KUrated. Biggie.
It seems stupid to try and equate words to the impact The Notorious B.I.G. aka Biggie Smalls aka Christopher Wallace has had on the music sphere.
Everything Biggie did packed a punch. Whether it was that hard blue steel heat of “Give Me the Loot” expressing the struggles of being poor in the hood and streetlife, the sensual love-making ballad of Big Poppa, or the braggadocious, fun-spirited vibe of, “Party & Bullshit”
It’s a voice that commands the attention of the room and his physical presence matched his vocal. The sorta confidence that is undeniable and unteachable. The attitude and clear vision came through with no hesitation on the mic. It was thought out and complex. His obsession with music and writing started back in elementary school using his writing, and opportunities on the mic to flex his voice and speak his mind. His peers, childhood friends, and mentors always speak to Biggie as being an observant sponge, taking in everything around him. Not taking lightly opportunities to form bonds and spend time with people he respected or were living a path that he saw as aspirational or desirable. One of the key relationships in Big’s young life was jazz musician Donald Harrison (Miles Davis, Art Blakey). Harrison exposed his young brain to not only many genres of music, but also different forms of visual art, and film, with regular trips to the museum and theater. This fed Biggie’s observant nature and informed his eclectic vision for the music he’d later make. It also helped him hone in his craft as an emcee, Harrison helped him see rapping through the lens of a jazz musician. It put Biggie’s understanding of rhythm and how he could accent the percussion with his vocal on another level.
He was unconsciously inspiring generations to come with his style and delivery. The bars in the verses went so deep, that at times it felt like the hook would never appear again. His presence on a track held a noticeable weight and it absorbed a different space than his predecessors.
Outside of his undeniable skills on the mic, Wallace seemed to attract attention for his larger-than-life personality and his admirable will to hustle. Driven by the desire to provide something better for his family. He was willing to do whatever it took to carry that weight, and that weight transcended magnitudes of decibels through the words he spits on the mic.
His tragically young passing left a hole in the rap scene and the results were a lot of artists trying to chase the feeling that he possessed on the mic. The impact he had on the community in which he grew up in and the streets that raised him was most notably recognised on the day of his funeral when the streets of New York jumped off and celebrated his life in masses. His rising star was a beacon of hope for the people that surrounded him. The level of energy amidst those celebrations rivaled any previous New York City party. It was the only glimpse of relief on a devastating day. It was a representation of his impact on Rap and New York City thereafter.
There are no handouts in the New York Hip Hop scene, to penetrate the zeitgeist the way BIG did, attributes to his undeniable energy and the pure passion he had for the art form. It put Brooklyn on the map in a way no one had before and never will again. He was truly one of one. “Damn right I like the life I live”.
It seems stupid to try and equate words to the impact The Notorious B.I.G. aka Biggie Smalls aka Christopher Wallace has had on the music sphere.
Everything Biggie did packed a punch. Whether it was that hard blue steel heat of “Give Me the Loot” expressing the struggles of being poor in the hood and streetlife, the sensual love-making ballad of Big Poppa, or the braggadocious, fun-spirited vibe of, “Party & Bullshit”
It’s a voice that commands the attention of the room and his physical presence matched his vocal. The sorta confidence that is undeniable and unteachable. The attitude and clear vision came through with no hesitation on the mic. It was thought out and complex. His obsession with music and writing started back in elementary school using his writing, and opportunities on the mic to flex his voice and speak his mind. His peers, childhood friends, and mentors always speak to Biggie as being an observant sponge, taking in everything around him. Not taking lightly opportunities to form bonds and spend time with people he respected or were living a path that he saw as aspirational or desirable. One of the key relationships in Big’s young life was jazz musician Donald Harrison (Miles Davis, Art Blakey). Harrison exposed his young brain to not only many genres of music, but also different forms of visual art, and film, with regular trips to the museum and theater. This fed Biggie’s observant nature and informed his eclectic vision for the music he’d later make. It also helped him hone in his craft as an emcee, Harrison helped him see rapping through the lens of a jazz musician. It put Biggie’s understanding of rhythm and how he could accent the percussion with his vocal on another level.
He was unconsciously inspiring generations to come with his style and delivery. The bars in the verses went so deep, that at times it felt like the hook would never appear again. His presence on a track held a noticeable weight and it absorbed a different space than his predecessors.
Outside of his undeniable skills on the mic, Wallace seemed to attract attention for his larger-than-life personality and his admirable will to hustle. Driven by the desire to provide something better for his family. He was willing to do whatever it took to carry that weight, and that weight transcended magnitudes of decibels through the words he spits on the mic.
His tragically young passing left a hole in the rap scene and the results were a lot of artists trying to chase the feeling that he possessed on the mic. The impact he had on the community in which he grew up in and the streets that raised him was most notably recognised on the day of his funeral when the streets of New York jumped off and celebrated his life in masses. His rising star was a beacon of hope for the people that surrounded him. The level of energy amidst those celebrations rivaled any previous New York City party. It was the only glimpse of relief on a devastating day. It was a representation of his impact on Rap and New York City thereafter.
There are no handouts in the New York Hip Hop scene, to penetrate the zeitgeist the way BIG did, attributes to his undeniable energy and the pure passion he had for the art form. It put Brooklyn on the map in a way no one had before and never will again. He was truly one of one. “Damn right I like the life I live”.
By Dan Cable – 28.09.22.
The Notorious B.IG.
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