I Miss Biggie Smalls...

Summertime 1994. Bed -Stuy, Brooklyn (Chauncey Street). I was 8 years old. A curious youngster with an appetite for mischief and tormenting girls I liked by doing things like knocking ice cream cones out of their hands.

My older cousins used to rock with this cat Biggie Smalls religiously. You name it, they had it. Posters, tapes, magazines.....The single I'd later come to know as "Juicy" blared from their speakers frequently with the flipped Mtume sample providing a backdrop for Chris Wallace to paint his picture of success for inner city denizens....

Fast forward to Summer 1997. I'm now 11 years old at a family BBQ STILL tormenting girls. B.I.G. had died before the album had come out but the first single from "No Way Out" aired on MTV. I didnt have cable @ the time, so I always soaked up the chance to go to my family/friend's houses and watch music videos and the cartoons that my classmates had always talked about. I always like engaging videos (even at a young age) and this video captured me from the jump.

Something was wrong. The dominating voice did not have a presence to match it visually. I sorta just shrugged it off. Typical of me, even till now. I was engaged by the Danny Devito cameo and the Blade Runner allusions as well as Busta Rhymes shrieking....

IMO, this song, "Victory", contains B.I.G.'s most lyrically adept bars. Even to this day, I get chills listening to the dramatic build up and B.I.G. getting ready to execute verbal perfection. Top 5 B.I.G. song-EVER:

"Excellence is my presence, never tense, never hesitant, leave a nigga bent real quick/Real sick, brawl nights, I perform like Mike ,anyone-Tyson, Jordan, Jackson, Action, pack guns, ridiculous/And Im quick to bust if my ends you touch/Kids or girl you touch, in this world I clutch /Two auto-matos, used to call me fatso Now you call me castro, my rap flows/Militant, yall faggots aint killin shit, Ooops cristal keep spillin shit, you overdid it homes"

It all began here. I listen to this album and it just brings back memories of the times. It is a visceral album-full of ambition ("Juicy"), lyrical dexterity ("Unbelievable", "The What" featuring Method Man as the only guest star of the entire album) and the consciousness of an inner city young Black male who admittedly did not keep to the straight and narrow ("Gimme The Loot", "Suicidal Thoughts").

The instrumentals were provided by DJ Premier, Easy Mo Bee, and Puff, among others....certified classic. The public agrees and the album gets critical acclaim and multiplatinum sales.

1997. B.I.G had gone through a lot. A marriage to Faith Evans. So called beef with you know who. Carrying the entire borough of Brooklyn AND the East Coast on his back. Awards and critical acclaim.

Pressure to live up to "Ready To Die". Puff's perfectionist approach. Crew love and looking for out for his family. Conflict with other rappers (Jeru The Damaga, Rae/Ghost, Nas).

All of these factors formed the masterpiece that is "Life After Death". I spent my Saturday listening to the album from start to finish and I'm convinced that had B.I.G. is arguably THE Greatest Rapper Of All Time-and that's from a die hard Jay-Z fan. 24 tracks-with arguably the greatest songs ever to close an rap album ("Sky's The Limit", "My Downfall", the scathing "Long Kiss Goodnight" and "You're Nobody (Till Somebody Kills You)").

The collabs were on point especially "Last Day" featuring The LOX and "Fuckin' You Tonight" featuring R.Kelly. I'd say the top three songs on the album (no order) were

• "Notorious Thugs": B.I.G took the BTNH style of delivery and flipped it with superb breath control and command.
• "Story To Tell": Best story telling track ever? Well it's gotta be up there. The attention to detail is second to none. The ending dialogue between B.I.G. and his friends has to be some of the funniest audio ever record. "I used to fuck with her cousin, but you aint know that!"...what a good friend
• "Sky's The Limit": obvious reasons.

"Long Kiss Goodnight". Brutal. Reportedly the song was not addressing Tupac Shakur...but when you listen to the lyrics and Puff's frantic ad-libs...it speaks for itself. It's up there with "Who Shot Ya", "Kick In The Door" and "Victory" for me.....

Very well rounded album. Diamond. 1 of 3 rap albums to garner such sales and is the second best selling rap album of all time. Nominated for 3 Grammys in 1998. Posthumous release as B.I.G. rests in power on March 9th, 1997.

To this day, I dont think anyone can go toe to toe with B.I.G. Jay-z obviously has the track record...but it's been said that if B.I.G. was alive, we'd be listening to hip hop through Morse Code. From what I've seen, B.I.G. sorta wanted to get out of the game and there was a rumor of a triple album in the works. Imagine.

I miss Biggie Smalls. Thanks for reading.

Goodies: I have for you all the XXL article about the making of "Ready To Die" and the making of "Life After Death"

Bed Stuy's Finest taking one last trip through his hood. We'll always love Big Poppa

^ Copped that book last year. I've read it multiple times and each time it's gotten better. It gave insight into Chris Wallace, the man, as opposed to the Notorious B.I.G....

• B.I.G. used to eat, sleep and "BS" in the studio before recording his verses. He did not write his verses on paper. For the man to write songs like "Kick In The Door", "Story To Tell" and ESPECIALLY "Notorious Thugs" IN HIS HEAD, I'm amazed.
• B.I.G. seemed to know that he was not going to live for long.
• B.I.G. never learned how to drive, leaving that duty up to Faith Evans or Little Cease. He got into an accident and his time in rehab gave him time to reflect on his life to that point.

There's more but I suggest you all get the book and read for yourself. :-)

I also have some ill shit for you all to DL if you havent already. Here's the "Original Version" of "Ready To Die" plus some bonus tracks, including a dope freestyle B.I.G. did for Pepsi.

Here