The expression insists that “time flies,” and unless you’re
a kid waiting for Christmas, it always does. But that isn’t to say it is hard
to believe that is has been ten years since Christopher “Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace was murdered. In the kingdom
of Hip Hop it seems as though it was much more than a decade since Biggie Smalls reigned supreme. Things
done changed, and a lot of that change can be attributed to the heavy set
Brooklyn native.
With few exceptions, every emcee has a style which they
learned, emulated and evolved from a predecessor. Biggie’s roots could be directly traced to the legendary Kool G Rap; one part street villain,
one part player, all parts raw and uncompromising. This persona seems trite and
cliché now, and it is, as so few can ever pull it off convincingly. What made G Rap and later Big so appealing was not only their flawless and original
technique, but their underlying humor and undeniable charisma. Both emcees
regularly got a green light for uttering things damn near anyone else would get
crucified for, just for that “it” factor that made them so special. Nowadays,
damn near every emcee is a hardcore gangsta whom the ladies can’t resist, a
persona clearly influenced directly by Big.
G Rap is undoubtedly the forefather
and the indirect influence, but Biggie
parlayed the style into superstardom and platinum records. Lord knows in this
industry when something is successful, it is going to be copied.
What is really crazy is that a decade plus after Big’s reign, we’ve got so many new, young
fans who don’t really know the Black
Frank White. Recently, I actually had someone say to me “I don’t see why everyone thinks Biggie was
so great.” I really couldn’t fathom what he was saying, and I’m not just
saying that to emphasize what a fucking retarded statement that is. I truly
cannot wrap my head around someone not realizing why he was so dope. The game has certainly changed, and it makes
me wonder where Big would be today had those fools never shot up his Yukon in
Cali. I’m not making predictions, just exploring options and asking questions…
Would he still be the
King of New York?
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Can anyone stay on top for that long? His reign would be on
some 13 years now…
Would he have lost
his hunger and fallen off?
A lot of great emcees have lost their hunger and their edge
over the years, it is inevitable with most cats. They go from poor and hungry
to rich with nothing left to prove and they know the quality of their 16 just
isn’t gonna matter when it comes to sales. Jay
managed to keep his rhymes as sharp as ever as his career progressed, would Big have been the same? Speaking of Jigga…
Would Biggie have
been able to withstand Jay’s movement?
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Sure, some folks will tell you the only reason Jay blew up the way he did is because Biggie died and left the spot open. Of
course it helped that it wasn’t as crowded at the top, but you’re a fool if you
think Jay wasn’t gonna create his
legacy. He managed to step over Nas,
would he have been able to leapfrog his close friend too?
Would Big and Jay
still be friends?
A clash at the top would have been inevitable, but would
friendly competition have turned ugly? Remember Biggie and Pac were once
good friends, and we all know how that ended. Speaking of friends…
Would he still be
rolling with Diddy and Bad Boy?
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Rumor before his death, and since, have maintained Biggie was going to split from Bad Boy and Diddy because he wasn’t happy there. Plenty of people close to Big say he never wanted to make the
commercial music that fueled his albums to millions in sales. Even undeniably
dope singles like Big Poppa were
songs that Mr. Combs made him do,
and take another listen to Life After
Death; the commercial tracks multiplied exponentially. Would making album
number 3 make Big split for good or
alienate his core fan base with too much Nasty
Boy and not enough Kick In The Door?
Would he be an
entrepreneurial juggernaut?
It is one thing I’ve always thought about when I hear the Jay vs. Big arguments. They had a lot of similarities but also a lot of
differences; namely Jay getting his
corporate hustle on and Big coming
up under man doing the same rather than doing it himself. Would Big have been more like Nas and kept it low key or followed the
lead of people like Jay and Snoop and stack his paper using
corporate America?
Would Diddy be the star
he is today?
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When Ready To Die
came out a lot of people wondered, ‘who
the hell is this Puff Daddy he keeps
shouting out?’ A few years later when Big had passed and Diddy Daddy put out his Sauce Money-penned tribute to his late
friend he became a household name. He has never looked back. Sure, the album
had some other hits, but nothing put him out there the way I’ll Be Missing You did.
Would he have
continued to change the game?
As already discussed, Big’s
mic persona is still being jacked today,
so his influence is apparent. Something else that can be attributed to Big (although it was probably more of Diddy’s doing), is the ‘something-for-everyone’
album formula. Life After Death was
really the first album where it was very obvious each song fit into its own
little category, a little something to please everyone. I wonder what else he
would have done that everyone would have followed.
Etc. Etc.
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Would the beef with Nas
have escalated? Who else would he have tangled with? What would he have named
his next album? How many albums would he have made? Who would he be working
with? Would Junior M.A.F.I.A. still
be together? Would he still be doing joints with Primo? Would he still be going multi-platinum?
Would he be regarded
as unquestionably the greatest of all-time?
The primary case against B.I. for being the G.O.A.T. is that he only released 2 albums, and
longevity is very important in the grand scheme of things. Look at Jigga, you couldn’t make nearly as good
an argument for him had he only made Reasonable
Doubt and In My Lifetime Vol.1.
Two of his top three albums (Blueprint
and The Black Album), came much later
in his career. At the same time, Big
Daddy Kane’s status was tarnished little by little after his material got
worse and worse after his first two albums. It can go either way, no matter how
good the emcee…which way would Biggie have gone? Regardless, 10 years later we’re
still missing him in a big way…R.I.P.
