Can't Nobody Hold Me Down

"Can't Nobody Hold Me Down"
Single by Puff Daddy featuring Mase
from the album No Way Out
Released	January 7, 1997
Format	CD single, CD maxi-single, cassette single, 7" single, 12" single
Recorded	1996
Genre	East coast hip hop
Length	5:10
Label	Bad Boy
Writer(s)	Sean "Puffy" Combs, Steve Jordan, Carlos Broady, Nasheim Myrick, Mason Betha, Greg Prestopino, Matthew Wilder, Sylvia Robinson, Melvin Glover, Clifton Chase, Edward Fletcher
Producer(s)	Carlos Broady, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Stevie J, Nashiem Myrick
Certification	2x Platinum (RIAA)
Puff Daddy singles chronology
"No Time" (1996) "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" (1997) "I'll Be Missing You" (1997)
Mase singles chronology "Only You" (1996) "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" (1997) "Just the Way You Like It" (1997)

"Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" is the debut hit single by rapper Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs. It appears on Combs' debut album No Way Out and it was released as the first single in 1997.

The song entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at number thirty-two in early 1997 and eventually spent six weeks at number one. It was the beginning of Combs' and Bad Boy Records' chart domination during the year — the Combs-produced "Hypnotize" by The Notorious B.I.G. would follow this song at number one, and the B.I.G. tribute song "I'll Be Missing You" spent eleven weeks at number one during the summer, only to be followed by another B.I.G. song, "Mo Money Mo Problems" and then the Combs-produced "Honey" by Mariah Carey.

Combs was already a successful songwriter, producer and record label owner (Bad Boy Records) before he released his debut album as a performer. His first U.S. chart single, "No Time", was a top-twenty hit for Lil' Kim on which Puff Daddy was credited as a featured vocalist. "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" was the debut chart appearance for Harlem-based rapper Mase.

Content

The song combines elements of several previous singles, the most obvious being a slowed-down rhythm track sampling from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message". The track's chorus is an interpolation of "Break My Stride", a top-five single by Matthew Wilder from 1983.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1997)	Peak Position
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	1
UK Singles Chart	19
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Tracks	1

End-of-year charts

End-of-year chart (1997)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[1]	5

End-of-decade charts

Chart (1990-1999)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[2]	27

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
United States (RIAA)[3]	2× Platinum	2,700,000[4]

See also

• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1997 (U.S.)
• R&B number-one hits of 1997 (USA)

References

1. "Billboard Top 100 - 1997". Archived from the original on 2009-06-11. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
2. Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
3. "American single certifications – Diddy, P. – Can%27t Nobody Hold Me Down". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
4. "Best-Selling Records of 1997". Billboard. BPI Communications Inc. 110 (5): 76. January 31, 1998. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 9, 2015.