No Way Out (Puff Daddy album)

No Way Out is the debut studio album by American rapper Puff Daddy. It was released on July 22, 1997, through Arista Records and Puff Daddy's own Bad Boy Records. The album is credited to "Puff Daddy & the Family," with "the Family" referring to guest appearances from his signees at Bad Boy. Puff Daddy collaborated extensively with the Notorious B.I.G. and his production team the Hitmen during the making of the album. Its direction was heavily influenced by the murder of the Notorious B.I.G. months prior to its release. This album conveys this as a tragic event with a profound impact on Puff Daddy, who channels both aggressive and introspective lyrics capturing the before-and-after of his death. Additional production was contributed by Big Jaz, while the album features appearances from the Notorious B.I.G., as well as Busta Rhymes, Mase, Lil' Kim, Carl Thomas, Jay-Z, Black Rob, the LOX, Ginuwine, Twista, Foxy Brown, Faith Evans, and 112.

Five singles were released from the album. Its lead single, "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 several weeks after its January 1997 release. The second single, "I'll Be Missing You", became a global hit and was the first hip-hop song to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100. The fourth single, "Been Around the World", peaked at number two. Other singles included "It's All About the Benjamins" and "Victory", with the latter reaching number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Upon release, No Way Out achieved major commercial success, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales exceeding 561,000 copies. The album also received critical acclaim, earning five nominations at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards, including a win for Best Rap Album. It remains Puff Daddy's best-selling album, with over 7 million copies shipped in the United States, and is widely regarded as a classic hip hop album. However, the album’s heavy reliance on sampling drew criticism from Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, and MTV.