FEATURE:
The King of New York
PHOTO CREDIT: Barron Claiborne
Remembering The Notorious B.I.G.
___________
I remember 9th March, 1997 very well…
as I was on holiday in Orlando, Florida with my dad. I was thirteen, and it was my first (and only) time in America. I was aware of who The Notorious B.I.G. was in 1997. It was a strange week for music in March of that year. Spice Girls’ Who Do You Think You Are? was everywhere, but I was also hearing The Notorious B.I.G. played in America too – completely different artists getting a lot of play and love helped open my mind to the sheer range and power of music! I recall hearing on the T.V. that The Notorious B.I.G. had been shot and killed. I don’t think I had experienced that before: switching on the news and hearing of a musician being murdered. It was quite a shock! Of course, as a child, any murder that happens, matter how far away, causes you anxiety. Years after that event, I sought out the music of the Rap icon. Even though he released one studio album in his lifetime, Ready to Die (1994), and a posthumous album – Life After Death (two albums with oddly prophetic and tragic titles) was released a couple of weeks after his murder -, his legacy and influence is huge. It is announced that Life After Death is getting a twenty-fifth anniversary reissue. I will come to his legacy soon. Before that, if you do not know much about The Notorious B.I.G. or are aware of what he created in his twenty-four years on the planet, IMDB provide us with some useful bio:
“Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. Biggie Smalls, was born on May 21, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York. He was the son of Jamaican parents, Voletta Wallace, a pre-school teacher, and Selwyn George Latore, a welder and small-time politician. He was raised in the poor Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant. Dropping out of high school at the age of seventeen, Biggie became a crack dealer, which he proclaimed was his only source of income. Hustlin' one's way was a common life for a young Black man trying to make a living in the ghetto. His career choices involved certain risks. However, a trip to North Carolina for a routine drug exchange ended being the soon-to-be MC a nine-month stay behind bars. Once released, Biggie borrowed a friend's four-track tape recorder and laid down some hip-hop tracks in a basement. The tapes were then passed around and played at local radio station in New York.
Not extremely attractive, Wallace named himself Biggie, for his weight. Biggie was a Black man who was overweight, extremely dark skinned, and had a crook in his eye, yet he was a charmer. A young impresario and sometime producer by the name of Sean Combs heard Biggie's early tapes. Impressed, Puffy went to sign Biggie to his new label, Bad Boy Records.
Puffy and Biggie worked on the artist's first album, and the Notorious B.I.G. was born. Biggie was first heard on a remix of a Mary J. Blige song and a track on the Who's the Man? (1991) soundtrack. After these successes, the album worked on earlier went through its final touches and was released in 1994, titled "Ready to Die." The record was certified platinum quickly, and the Notorious B.I.G. was named MC of the Year at the 1995 Billboard Music Awards. After the quick success of the album, Biggie went back to get his friends, some who didn't even rhyme. He had several run-ins with the law, on charges that ranged from beatings, to drugs and to weapons, while all claimed that Biggie was a gentle person. He soon met a rapper from the west coast named Tupac Shakur, and the two became friends.
Tupac supported Biggie and was often giving him advice. However, their friendship turned into the most violent era of hip-hop music on November 30, 1994. While Biggie and Puffy were at a recording session at Quad Recording Studios in Manhattan, Tupac went there to record with another rapper for his third studio album, "Me Against The World" at the same time, but in the lobby, Tupac was held at gunpoint and robbed of $40,000 worth of jewelry. Tupac was shot five times. Biggie rushed down just in time to see Tupac being loaded into an ambulance. Extending a middle finger, Pac blamed Biggie for the shooting and said that Biggie knew about it and failed to warn him. This sparked the East Coast, West Coast rivalry. Tupac later recovered from his injuries. During this encounter, Biggie admitted that he was scared for his life. Biggie never responded to any of Tupac's disses. Tupac attacked Biggie in every way he could, even starting strong rumors that there was a love affair between Tupac and Biggie's wife, Faith Evans.
Later, The entire country became divided into two groups, the west side and the east side, which became Death Row Records versus Bad Boy Records, Marion 'Suge' Knight versus Puff Daddy, and Tupac versus Biggie. The two of them finally met again late in 1995, and Tupac secretly said to Biggie, "I'm just tryin' to sell some records." Unfortunately, it became very real when on September 7, 1996, Tupac was shot four times in a drive-by shooting off the Las Vegas strip after he left a fight he was involved in inside of the MGM Grand Hotel after a Mike Tyson boxing match. He died six days later on September 13, 1996 as a result of those gunshot wounds at the age of 25. The case is still unsolved. Biggie was scared for his life, but he wanted to put an end to the rivalry between the two coasts. Biggie went to the west coast for several events, to support for his next release album, "Life After Death," but also to make a statement that the rivalry was over. On March 7, 1997, he attended the Soul Train Music Awards and went to the after party hosted by Vibe magazine and Qwest Records on March 8. On March 9, Biggie was sitting in an SUV on the street when he was shot multiple times by an unknown assailant. He died almost instantly. Hip-Hop faced its greatest tragedy when both Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. were killed. Biggie was only 24 years old”.
Even though The Notorious B.I.G.’s short life was embroiled in turmoil and violence, his legacy in terms of music, fashion and beyond lives to this day. He was undoubtably a rare talent who, if he had lived, could have gone on to record so many more albums. Later this year, we mark what would have been his fiftieth birthday. Ready to Die is one of the most-acclaimed Rap albums ever. Funny, scary, multi-layered and hugely accomplished, there are so many things about the album that make it a classic. Life After Death confirmed The Notorious B.I.G.’s status as a legend! Given the fact Biggie was tipped for global superstardom and huge success, his premature death shook the world. In 2020, Aspire TV discussed the legacy of The Notorious B.I.G.:
“On March 9, 1997, the world seemingly stopped as fans reacted to the untimely death of one of the hottest emcees in the game- Notorious B.I.G. The Brooklyn rapper was shot and killed in Los Angeles at the age of 24 and he continues to mold hip-hop 23 years later.
Christopher Wallace was both charismatic and very complex. He had a way of using his unique storytelling ability to bring fans into his world and make you dance at the same damn time. Although his time here was cut short, Wallace- known as Biggie, Biggie Smalls, B.I.G., and Notorious- is arguably one of the greatest rappers to have ever lived. Truly starting from the bottom, Biggie used his God-given skills of hip-hop to find relief from the environment he grew up in.
Here are 5 reasons Biggie’s legacy continues to shine brightly on the culture decades following his death:
His freestyle skills were unmatched. A freestyle on the streets of Brooklyn in 1989 introduced Biggie Smalls to the world. Even at age 17 he had the ability to portray full and detailed stories about life on the streets off the top of the dome with an unbreakable flow and finessed lyricism.
He was humble. In a world where rappers solely spit about drugs and alcohol, he would often rap about himself and make fun of his own image. He once rapped “black and ugly as ever.” He may have been on top of the rap game, but was as humble as ever.
He only released two albums before his life was cut short. His first album, “Ready to Die,” caused him to become one of the first rappers to ever go quadruple platinum. And his second album, “Life After Death”, went gold in its first week before ultimately going over diamond and becoming one of the biggest selling albums in hip-hop history. Both are considered hip-hop classics.
His storytelling is unparalleled. Biggie Smalls was a prolific writer. His tricky wordplay and detailed stories will have audiences unsure of their actual reality. He could take you outside of your world and into his for the two minutes you spend listening to tracks like “Somebodies Got to Die,” where he imagines his own revenge after the loss of his friend.
He showed us that the sky really is the limit. Tracks like “Juicy” show that there’s more to life than the circumstances you’re born into. “Birthdays was the worst days, now we sip champagne when we’re thirsty,” Biggie Smalls used a lot of his lyrics to preach positivity that if he could make it anyone can!”.
In addition to posthumous albums and a 2009 biopic, Notorious (which starred rapper Jamal Woolard as Wallace), there has been a lot of discussion about The Notorious B.I.G. and what he gave to the world. In terms of his music, he is one of the most influential rappers ever. Pretty much leading East Coast Hip-Hop in the early/mid-1990s, artists like 50 Cent and Eminem definitely take influence from him. Before moving to more general influence and legacy, this article discusses how, on top of everything, Biggie was a masterful marketer:
“Influencer Marketing
Black Excellence is a relatively new term, but Biggie was setting the foundations for this back in the 90s. When you look back at his music videos, he was bringing brands that had previously not been associated with Black culture to the forefront, influencing.
Moët & Chandon has a longstanding relationship with hip-hop; the business switched its focus from targeting white and wealthy audiences when the likes of Biggie organically endorsed them in music videos where they popped bottles as a sign of lavish living. The drink was instantly transformed from being just a Champagne brand to symbolising a part of what was soon to become pop culture.
This was much to do with Biggie, who referenced household names including Alizé, Dom Perignon and Moët in his music. Now some of the biggest names in hip-hop have their own drinks brands – Diddy with Cîroc, Jay Z with D'usse, and Rick Ross with Bellaire”.
There is no telling just how far The Notorious B.I.G. could have gone if he had lived! A phenomenal M.C. and lyricists, his work will continue to inspire generations of young rappers. Wikipedia documents the extensive and ongoing influence of a Rap colossus:
“Considered one of the greatest rappers of all time, Wallace was described by AllMusic as "the savior of East Coast hip-hop". The Source magazine named him the greatest rapper of all time in its 150th issue in 2002. In 2003, when XXL magazine asked several hip hop artists to list their five favorite MCs, Wallace appeared on more rappers' lists than anyone else. In 2006, MTV ranked him at No. 3 on their list of The Greatest MCs of All Time, calling him possibly "the most skillful ever on the mic".
Editors of About.com ranked him at No. 3 on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007). In 2012, The Source ranked him No. 3 on their list of the Top 50 Lyrical Leaders of all time. Rolling Stone has referred to him as the "greatest rapper that ever lived". In 2015, Billboard named Wallace as the greatest rapper of all time.
Wallace's lyrics have been sampled and quoted by a variety of artists, including Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Fat Joe, Nelly, Ja Rule, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Game, Clinton Sparks, Michael Jackson, and Usher. At the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, Combs and Snoop Dogg paid tribute to Wallace by hiring an orchestra to play while the vocals from "Juicy" and "Warning" played on the arena speakers. At the 2005 VH1 Hip Hop Honors, a tribute to Wallace headlined the show”.
Before wrapping up by looking back at a documentary that was released last year, it is worth mentioning the album that The Notorious B.I.G. should have been celebrating and promoting on 25th March. Even if Life After Death has a title that seems eerie and oddly prescient, he did leave the world with a mighty and majestic album. Almost as stunning and peerless as his debut, its twenty-fifth anniversary will introduce new people to the album. This is what Pitchfork said about Life After Death in their 2017 review:
“Double albums tend to be overblown, self-indulgent cash grabs, but Life After Death warranted the approach. Beginning with the 1994 Quad Studios shooting of Tupac Shakur in New York City, the Notorious B.I.G—along with Combs, Shakur, and Suge Knight—was at the center of a multifaceted rivalry. It was a struggle between N.Y.'s Bad Boy and L.A.'s Death Row records that surpassed label affiliation to become about coastal loyalty, arguments about commercialism vs. art that spread from the music industry to the public, whispers of motives and allegiances ran from the streets to the urban criminal underworld. Big easily had more than one album's worth of material to talk about.
Not only did he have more drawn on, he had more ways to talk about it than anyone else. More than anyone one else in rap ever, Big was able to break language and bend syntax to speak about things in ways that were unforeseen yet seemingly unavoidable in hindsight: “At last, a nigga rappin' 'bout blunts and broads, tits and bras, ménage à trois, sex in expensive cars, and still leave you on the pavement,” he rapped on the No. 1 radio single “Hypnotize.” He continued: “Condo paid for, no car payment. At my arraignment, note for the plaintiff, 'Your daughter's tied up in a Brooklyn basement.' Face it: not guilty—that's how I stay filthy.”
Big was a master of flow, sounding unforced and unlabored over a bevy of pristine, hi-fidelity maximalist beats that seemed to always bow to his intent. His voice was that of a gentle giant; a sumo ballerina who could deashi and pas de bourrée, henka and plie. Few terms in any tongue can capture the way Big was light on his words while heavy on thought. He made his slams look like pirouettes even over the most grating pop moves like “Mo Money Mo Problems,” which showcased Combs' predilection for turning ‘80s R&B hits into ‘90s rap tunes—a push and pull between producer and artist that remains unmatched in hip-hop to this day.
This infamous tug between Combs' pop predilections and Big’s gully tendencies is all over Life After Death: the way the sequencing goes from the Herb Alpert-sampling “Hypnotize” to DJ Premier's Screamin' Jay Hawkins chop on “Kick in the Door” to a boudoir ballad with the R. Kelly-assisted “Fuck You Tonight” to black glove tough talk with The Lox on “Last Day” to lavish ballerism on the René & Angela remake “I Love the Dough” with Jay Z. It's a wrenching of the ridiculous that Big wins at every turn by being on “that Brooklyn bullshit” on “Hypnotize”; by making “Fuck You Tonight” unprofitable without a heavily-edited radio version; by squeezing so many words and skillful mispronunciations and imagery like wearing precious stones “in beards and mustaches” into “I Love the Dough.”
Despite being 24 cuts deep, the album never wears on—the quick twists, deep moods, dark humor, and mastered artistry more than hold your attention. But, still: Like even a good movie, you're ready for it to end when it ends, and it climaxes with songs that deliver on the promise of the era of conflict (and death and rage and extremism) that surrounded Big in 1997. Due to his assassination 20 years ago on March 9th, the last three songs—“My Downfall,” “Long Kiss Goodnight,” and “You're Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You)”—were never enjoyed by the public at large while Big was alive. Today, it's almost impossible to hear them as anything other than war songs for the dead and those about to die. These numbers are both a declaration of intent and pauses for remorse; clarion-song and elegy alike, heavy instrumentation for the trenches and pews, all hymnals of well-earned paranoia and odes to a dawn of violence”.
Last year, there was a bit of a wave of new Biggie interest. The documentary, Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell, featured unprecedented access granted by the Wallace estate. Rhino gave us details about a rare and personal account of a short life that was full of promise and talent:
“In the case of the Notorious B.I.G., you can never call it a comeback. Despite his tragic murder in 1997, the legendary Brooklyn rap icon's music and legacy still loom larger than life. Monday, March 1, new documentary, Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell, debuts on Netflix. The film takes a look back at the life and music career of young Christopher Wallace, who grew up to become the hip-hop legend Biggie Smalls, AKA The Notorious B.I.G.
The doc arrives with the release of Music Inspired by Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell, a 14-track collection that celebrates the music and legacy of Notorious B.I.G. The album is stocked with the Grammy-nominated hits that made the rapper a superstar, including "Hypnotize," "Mo Money Mo Problems" and "Big Poppa."
"This will be the first documentary to focus on the experiences of my son's life and the art of his music rather than the circumstances of his death," explained Voletta Wallace, the rapper's mom and one of the executive producers of the movie. "It shows the sort of in-depth storytelling that Christoper loved. This is how he would have wanted to be remembered”.
Whilst one cannot whitewash the facts and call The Notorious B.I.G.’s life spotless (his arrests and controversies cannot be forgotten; people accused him of being involved in the murder of one of his rivals, the iconic Tupac Shakur, in 1996), there is no doubting what an important artist and figurehead Biggie was! Despite being involved in the feud between East and West Coast rappers whilst making his second album, many feel he is the greatest rapper who has ever lived. Quite an achievement for someone who was only twenty-four when he died! On 9th March, it will be twenty-five years since the world lost The Notorious B.I.G. Even so, he has inspired so many others; his music is still played…and we regularly see features published about him. From his music to his fashion through to his marketing genius, here was an icon and supernova talent – the likes of which we will never see again. This was a salute and fond remembrance of…
A notorious superstar.