Feature: Legendary, Notorious, you simply can’t ignore…
March 9th: for some it is just a regular day, for others a day to remember. The true hip-hop addict probably knows why. 18 years ago Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. ‘The Notorious’ Biggie Smalls, died at the age of 24. Reason for yours truly to dig a little into the history of this legend and try to trace the tracks B.I.G. left in hip-hop scene.
‘It was all a dream’. The first sentence that announced high hopes for hip-hop in general. Biggie’s ‘Juicy’ reached the charts and it was clear that this wasn’t just the next ephemera from the Big Apple. After his album Ready to Die was released, hip-hop changed and our notorious legend began create his legacy.
The main question is: what makes him a legend? Firstly, the music. We’re talking about the ’90s here. Hip-hop was developing in a big way and pretty much every rap legend we know nowadays was working on their debut album.
Music-wise, B.I.G. managed to take the boom-bap-sample hip-hop to a higher level. A somewhat humdrum sound made way for fresh, funky beats accessible to a wider audience and gangster hooks made way for more soulful refrains. Although the lyrics were still about fucking, making money and straight up thuggin’, his delivery made it all feel a little less aggressive.
Of course it’s not only the music that makes this legendary figure. Unfortunately, also the tragic story, which brought his career to a sudden end and left a huge scar on the global hip-hop scene.
March 9th ’97 Christopher Wallace stopped his car in front of a red light when a dark Chevy Impala pulled up next to him. The driver shot several bullets towards Wallace’s vehicle, of which four hit the American rapper, and left him for dead.
But out of sight is definitely not out of mind in the case of B.I.G. After his assassination, his music instantly achieved legendary status. There is no hip-hop party without a proper Notorious banger.
Mr Smalls was a lyrically gifted artist who was able to spread a message that’s so real it grabbed you from the first words. Whether you’re a hip-hop lover or hater, everybody appreciates Biggie Smalls’ sound.
Every year rappers remember the icon in different ways. This year, Diddy started the tributes with #MissingYouChallenge, posting a picture of him and Smalls. Kendrick Lamar created an amazing freestyle over a Biggie’s ‘The What’. Although this legend is long gone, his music keeps inspiring young rappers to do the same as he did. Period.
Flip Kloet