How Did The Notorious B.I.G. Become One of the Greatest MCs of All Time?

There’s a lot to be said about the cultural phenomenon Biggie Smalls, and I’m going to try and say it without going into too much depth about the circumstances surrounding his death. Why? Because better writers than I have said more about it than I ever could, and regardless of my opinions and thoughts on this subject, it’s not really going to help solve anything. What I’m interested in though, is that when it all comes down to the man they called The Notorious B.I.G, why is he so well remembered and why did he become so successful after his death?

Firstly, it isn’t a new concept that artists who die at the peak of their careers are somehow immortalized. Jimmy Hendrix, Sid Vicious, Kurt Cobain, John Lennon and even Elvis spring to mind. Sometimes you have to wonder just how bands like Nirvana would be remembered if Cobain didn’t die. They would be another rock band, and probably would have faded into obscurity in the late 90s when the next big thing happened. Is the same true of Biggie Smalls? Is his long lasting recognition simply down to the fact that he was mercilessly gunned down at the height of his popularity?

For rapper Christopher Wallace (aka The Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls), it all started when he went from a small time hustler in Brooklyn to “the savior of east coast Hip-Hop” in a few short years. His story-telling skills provided inspiration and entertainment to a generation of disenfranchised youth. And rather than glamorizing the harsh realities of the gangsta lifestyle, Wallace preferred a gritty and objective take on the realities of life in the streets.

Following a release from prison, Wallace went on to record a demo tape on a four-track, which just happened to fall into the hands of a man that carried some weight. After receiving some positive feedback of that demo tape, he was signed by Sean Combs to Uptown Records A&R, before later joining Combs at this new label Bad Boy Records. His first major release, “Ready to Die”, was in 1994 and his second, eerily named “Life After Death”, was released in 1997 following the tragic shooting. He went on to posthumously release two new albums, a “greatest hits” compilation and now, with the release of the biopic, the soundtrack to the movie about his life.

Pages: 1 2