never officially credited as featured artists.
"The story behind how we wind up recording 'Juicy,' Big was like our little big brother," Kima said. "We were close with Big, so we would frequently be in New York hanging out in the studio with him. So he called us one day. He was like, 'Come to the city.' He was in the studio. So we went to the studio and he was playing 'Juicy.'"
She added, "Kesha started humming something. Biggie was like, 'Y'all should go in there and put that down.' So he, you know, just gave us some words or whatever and we went in there and we put it down."
According to Kima, what began as a casual studio hangout turned into an unplanned contribution to one of rap's greatest debut singles. She added that Diddy had them return the next day to record vocals for One More Chance, another Biggie classic that cemented Total's presence in Bad Boy Records history.
While the song's unmistakable hook has long been associated with the group, Total explained why their names weren't listed as features when "Juicy" was released in 1994.
"It says it now when you Google it, but I assume that it wasn't necessarily supposed to have been a feature for Biggie because it was his first single," Kima said. "And, you know, we were new. I don't think it was something that was planned — we were just in the studio, and we actually got in trouble because our manager was like, 'Don't do that no more.'But I just think they didn't plan for his first album to have a feature on it."
Despite the lack of official credit, Total's soulful harmonies became an integral part of the nostalgic sound on "Juicy"and helped shape a record that remains one of the most celebrated songs in hip-hop history.