Background
The song, a rap ballad, had already been completed before permission was granted to use the sample from the Police's "Every Breath You Take". Sting (vocalist from The Police) ultimately participated in a performance of "I'll Be Missing You" at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards. Sting owns 100% of the publishing royalties. As well as using the melody and arrangement of "Every Breath You Take" the single also borrows the melody from the well-known American spiritual "I'll Fly Away".
There are several different versions of this song, one being an extended version (choir at beginning), another without the choir and an instrumental version. In the extended version of the song the choir is heard singing in the beginning of "Adagio for Strings" by Samuel Barber.
A slightly altered version of the song was performed by Diddy at the Concert for Diana in Wembley, United Kingdom.
The music video was shot on April 6, 1997 in Sydney, Australia and was directed by Hype Williams.
Read more about this topic: I'll Be Missing You
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