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The Notorious B.I.G. passed away on March 9, 1997 weeks before his sophomore album Life After Death was set to be released.
It was an event that stopped the ever-growing East vs West beef which was sparked by two friends, 2Pac and Biggie, and spun out of control.In the height of their careers, two mid-20-year-old Black men gunned down due to senseless violence in the midst of a growing regional rap war.
While we knew things would change, who knew that hip hop would change like this?The year was 1997. Hip hop was going through sort of a transition at the time. With the death of 2Pac, and Dr. Dre deciding to leave the label he co-owned, Death Row Records the west coast was losing the dominance it which was partially sparked by the popularity of Dr. Dre's debut album The Chronic in 1992.
Back on the East Coast, it was time where artists were beginning to stop being so gritty, and raw, and exchange their Champion sweatshirts, and into shiny suits.The death of Biggie left a gaping hole in New York City. He was the biggest artist in hip hop at the time, and was holding the torch for New York City. Who was going to carry the torch for the Big Apple in his absence?
We would not have to answer this question for another year. March 25, 1997, Notorious B.I.G.&rsquo;s anticipated sophomore album Life After Death was released. An instant classic, the new version of Biggie had songs for the radio and for the hood in a double-disc album that had little-to-no skips.
We did not know at the time, but this would be the beginning of Bad Boy&rsquo;s explosion. Biggie was there to see the beginning of that very success as Puff Daddy released his first single, &ldquo;Can&rsquo;t Nobody Hold Me Down&rdquo; after debuting at 32 on the Billboard Hot 100, the track featuring Mase reached number one.
That was later taken over by Biggie&rsquo;s hit single, &ldquo;Hypnotize&rdquo; before the tribute track &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll Be Missing You&rdquo; was released and dominated the charts in Biggie's passing.
While bittersweet, Puff Daddy continued to grow the Bad Boy Records brand following the release of No Way Out in July of that year. It has a few songs you may have heard such as &ldquo;All About The Benjamins,&rdquo; &ldquo;Been Around The World,&rdquo; &ldquo;Victory,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Mo Money, Mo Problems.&rdquo;
In case you thought he was done. Mase decided to come out with his debut album that October as well. An amazing 3-peat of success for Bad Boy Records.
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Following the deaths of both 2Pac and Biggie we were starting to see a trend of hip hop that was straying away from its authentic rawness, and going into a style that was more mainstream and cartoonish.
It was no longer trending towards the Mafioso style we began to see from Big, Jay Z, and even Nas in 1996. The suits were being traded in for bubble jackets and ski goggles, raise the roofs and bank head bounces.
Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes were helping to transform the art of music videos in 1997. Missy&rsquo;s exaggerated visuals in &ldquo;The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),&rdquo; and Busta Rhymes' iconic characters in &ldquo;Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See&rdquo; helped bring the genre to a lighter place, thanks to Williams' vision.
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHcyJPTTn9w">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHcyJPTTn9w</a>
Speaking of Hype Williams, nothing would showcase the new trend more than Jay-Z&rsquo;s video for his single &ldquo;(Always Be My) Sunshine.&rdquo; Following the release of Reasonable Doubt, it was his time to come up out of the shadows of BIG and show that he can be the next best Brooklyn rapper with In My Lifetime, Vol. 1.
With help of The Hitmen, the album displayed a formula similar to Biggie&rsquo;s sophomore project. It mixed some of his more personal lyrics and mixed in some sounds that were popular at the time including singles with features from Babyface, Blackstreet, Puff Daddy himself and Lil&rsquo; Kim.
But it wasn&rsquo;t all fun and games. Wu-Tang Clan left street hip hop fans excited once again as they all returned with their double album,&nbsp;Wu-Tang Forever. The project was eventually nominated for a Grammy at the <a href="http://href=">40th Annual Grammy Awards</a> for "Best Rap Album" but ended up losing to Puff Daddy &amp; The Family's album No Way Out.
This led for a moment in hip hop history as Ol' Dirty Bastard to storm the stage to express his displeasure of losing the "Song of the Year" award for "Sunny Came Home".&nbsp;
The time laid the groundwork for what was going to become a boom in hip hop in terms of music and business. It was time to have fun again.
Things got so serious and tense that it needed a new breath of fresh air. As the calendar turned to 1998 the year the business changed for better or for worse depending on who you ask.
The formula of street tracks mixed in with commercial favorites helped bring career-changing albums from DMX, Jay Z, and Ja Rule and anchored the Def Jam era.
What was your favorite single from 1997?

How The Notorious B.I.G.'s Death Changed Hip Hop Forever

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t has been 25 years since the passing of Christopher Wallace better known to the world as The Notorious B.I.G.
Nearly a quarter century following the passing of the hip hop legend, we have seen many changes to the hip hop landscape. Some of the biggest artists today were not yet born that infamous day in 1997. Throughout all of the changes in hip hop during its time, one thing has stayed consistent. Whether it is a party, a movie, a passing car, or even on the radio on HOT 97, the sounds of Biggie Smalls&rsquo; music blaring through the speakers is just as impactful now as it was when were first introduced to him in 1994.
His words, rhyme pattern, and overall legend status still relates to a new generation of artists and fans during a time lyricism is not as celebrated as it was during the golden era of the mid-to-late 1990&rsquo;s.
It was DJ Mister Cee that helped introduce the world to Biggie. Back in 1992, a demo tape was recorded, and ended up in the hands of Sean &ldquo;Puff Daddy&rdquo; Combs who at the time was looking for an artist as an A&amp;R for Uptown Records, and came across The Notorious B.I.G. The rest you can say is history.
Here is what <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230604163015/http://thesource.com/2014/08/06/unsigned-hype-revisited-the-notorious-b-i-g-march-1992/" target="_self" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Source</a> had to say about that very demo tape back in 1992.
&ldquo;If you&rsquo;re an aspiring rapper and you know you have the flavor and potential to make dope records, you don&rsquo;t need to go into the studio and spend crazy cash to make a fly demo. You don&rsquo;t even need a 4-track; just two turntables and a microphone, press record on the tape deck and you&rsquo;re good to go.
B-I-G is living proof of this fact. His DJ, Hitman 50 Grand, threw a couple classic breaks and instrumentals and let B-I-G do what he had to do: he ripped shit. Straight outta Brooklyn, New York, the heavy-set brother B-I-G has mad skills. His rhymes are fatter then he is.
All four of his jams were basically a freestyle exhibition. Obviously, to come out as an MC takes a lot more than hype rhymes, but rhyme skills are the main ingredient to true success in hip-hop, and when it comes to those, B-I-G&rsquo;s got plenty.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Look up in the sky it&rsquo;s a bird it&rsquo;s a plane!&rdquo; It was the remix to Mary J. Blige&rsquo;s single &ldquo;Real Love&rdquo; that allowed mainstream fans to learn about the rapper for the first time with his catchy line. Before releasing his successful debut album, Ready To Die, he built up the hype with classic features such as &ldquo;Dolly My Baby,&rdquo; &ldquo;What&rsquo;s the 411?&rdquo; and &ldquo;Flava In Ya Ear.&rdquo;
After the success of his single &ldquo;Party &amp; Bulls***&rdquo; in 1993, it was time for fans to get a full project from the Brooklyn MC. It was released on September 13, 1994. In 19 tracks, Biggie helped bring the balance of power in hip hop back to the east coast following the dominance of the west brought by the success of Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Death Row Records.
It is Biggie&rsquo;s strength of storytelling mixed with great production, and with the help of Puff Daddy, exploded onto the scene with a unique blend of street raps with the melodic sounds of classic rhythm and blues. &ldquo;Big Poppa,&rdquo; &ldquo;One More Chance,&rdquo; and the timeless classic &ldquo;Juicy&rdquo; which sampled Mtume&rsquo;s classic hit &ldquo;Juicy Fruit,&rdquo; helped carry the album to popular success.
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At the time, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230604163015/http://www.capitalxtra.com/xplore/lists/notorious-big-ready-to-die-facts/rolling-stones-original-review/" target="_self" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rolling Stone</a> wrote &ldquo;Ready to Die is the strongest solo rap debut since Ice Cube&rsquo;s Amerikkka&rsquo;s Most Wanted. From the breathtakingly visual moments of his birth to his Cobainesque end in &ldquo;Suicidal Thoughts.&rdquo;
<h4>Going Back To Cali!</h4>
Ready to Die was a huge success. He single-handedly brought the East Coast back to its dominance in hip hop. Yet he wasn&rsquo;t going to slow down. While he went three years between albums, Biggie was still busy. On August 25, 1995, he helped his childhood friends turned rappers, Junior M.A.F.I.A. release their debut album Conspiracy which held classics such as &ldquo;Players Anthem&rdquo; and &ldquo;Get Money.&rdquo; It was soon after that he began work on his sophomore album. Little did we know the controversy that would surround him.
It was during that time, Biggie got caught up in the infamous beef with himself and his former friend 2Pac. At one time Pac was a mentor to the Brooklyn native, allowing him to stay in his apartment while he began his journey through hip hop. By 1996, following 2Pac&rsquo;s signing to Death Row Records, the two had become bitter enemies entrenched in a growing media narrative that became the East vs West beef.
On the way of recording his sophomore album, Life After Death,&nbsp;Biggie was involved in a car accident which shattered his left leg, where he was forced to stay in a hospital for three months. He wasn&rsquo;t going to let the injuries keep him down though. It was time to finish the album.&nbsp;
After recovering, The Notorious B.I.G. left to go to Los Angeles where he began promotion of his sophomore album. Big and Puff had released their first single &ldquo;Hypnotize,&rdquo; a song which sampled Herb Alpert&rsquo;s late 70&rsquo;s hit &ldquo;Rise.&rdquo; The song was gaining success quickly.
Donned in an all-black tuxedo, Biggie&rsquo;s presence dominated the stage as he performed at the 11th annual Soul Train Awards where he performed &ldquo;One More Chance&rdquo; then &ldquo;Get Money.&rdquo;
The next day he attended a Vibe Magazine party. It would end up being the last time anyone would see him alive as Biggie&rsquo;s GMC Suburban was shot up minutes after leaving the party. Much in the way of his biggest foe 2Pac. At 4:15 a.m. EST on March 9, 1997, Christopher Wallace was pronounced dead.
One can only wonder what The Notorious B.I.G. would have done if he were alive today.
Would we have ever heard The Commission with Jay Z and Charli Baltimore? How about that secret project between himself and Fat Joe? Will he still be the king of hip hop? I guess we&rsquo;ll never know.
Remember the life of The Notorious B.I.G. below.
https://youtu.be/Z5LveNSfB2Y

Life After Death: Remembering The Legacy Of The Notorious B.I.G.

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March 9 is a day the hip hop world stops and remembers the life and legacy of Christopher Wallace, known to the world as The Notorious B.I.G.
For years, Ernie Paniccioli helped document the growth of hip hop as it rose from a new genre in music, to the world&rsquo;s biggest phenomenon. His photos through the years showcase legends such as LL Cool J, Public Enemy, DMX, Foxy Brown, Lil&rsquo; Kim, Nas, Jay-Z, 2Pac, and the list goes on.
His passion was to showcase who these artists were to the world.
&ldquo;My work shows them as larger than life but also as part of life,&rdquo; he said to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230606141237/https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/public-enemys-private-photographer/">New York Times</a> back in 2013. &ldquo;My work has a pulse. It three-dimensionalized a lot of these people. And the artists themselves have always let me be up close and personal. There never been dichotomy between the photographer and the artist. It&rsquo;s a circle.&rdquo;
One of his favorite artists was The Notorious B.I.G., who he was able to document throughout the rise of his career.
&ldquo;The first time we met he was preparing to do his part in a New York Undercover TV show,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He was standing with Eric Sermon and Ice Cube. I went up to introduce myself and shake his hand and said hi, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m Ernie.&rsquo; He loudly replied by saying I don&rsquo;t give a f***, and then said &lsquo;step off!&rsquo; I was like &lsquo;what?'&rdquo;
<img class=" wp-image-108927" src="https://images.ctfassets.net/bjeljlcmmjko/1t3f0JBlA8o5uSD5L8gp2h/0336416e409d369dff2a76abd71d77c8/Biggie-and-Big-Ernie-bbb.jpg" alt="Notorious B.I.G. &amp; Ernie Paniccioli P" width="486" height="386">
He later continued, showcasing at the tense moment at the time.
&ldquo;I started to put down my two heavy cameras and camera bag I was holding Cube, and Eric from EPMD and a few others tried to calm him down.&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;Biggie, Ernie is Cool and Ernie is family. He cursed some more as I got closer and said, &lsquo;I don&rsquo;t care who he is!&rsquo; All of the crew that were around him were shook! Then all of a sudden he broke into his biggest grin and said to all of us &ldquo;gotcha&rdquo; and shook my hand laughing like crazy.&rdquo;
&ldquo;He often said he went from &ldquo;ashy to classy,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That night he took us all from scary to funny. He then reminded me we had met before on the set of a Mary J. Blige&rsquo;s video and had pizza together at a local store. We became friends and he shared many things with me over the next two years. He is one of the greats, I miss him and cried when he was taken from us.&rdquo;
Over the years, he was able to accompany the Notorious B.I.G. in various places, resulting in some of the most iconic photos of his life and career. Paniccioli shared a couple of his favorite photos with HOT 97 to help celebrate the life of the greatest rapper of all time.
<img class="wp-image-108925 " src="https://images.ctfassets.net/bjeljlcmmjko/5Ig8IXP8hrehyLnXgYN0NL/f49d26459a9a287d18111d6457ef382c/B.I.g.-in-Palladium-NYC.-1-1024x689.jpg" alt="Biggie Smalls In The Palladium" width="882" height="593"> Gold background Party at the Platinum Night Club, 1994 Photo Credit: Ernie Paniccioli<img id="longdesc-return-108928" class="wp-image-108928 size-large" tabindex="-1" src="https://images.ctfassets.net/bjeljlcmmjko/6QMGTlDZP3xZBVeRffthyy/f1600904e6c615a67c7fea0bddd547f5/IMG-3823-710x1024.jpg" alt="RIP The Notorious B.I.G." width="710" height="1024" longdesc="https://www.hot97.com?longdesc=108928&amp;referrer=108924"> "Freezing night in late October 1994. A man in an SUV was beeping his horn at me in Times Square. When I recognized Biggie, he said 'Get in here, motherf***er, it&rsquo;s cold as s*** out there.&rsquo;" Photo Credit: Ernie Paniccioli<img class="wp-image-108926 size-large" src="https://images.ctfassets.net/bjeljlcmmjko/5q6GxWuHRXT3SnKwDmMFjC/6d1eb20efe720cfacae244bc7e244131/Big-Hawiaan-shirt-1996-1024x661.jpg" alt="Notorious B.I.G. 1996" width="1024" height="661"> "This was the last time, I saw Biggie. It was at The Copa, in NYC on the night of a Mary J. Blige event." Photo Credit: Ernie Paniccioli

The Story Behind Some Of The Notorious B.I.G.'s Most Iconic Photos

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The year was 1997. Hip Hop was still in a state of mourning as the genre&rsquo;s biggest artist at the time was gunned down in Los Angeles.
We were all exhausted. But if there was one thing we knew was going to live on. It would be the music and his legacy.
On March 25, 1997, The Notorious B.I.G. posthumously released his long-awaited sophomore album ironically titled Life After Death. After three years of waiting, it was the album he was excited about, as he was ready to show his growth as an artist. Is he not still here? Is this even real?
Starting where Ready To Die left off three years earlier, it only took one track to raise the goosebumps on your arms. The sounds of the sirens began to ring in your ears, the heart monitor starts beeping, the intense keys begin to roar. All while Puff Daddy pleads with Biggie, &ldquo;you have too much living to do. Too much unfinished business. It ain&rsquo;t over.&rdquo; The sound of the raindrops hitting the pavement kept our emotions in check before we heard the sound of Biggie Smalls for the first time on this album. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sittin&rsquo; in the crib dreamin&rsquo; about Leer jets and coupes, the way Salt shoops and how they sell records like Snoop. Oops! I&rsquo;m interrupted by a doorbell&hellip;&rdquo;
He was bigger than life. His storytelling skills shined throughout the project as we got to see the progression of someone who is considered the best rapper of all time by many. He gave us a range of all kinds of different tracks. Between his signature hard raps in &ldquo;Last Day,&rdquo; &ldquo;What&rsquo;s Beef, &ldquo;Ten Crack Commandments,&rdquo; to fun tracks like &ldquo;Another,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Back To Cali&rdquo; to reminencient tracks like &ldquo;Miss U.&rdquo; This album not only told an album, but had it all.
Not many artists can deliver a double album. Even less can do so without you wanting to skip a single track. He outdid himself on this one.
After having one feature on his debut project, Biggie brought out the big guns for this one. And not one of those features were wasted. The fast paced rap from Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, back-and-forth between himself and Lil&rsquo; Kim, the hard bars from the LOX, slick talk with Jay-Z, freakiness from R. Kelly, or the smooth sounds of 112. If you were featured on this album it was with good reason.
Biggie&rsquo;s right hand man Puff Daddy was ruling the charts with his hit single &ldquo;Can&rsquo;t Nobody Hold Me Down&rdquo; at the time of his death. Following his passing, the first single of the album &ldquo;Hypnotize&rdquo; which was released on the first of March began taking over as the weather began to warm up showing the dominance of Bad Boy during this time. His singles weren&rsquo;t only hits. They became classics. 20 years later, &ldquo;Mo Money, Mo Problems&rdquo; is still a favorite in the party. No matter what age you are.
His third single &ldquo;Sky&rsquo;s The Limit&rdquo; can&rsquo;t do anything but put a tear in your eye as Biggie speaks about his growth as not only an artist, but as a man, his success, and where he was headed next.
Track 11 on disc two helps close a script no one could have even think of writing only weeks earlier. The echoing sounds of Puffy saying &ldquo;baby&rdquo; repeatedly as the cold lonely wind blows in the background. First the keys come. Then the drums. The beat builds as Puff continues to speak in the background. Then Biggie comes in: &ldquo;Ni***s in my faction don&rsquo;t like asking questions. Strictly gun-testing, coke-measuring, giving pleasure in the Benz-ito, hitting fanny, spending chips at Manny&rsquo;s, hope you creeps got receipts, my peeps get dirty like cleats.&rdquo;
A fitting end to a classic album, and a legendary career. By the end of this album, Christopher Wallace became a prophet to his own life. At only 24-years-old, he was gunned down in Los Angeles effectively ending the senseless east coast vs west coast wars of the early 1990&rsquo;s. Watching television late one night gave Biggie the idea of the album&rsquo;s last track. Hearing Dean Martin sing &ldquo;you&rsquo;re nobody until somebody loves you,&rdquo; sparked motivation in the hook. A hook which became an underlying, and unfortionate fact. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re Nobody &lsquo;Til Somebody Kills You.&rdquo;
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hot97.com/BIG20Years" target="_self" rel="noopener noreferrer">See more about the life and legacy of The Notorious B.I.G.</a></h3>
Listen to Life After Death below.
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You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Kills You: The Legacy Of 'Life After Death'

Photo Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Dave Chappelle

<a href="https://hot97.com/hot-news/man-that-attacked-dave-chappelle-charged-for-attempted-murder-for-unrelated-stabbing">Dave Chappelle</a> with a microphone always results in a classic moment.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Boy, I&rsquo;m going to be on TMZ tomorrow &hellip; Happy Martin Luther King Day,&rdquo; said the award-winning comedian on stage in front of a large crowd on Monday, January 15.
A video surfaced on social media Tuesday afternoon (Jan. 16) of Chappelle, 50, performing a blended rendition of the classics &ldquo;Between The Sheets&rdquo; by The Isley Brothers and <a href="https://hot97.com/hot-news/notorious-b-i-g-whitney-houston-will-enter-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame">Notorious B.I.G.</a>&rsquo;s &ldquo;Big Poppa&rdquo; with newly honored Oscar award-winning actress <a href="https://hot97.com/hot-news/making-history-angela-bassett-becomes-the-first-female-to-play-a-villain-in-the-transformers-installment-bumblebee-video">Angela Bassett</a> in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.&nbsp;&nbsp;
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Bassett would joke with her comedic friend and encourage him to sing. While Chappelle said he couldn&rsquo;t sing, he proceeded to huddle with the band and began performing the first verse to &ldquo;Between The Sheets.&rdquo; As Bassett and the crowd joined along, Chappelle and the band switched up to performing the first verse to Biggie&rsquo;s &ldquo;Big Poppa&rdquo; which would also be assisted by the sing-a-long crowd.&nbsp;
&ldquo;To all the ladies in the place with style and grace,&rdquo; raps Chappelle. &ldquo;Allow me to lace these lyrical douches in your bushes / Who rock grooves and make moves with all the mamis? / The back of the club, sippin' Mo&euml;t is where you'll find me&hellip;&rdquo;
But this is not the first time Chappelle was captured performing &ldquo;Big Poppa.&rdquo; A 2021 video on YouTube shows Dave and fellow comedic legend Bill Murray performing the song together.
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From special guests on his classic television show to major pictures about his festival, Chappelle has always expressed his passion for hip-hop.
&ldquo;Big Poppa,&rdquo; produced by Chucky Thompson and Diddy, appears on Bigge&rsquo;s 6x platinum debut album, Ready to Die (1994), on Bad Boy Records. &ldquo;Between The Sheets&rdquo; was The Isley Brothers&rsquo; lead single from the album of the same title released in 1983. Biggie&rsquo;s version would go on to be sampled by Jay-Z, Drake, Queen Latifah, and many more.&nbsp;
Biggie Smalls entered the Rock N&rsquo; Roll Hall of Fame in 2020.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Chappelle took over&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/hot97/">Hot97</a> for the day in 2017. Watch what working with him for a day is like below.&nbsp;
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Dave Chappelle Raps Notorious B.I.G. With Angela Bassett

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Track by Track: Biggie's Life After Death, 25 Years Later

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It has been 25 years since we tragically lost The Notorious B.I.G.!Back in 2017, Megan Ryte paid tribute to Biggie Smalls with one of the most popular and dynamic mixes from the rapper heard to date as she mixed some of his biggest hits of all time with audio clips, samples, original versions, and more as DJ Enuff chimes in with some stories from their time together.If you missed it, listen to the full mix below.https://audiomack.com/djmeganryte/song/the-notorious-big-20-years-therytethrowbacks-mix?referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hot97.com%2F

Megan Ryte Pays Tribute To The Notorious BIG On #TheRyteThrowbacks

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<h3 style="text-align: center">'Sometimes we dim our light too much to make other people comfortable.'</h3>Creator of streetwear brand Walker Wear, April Walker shares the impact the brand has made in wardrobe over the years, meeting Biggie and how Bad Boy helped her career, and more!HOT 97 is celebrating Black History Month with Black History 360!This week we highlight those who made their impact on the culture.<h3 style="text-align: center"><a href="http://hot97.com/bhm360">For more Black History 360</a></h3>Watch the full episode below.[ytp_video source="8ky-fFE6fW8"]

April Walker On The Impact Of Walker Wear, Meeting Biggie + Influence On Culture & Fashion

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DJ Kast One celebrated the music of the late, great Notorious B.I.G. during a special mix at noon!He played ALL of the classics, B-sides, and exclusive versions you can only hear on HOT 97!To celebrate the life, music, and career of Christopher Wallace, visit our <a href="http://hot97.com/biggie">official page</a> celebrating Biggie all day!In case you missed it, check it out now below!<iframe src="https://www.mixcloud.com/widget/iframe/?hide_cover=1&light=1&feed=%2Fhot97official%2Fdj-kast-one-biggieday-mix-3-9-21%2F" width="100%" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Listen To DJ Kast One's 'Biggie Day' Mix!

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Long time friends of the late Notorious B.I.G., D-Roc and Wayne Barrow sit down with Ebro in the Morning to share rare stories about Christopher Wallace, his legacy, and the inspiration behind the release of the latest Netflix documentary Biggie: I Got A Story To Tell which is available now!They also discuss why Lil' Kim was no featured in the documentary, what they remember about Jay-Z during the final years of Biggie's life and the start of Hov's career, the Brooklyn rapper's thoughts about Method Man, and Wu-Tang Clan as well as the stories behind the classic track "F*** The World."Watch the full conversation below.https://youtu.be/Wa0BHG-LRe0

D-Roc & Wayne Barrow Share Rare Biggie Stories, + Talks Lil Kim, Jay-Z, Method Man & Documentary

I got a story to tell...March 18, 1997. It has been nine days since the hip hop world was stricken with tragedy once again. Another icon, killed tragically, in front of hundreds of people in the middle of a street, over a war that was bigger than him.At this point, it had been six months since the passing of one of the most complicated, and notorious rappers in the world. 2Pac Shakur was shot and killed in Las Vegas following a Mike Tyson fight in which the rapper, and members of his crew got into a public altercation at the casino at the MGM Grand. At that point, in 1996, 2Pac and Biggie we engaged in a growing narrative many publications and media outlets dubbed the East vs West war. It was a war that took two of the biggest superstars the genre had seen at that moment.Surely, we could not go through this kind of tragedy again, right? We learned our lessons. But, not even one year later and we were all shocked once again.Christopher Wallace, Frank White, The Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls. Whatever you ended up calling him, in three short years he cemented a legacy that has lasted almost a quarter-century and growing using imagery through a unique cadence in which he vividly shared the stories of not only himself, but the surrounding community he grew up in on the corner of Fulton St. & St. James Place in Brooklyn, New York City, New York.At the time Biggie. had just finished his sophomore album, Life After Death. It was a project he was excited about, ready to show the lighter side of his personality, his growth, and to showcase that he would indeed be here for a while.And just like that, it was all taken away.On March 9, 1997, the Notorious B.I.G. had presented an award at the 1997 Soul Train Music Awards. Afterwards, he attended a Vibe Magazine party at the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Wearing a Bernini sweater, Karl Kani jeans, and Timberland boots, the rapper left the party at about 12:30AM PST. He entered the passenger side of a GMC Suburban, which was sandwiched in the middle of the crew's 3-car caravan.As they stopped at Wilshire Boulevard and South Fairfax Avenue, only feet away from where they were just partying, a Chevy SS Impala pulled up to the car and shot at the door where Biggie sat. The 24-year-old rapper was declared dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center at 1:15 a.m. His body was identified Sunday afternoon at the Los Angeles coroner’s office by his ex-wife, singer Faith Evans, and his mother, who flew in from New York, officials said.His next album was set to be released two weeks later, Life After Death . . . Til Death Do Us Part.It was time to bring him back home to Brooklyn.Wallace's body was flown back to New York where friends and family <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/biggie-body-carried-brooklyn-home-1997-article-1.757692">could pay their last respects. </a>On Sunday, March 18, 1997, nine days after his tragic passing, over 350 of hip hop's biggest stars, friends, and family entered Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel in Manhattan. Jay-Z, Da Brat, Mary J. Blige, Busta Rhymes, Foxy Brown, Run DMC, were only some of the names that were included.Faith Evans drew tears with a powerful rendition of “Walk With Me, Lord.” Diddy shared a personal story that the attendees in which he addressed how he saw Biggie's growth and the kind of man he had known, and that his friend was becoming. Wallace's mother, Ms. Voletta Wallace serenaded the attendance by reading scriptures as they sent the Brooklyn native home.Biggie was Brooklyn. He lived and breathed the city that raised him, and helped him become the man he was at the time. He showed it through his lyrics, the words in his interview, and his performances across the world. It was appropriate that the fans that he touched so much was able to say their last goodbyes.It was a cloudy, 47 degree late winter day. Biggie’s body was getting ready for his last ride. As mourner's exited the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel in Manhattan, Christopher Wallace's casket was put in a hearse. The journey then began back "home" as it left Madison Avenue and 81st Street on the Upper East Side. Noting the importance of the event, the limousines carrying the family of The Notorious B.I.G. were led by police escort.Fans had been filling the streets of Brooklyn since 10 a.m. that morning waiting for one last glance of their hero. To not cry in sadness of his passing, but to smile at the celebration of his life and accomplishments. He made it out of the block, and became a legend.At 2 p.m. EST, the motorcade crossed the Brooklyn Bridge and made it to Clinton Hill and Fort Greene where fans began to gather. Then it made one last turn onto Fulton Street. It was the block where he grew up. 226 St. James Pl., Apartment #3L. Just around the block is where he used to pack groceries.Sadness turned into happiness. The streets were flooded with people looking to get one last goodbye to their hero. Everyone was surprised at the turnout. At one point, something special happened as the hearse slowly passed through his childhood block. Someone decided to play his hit single "Hypnotize," which became the anthem of the moment.Maybe that moment was a sign everything was going to be ok. A sign from Biggie to tell us that his legacy will live on .... forever.R.I.P. Biggie.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnBnh7Av0t4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NisaMGPBM98https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWH0z9MRM6ghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DL0-Y5g7m4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5O3BbjFw-w

The Day We Knew Biggie Was Watching From Above...

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A photographer discovered GEM, but at the time, he didn’t realize it.Photographer <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://tdoteric.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">T. Eric Monroe</a> found a <a href="https://www.hot97.com/hip-hop-news/hot-news/iggy-azalea-shares-never-seen-before-pictures-of-her-son-onyx/">rare photo</a> he took of hip hop treasures, The Notorious B.I G and Tupac. He found the picture nearly two decades after taking it. Monroe told Hip Hop DX that the picture was taken in 1993. He said, “So 1993, I set up a shoot with Onyx to do an article in Thrasher. They were in concert, opening for either Ice-T or Public Enemy or something. So I get there around soundcheck time. We’re standing in the dressing room, talking to the guys, planning it out. We go down to the stage area because the performance wasn’t starting yet and I got our group shots that I needed from them.” He continued,“As I was packing my equipment away, someone from the other side of the stage goes, ‘Yo, come take our picture.’ I literally said, ‘Yes, give me a second.’ Then I ended up going over to the guys who said it. Literally just look at them, line up the picture and took one picture and said thank you and then went back to the dressing room to Onyx. I got the film developed at some point and I kept remembering this giant middle finger. I remember writing the name <a href="https://www.hot97.com/hip-hop-news/featured/the-story-behind-2pacs-classic-album-all-eyez-on-me-25-years-later/">Tupac</a> on it, but I didn’t really understand who he was in 1993.”Take a look at the photo:https://www.instagram.com/p/CL9v8RUl-j4/Back then, platforms didn’t really post pictures with people flipping their middle finger, which is why the picture went unnoticed. Monroe said, “It’s <a href="https://www.hot97.com/hip-hop-news/hot-news/lil-cease-shares-the-real-reason-on-why-biggie-smalls-didnt-respond-to-2pacs-hit-em-up/">2Pac</a> with the finger, but there’s nothing to it. I can’t do anything with it. So when I got that picture, I just put it with the rest of my slides and stored it.”In the photo, everyone is rocking a Bad Boy shirt, which is pretty cool. Share your thoughts with us about the photo! <a href="https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.60873/title.rare-tupac-shakur-biggie-photo-sat-undiscovered-in-photographer-t-eric-monroes-archives-for-20-years?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+hiphopdx%2Fnews+%28HipHopDX.com%29">Via</a>

Photographer Discovered A Never Before Seen Picture Of Biggie & Tupac!

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March 9th, 2021, will make 24 years since The Notorious B.I.G was murdered in Los Angeles. As a way to commemorate his life and legacy, a new documentary called Biggie: I Got A Story To Tell, debuted on March 1 on Netflix. The documentary gives viewers a different look of the late rapper. It takes you on a journey through his childhood, with little known stories such as his trips to Jamaica with his mother and how it influenced his unique style, as well as give an inside look into his neighborhood in Brooklyn, how he met his friends, and the tragedies he faced throughout his life. The documentary gave one of the truest looks at Christopher Wallace the individual before the world knew him as Biggie Smalls, as he became one of the biggest rap artists in the mid-90s. Although the stories Biggie’s life has been told numerous times through various documentaries, movies, and television shows, Biggie: I Got A Story To Tell gives you brand new insight and home footage into the timeline showcasing his struggle, pain, success, and ultimate killing in Los Angeles in 1997. Below are 5 things we learned from the Netflix documentary. <h2>Ms. Voletta Wallace once found white powder in the window sill in his bedroom and mistook them for mashed potatoes. </h2>The documentary talks a lot about Biggie’s journey as a hustler and how he got into the drug game, selling crack. During an interview, Biggie claimed that his mother didn’t know what he was doing while she was at work. She believed that he was working. One day, she confronted him about leaving old “mashed potatoes” in his room, not realizing that it was actually drugs. <h2>Biggie Developed A Friendship With Jazz Musician Donald Harrison.</h2>Donald Harrison played a part in Biggie’s life and in him becoming a rapper. Biggie was influenced not only by Harrison’s talent but also by the beautiful ladies that he would bring home with him. Harrison would help Biggie and take him to the movies and art museums and try to groom him to be a jazz musician. <h2>Biggie Reveals The Meaning Of “Ready To Die”.</h2>Around the time, Big was recording his debut album, Ready To Die, it was revealed that he was going through a lot of personal issues. His mother had just been diagnosed with breast cancer, and he felt the burden of being the only one around to take care of her. He stated that the title of his debut album didn’t literally mean that he was actually ready to die but that it was more like a cry for help. <h2>The Death Of Ollie Was Big’s Wake Up Call.</h2>Biggie's friend Ollie was always by his side. He looked at him like a brother and someone he can look up to. As addressed in the documentary, Ollie actually introduced him to selling drugs, and the two were almost inseparable as friends. Ollie also was one of the first people to recognize his talent for rapping, and performing, and was encouraging and helping Biggie realize his dream or if Big was performing at shows. In the film, it is revealed that the night that Ollie was shot and killed, Biggie was supposed to be accompanying him. Instead, he was performing at a show. Ollie’s death became the wake-up call Biggie needed to get out of the streets and to focus on his music career.<h2>Mark Pitts Stopped Biggie From Making A Big Mistake That Could’ve Ended Up Really Bad For Him. </h2>After the birth of his daughter, Biggie was still struggling to get this music career off of the ground. Diddy was just released from Uptown Records, and they didn’t know what they were going to do in regards to releasing Ready To Die. Big and his friend D. Roc were still heavy in the streets, they decided to drive down to North Carolina to sell drugs out there. Mark Pitts, who was Big’s manager at the time, called Diddy to stop from making a big mistake and he did.What did you learn about Biggie from this documentary that you didn’t know about him before?

5 Things I Learned From 'Biggie: I Got A Story To Tell'

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Every once in a while, Lil Cease shares a dope hip hop story about the Notorious B.I.G.During a conversation between Lil Cease and Fat Man Scoop, Cease spoke on the beef between Tupac and Biggie. Back in the ’90s, Biggie dropped “Who Shot Ya,” a diss track aimed at Tupac. Tupac responded with “Hit Em’ Up,” which was aimed at Biggie and his crew, Junior Mafia. Biggie ended up not responding and Lil Cease recently shared why. During Cease’s interview with Fatman Scoop, Cease said that Biggie wanted to handle the Tupac beef situation differently. Cease said Biggie wanted the beef to be squashed. Cease said, "At the very beginning, Big didn't rush in to make a diss track. Nah. Big told everybody 'if you make a record, I'm not fuckin' with you. Don't call me, don't fuck with me if you respond to anything. So none of us could do it, and Junior Mafia is ready to respond. <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/LilKim/profile" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lil Kim</a> is ready to respond. But Big was like 'Nah, we not doing that.' Cause I think Big was trying to leave it open, so he could really just -- yo, what's up dawg? Come on my n***a! You talking to me, what's up?"Cease went on to say the two rappers were never given that chance to bump into one another again. He said, “Never ran into him. Never had those type of situations where the opportunity could present itself. I think that's why Big never really spoke on it. Never really made records about it, cause he knew there was room to fix it. He wanted to fix it. That was his sign of wanting to fix it, by not escalating it. At the end of the day, your pride is your pride. N**gas was mad that he wasn't responding. Street n***as was around us that really get busy in the streets. But Big was like, 'nah, chill. I'm not doing that. But if shit come out way, we have to be on point to handle our business."Take a look:https://www.instagram.com/tv/CITszrtFnst/?igshid=1iwvfxl7n574e<a href="https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/lil-cease-explains-why-notorious-big-refused-to-respond-to-2pacs-hit-em-up-news.122242.html">Via</a>

Lil Cease Shares The Real Reason On Why Biggie Smalls Didn’t Respond To 2pac's \"Hit Em Up\"

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Warren G Takes over Ebro In The Morning to share stories from early Death Row years, being signed to Def Jam, East Coast vs West Coast and unreleased music.Watch the full conversation:https://youtu.be/afXhTWLemFA

Remembering Biggie

How The Notorious B.I.G.'s Death Changed Hip Hop Forever