I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By

Method Man raps three verses, while Mary J. Blige sings the intro, the chorus, and backing vocals. The song is often cited as the first hybrid of what's now known as "Thug-Love" duets.^[4]

In a July 2012 interview with Complex magazine, Jean Claude "Poke" Olivier—one-half of the production team the Trackmasters —claimed they were the actual producers behind the "Puff Daddy" remix, but were never properly credited for it. The Trackmasters claim that they were only credited as session musicians for programming the drums while Combs was credited as the producer.^[2]

Simon Price from Melody Maker named it Single of the Week, adding, "Here, sweet Mary J coos the chorus to Diana Ross' 'You're All I Need to Get By', while scary Method says he wants him'n'her to live together in a "a fat ass crib with thousands of kids". Heartwarming yet chilling, half 'Beauty and the Beast', half 'Nightstalker'."^[5] Dele Fadele from NME wrote, "The hip-hop fraternity will probably approach this pairing with a large shovel and a bale of hay, but they'll be the ones missing out. [...] The mix by Sean 'Puffy' Combs is slick as hell, but still booming, with a buried sample of a man at the end of his tether hoping he and she live together, cry together and die together."^[6] Leesa Daniels from Smash Hits gave it a score of four out of five, saying, "A love song in a rap style that doesn't refer to women as female dogs or gardening tools! See it can be done. [...] Highly enjoyable."^[7]

The song (all versions) peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 3, 1995.^[8] The song reached number one on the R&B singles chart in the May 20, 1995 issue of Billboard Magazine, a position it held for three weeks.^[9]

In 2009, Method Man and Mary J. Blige performed the song together at VH1's sixth annual Hip Hop Honors ceremony. In 2019, Mary J. Blige performed "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need to Get By" with Method Man during her BET Awards Lifetime Achievement Award performance which included a medley of songs and featured artists.^[10][11][12] CNN noted that the performance of the song "thrilled the crowd", who rapped along with Method Man's verses.^[13]

The song won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1996.

In 2008, the song was ranked number 44 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop" list.^[14]

In 2012, Complex ranked the song number one on its list of "The 25 Best Hip-Hop Love Songs."^[15]

All original tracks produced by RZA

• US, CD Maxi-Single

1. "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" (Puff Daddy Mix) — 5:08 ^a
2. "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" (Puff Daddy Instrumental) — 5:04
3. "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" (Razor Sharp Mix) — 3:53 ^b
4. "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" (Razor Sharp Instrumental) — 5:04
5. "What The Blood Clot" (LP Version) — 3:25

• UK, CD Maxi-Single

1. "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" (Razor Sharp Mix) — 3:25 ^b
2. "Bring The Pain" (Chemical Vocal) — 5:58 ^c
3. "Release Yo' Delf" (Prodigy Mix) — 5:55 ^d
4. "Bring The Pain" (Chemical Instrumental) — 5:21 ^c

• Germany, CD Maxi-Single

1. "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" (Puff Daddy Mix) — 5:08 ^a
2. "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" (Razor Sharp Mix) — 3:53 ^b
3. "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" (LP Version) — 3:16 ^a
4. "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" (Puff Daddy Instrumental) — 5:04
5. "What The Blood Clot" (LP Version) — 3:25

^a Remix production by Sean "Puffy" Combs
^b Remix production by Prince Rakeem "RZA"
^c Remix production by Chemical Brothers
^d Remix production by the Prodigy
^e Remix production Trackmasters

• Method Man – Rap vocals
• Mary J. Blige – Lead vocals, background vocals
• RZA – Producer, remix producer
• Puff Daddy – Remix producer
• Trackmasters - Remix producer
• Jeff Trotter – A&R
• Drew Dixon – A&R

• R&B number-one hits of 1995 (USA)