SANTA MONICA, California — While struggling to write the first single for her new album, Rah Digga got a vision from the big guy upstairs — big as in B.I.G.
"It was the part of the album where it was like, 'OK, I need this killer party record,' " Digga recalled recently. "I didn't really know what to do with the hook at that point, and then — bam! — he just descended like a guardian angel. It was like, 'Oh! "Party and Bullsh--." That's the hook!' And there it was, and the song's been doing quite well for me. I'm actually at the best place I've been my entire career, so thank you, B.I.G."
Digga's "Party and Bullsh-- 2003," produced by Just Blaze, has been a hot track on the mixtape circuit for a couple of months and will be officially released on the New Jersey rapper's second album, Everything Is a Story, due March 9.
The song borrows the chorus from Notorious B.I.G.'s "Party and Bullsh--," which was released on 1993's "Who's the Man?" soundtrack, and was later covered by Method Man on the "Rush Hour 2" soundtrack. Digga, however, remembers hearing it much earlier.
"Biggie was a very profound and influential MC for me," she said. "The very first time I saw him perform, he wasn't signed and he performed his version of 'Party and Bullsh--' at a showcase. When I saw him, I knew he was gonna be somebody. He just gave off superstar presence in the midst of no one knowing who he was or having a clue as to what he was performing."
Digga's version owes its success to more than just Biggie, though. The remix, which has circulated more widely than the original, features Eve and Missy Elliott.
The high-caliber collaboration hints at what to expect on Everything Is a Story, the follow-up to Dirty Harriet (see ). The lone female in Busta Rhymes' Flipmode Squad also collaborated with Mary J. Blige, Fabolous, G-Unit's Lloyd Banks, City High's Claudette Ortiz and Ghostface Killah, among others, on her album.
"I have Joe Budden and Young Zee," Digga added. "They're both Jersey natives, so we did a little Jersey collaboration. I'm working on [getting] Lil Jon. I'm feeling that whole 'Get Low' Southern crunk vibe, so I'm looking for that element and then the album will be complete."
Rah has already selected "Hot Tub," featuring Snoop Dogg, for the second single. "It's very grown-up and sexy," she said. "You know how everybody has all those let's-go-to-the-club, in-the-club, we-on-our way-to-the-club and we-on-our-way-to-the-party songs? This is one of those after-the-club joints. It starts at the club and ends up outside the club, and that's all I'm gonna say."
Besides releasing Everything Is a Story, Digga plans to return to acting. In 2001, she appeared in "Thir13en Ghosts" with Mathew Lillard and Shannon Elizabeth as well as MTV's "Carmen: A Hip Hopera" with Beyoncé and Mekhi Phifer.
"I actually just scored a really big gig, but I can't disclose the info because the logistics are still being worked out," she said. "I put acting aside for a moment because I needed to focus on this album. My first album was released back in 2000, so it's been a while, and I really wanted to get this second one off without a hitch or any sophomore jinx going on. But Rah Digga is definitely doing more films."
