How a stolen melody transformed a song about stalking into a global hymn

Cultures · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 1997, Puff Daddy released a tribute that dominated the global charts. Yet, the track’s foundation was built on an unauthorized sample, sparking a legal battle with Sting and a debate over whether the song was a profound eulogy or a blatant musical rip-off.

Released in May 1997, "I'll Be Missing You" served as a mourning piece for the rapper Notorious B.I.G., who was killed on March 9, 1997. The track, featuring Faith Evans and 112, achieved unprecedented commercial success, holding the top spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 for eleven straight weeks. It was a massive global phenomenon, reaching number one in 15 other countries and moving over three million units in the United States alone.

However, the song's creation was mired in controversy. Puff Daddy used a slowed-down version of The Police's 1983 hit "Every Breath You Take" without prior legal clearance. This led to a lawsuit from Sting, who eventually secured 100% of the royalties. While Police guitarist Andy Summers criticized the track as a "major rip-off," others, like Rolling Stone's David Fricke, argued that the artist successfully repurposed a song about stalking into a beautiful tribute to brotherhood.

The musical arrangement is a complex tapestry of disparate influences. Beyond the Police sample, the song incorporates the melody of the 1929 hymn "I'll Fly Away" and features a choral arrangement inspired by Samuel Barber’s "Adagio for Strings." Critics were divided on the result: Entertainment Weekly dismissed it as maudlin, while Music Week praised it as a dignified tribute. Despite the friction, Sting and Puff Daddy eventually reconciled, performing together at the MTV Video Music Awards in September 1997.

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