ALL HAIL THE KING! BROOKLYN!

March 9,1997 the Greatest Rapper of All Time the Notorious BIG was taken from us but he didn’t leave without Hip Hop. It has been 16 years since his passing yet you can still put on a song from any of his albums and people of all ages are in trance. People start to sway their hands from side to side just like Poppa did to show admiration for his musical talents that stretch beyond measure. After all this time he is still someone to aspire to lyrically. His musical stories of dreams of a lavish life, anger, and struggle definitely made him such a special piece of Hip Hop. His sound will always be respected and it can’t be duplicated. He is and was in a class all by himself.

During his reign Hip Hop was a different animal. Imagine a world where you needed to know how to rap to get signed? It baffles you right? It happened people.You actually needed to be lyrical to stand with the best of them. You had to poses natural talent in your craft. He came in at a time when it wasn’t always about the hottest producer but the lyrics. When Ready to Die was released my mother wouldn’t let me buy it due to the lyrical content but I couldn’t stay away. His music had the effect on me like a moth to a flame.

So I couldn’t take no for an answer. At this time in music you couldn’t just take your allowance and buy CD’s or tapes they carded you at the stores. They carded you for music like it was cigarettes. You had to be eighteen to buy his record. At the time I was not old enough to purchase it on my own. I found the best alternative I heard my older cousin got the album on cassette tape and I dubbed it.

I remember listening to it in my room when I was supposed to be asleep. Remembering listening to Unbelievable and Fuck the World for the first time. “Fuck the World don’t ask me for shit, Everything you get you got to work hard for it” I was like this guy is the truth I love it. Despite my suburban upbringing I really understood his anger. The lyrics from the song is a clear observation of how people feel.They feel I worked hard for this so fuck you get your own. That’s a life lesson he was teaching and it was realist thing I ever heard. I understood his anger, his quest for acceptance, and his want to make his mother proud through being a success.

Despite the east coast west coast beef that was one of the best times for Hip Hop. There was no downloading of music. You had to wait on-line at a Sam Goody, Coconuts, etc. to support these artists. It was when DJ’s could make or break your career no YouTube sensations. It just seem like the hunger was the leading force in Hip Hop at that time.

It was like you had to be better than the next rapper. You had to be more lyrical your next song had to be written like it was your last shot. Now all you need is the best producer and Protools. It was so much respect in the rap community for those who came before you. It was an admiration among artist now it’s disrespect. I know a lot people will challenge what I am about to say but I have to. I love Jay Z just like anyone else but if Biggie wasn’t taking from us and he was still alive I don’t believe Jay Z would have been as huge as he is. I believe that same notion about Aaliyah’s passing. Beyonce would have been an after thought had she survived that crash.

This is not discrediting Reasonable Doubt or The Blueprint 2 which I honestly think are Jay Z’s best albums but I think Biggie was a better rapper by far. Biggie was a fucking beast. I wanted to just pay homage to the GREATEST RAPPER OF ALL TIME BIG and let him know that it was a pleasure that he left the world his beautiful music. Because of him I know every time I hear his music it is a reminder that Hip Hop used to be worth while. Thank You for that BIG… I’ll always love BIG Poppa…ALL HAIL THE KING! BROOKLYN!

PS Big Sean don’t ever in life spell BIG before you spit a verse you have not earned the right…know your role “boi”