I remember where I was when I heard the news that Biggie passed. I was in my crib waking up to goto church. It was around 9:30-10am. I turn on Hot97 and I hear a bunch of people on the radio sounding somber, crying, and talking low. I couldn’t gather what they were talking about until they did the recap “In case you just tuned in, Christopher Wallace, the Notorious B.I.G., was murdered in L.A. last night”. I was in TOTAL shock! I couldn’t quite compute what went down until they had Busta Rhymes on the phone from LA explaining the situation. I remember Angie Martinez crying on the radio, screaming at these kids in gangs and causing the violence to “read a book and get off the streets!!”. T
I immediately called my peoples to tell the news. They thought I was pulling a #Swindle. I told them to turn on the radio and hear for themselves. They didn’t want to believe it. None of us wanted to believe it. I mean, months prior we lost Tupac to the same type of violence and now the other top name in hip hop was gone? Then it hit me, I lost my favorite rapper. The east coast lost the man who served as the defibrillator for hip hop at a time when the west was king. We lost the true blueprint for hip hop / gangsta rap storytelling, bravado, charisma, and lyrical prowess.
It bugged me out to listen to Cipha and Rosenberg on the radio this morning, 13 years after we lost Biggie, and hearing them quiz 15 year olds on B.I.G. trivia. They had no clue about anything Christopher Wallace related! Didn’t know the crews he started, didn’t even know the name of his albums! This made me feel real old, but at the same time I realize that these kids couldn’t be true hip hop fans, because Biggie Smalls is to Hip Hop what MLK, Jesse Owens, Thurgood Marshall, Fredrick Douglass, and countless other African-American figures are to American/Black history. The same way any American wouldn’t grow up without knowing about Washington and Lincoln, no hip hop fan should grow up without knowledge of Notorious B.I.G.
13 years later we see emcees use lines from his music. 13 years later we see rappers adapt “The Biggie Formula” to their albums (Some commercial + hardcore rap + out of state tracks + strong features = classic). 13 years later he has not abdicated the throne of King of NY, where other monarchs after a legendary king, would have succeeded in cementing their own legacy and overshadowing the former. His presence, talent, and legacy were too strong to fade with the times. He was one of a kind. A legend. My only regret is that he didn’t prophecise his own death and we would’ve heard him in 2010 with some of the hottest producers in the game (Imagine Kanye and Big? Swiss Beats? DRE?!).
I’ll always remember that surreal moment, and I won’t forget B.I.G. I’m sending some Bacardi limon and ice up for the greatest emcee. Do you remember where you were when he died? What’s your favorite B.I.G. track/verse?
#RIPBIG
What? Aint no more to it…
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good read. I remember when I found out BIG died too–it was also in the morning and my girl Monnique called me crying. like that was her fam. we were sooooo sad. growing up in Virginia, we heard a good mix of southern and NY hip hop, west coast too, but even with the Outkast, the Snoop, the Dre…we honored and adored BIG. kids in the hallways kicked his rhymes and boys wanted to flow like him. his presence is truly missed.
For the life of me I cannot remember what I was doing when I heard Biggie died. But I can tell you hands down my favourite track – The Wickedest Freestyle from Funkmaster Flex's Mixtape Vol. IV. The first time I heard it I nearly lost my mind and I still listen to it every day.
What's ironic is that BIG was HEAVILY criticized for being too commercial and materialistic before he died.
Aaaaah, gotta love "Funeral Love"…aka "they love you when you're gone."
Peace
-Chi