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

Now that we have a brief understanding of his past, let’s establish what made The Notorious B.I.G. an iconic figure. To me there are a number of factors, and his untimely death is definitely one of them unfortunately. I earlier mentioned other musicians who shared the same fate as Wallace, and the one thing the world never got to see from them was just how far these musicians could have gone. We are left with that enduring “what if” factor, and the romantic notion that if only Wallace and other similar artists had made another album, where would they have ended up today?

The timing was possibly one of the most crucial factors too, especially following the death of Tupac Shakur in 1996 that Wallace was rumored to have been a part of. And with the later death of Wallace himself in 1997, there became even more publicity, mystery and feuds, which certainly sparked interest in people who were not necessarily a fan of Wallace previously.

In short, his untimely death, publicity and circumstances surrounding his death served to cement his legacy. But even despite his enduring legacy, had Biggie Smalls still been alive today, there is no guarantee that his next album would have been as big a success as “Life After Death”. Had circumstances been different, “Life After Death” may not have gone on to sell as many copies as it has. And with the buying habits of consumers in consideration, where many new fans of any artist simply buy the latest release, there may have been a reduction in sales for “Life After Death” if Biggie Smalls had had a chance to release a new album.

But putting everything else aside, there is no denying the wonderful talent that Christopher Wallace brought to the music scene. Yes, his life was tragically cut short, but his legacy will always live on (and the Chris Wallace Memorial Fund is one good example of this). So what’s left? Well, for those of you who have been long-time fans of Biggie Smalls (myself included), we can only wonder and speculate about his lost future. But for those of you who are new fans to his music and want to be a part of something great, then you need to catch up on some great music, starting with album “Ready to Die”.

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