No Way Out Songwriting Credits by Puff Daddy

Puff Daddy is the frontman and executive voice of No Way Out, not its primary author. His verses were shaped by a rotating cast of credited co-writers and ghostwriters: Jay-Z (Shawn Carter) is credited on 'Do You Know?', 'Young G's', and 'Friend'; Lil' Kim (Kimberly Jones) on 'What You Gonna Do?', 'Don't Stop What You're Doing', and 'It's All About the Benjamins'; and The Notorious B.I.G. and Mase across several tracks. The music is equally borrowed, with the Hitmen (Stevie J, Deric 'D-Dot' Angelettie, Ron Lawrence, Nashiem Myrick, Carlos Broady) flipping well-known records so the sampled songwriters sit inside the legal credits. That is why the composer column carries names far outside hip-hop: Sting for 'Every Breath You Take' on 'I'll Be Missing You', David Bowie and Lisa Stansfield's team for 'Been Around the World', and Samuel Barber and Albert E. Brumley for the interpolations on 'I'll Be Missing You'. The album's authorship is a producer-curator model: Combs directs, guests and samples supply the words and the melodies.